BYU men's basketball: Tyler Haws scores Jimmer-like 42 points in win over Virginia Tech (+video)

Tyler Haws reminded the nation of the days when Jimmer Fredette wore Cougar blue Saturday as the BYU Cougars defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 97-71 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

Haws scored 42 points — a career high — shooting 14 of 25 from the field (56 percent) and making 6 of his 8 attempted 3-point shots. Haws, at one point, was 9 of 11 from the field and 6 of 7 from 3-point range. Through 13 minutes and 43 seconds of the contest, it was Tyler Haws 26, Virginia Tech 25.

BYU held a 25-point lead at the end of the first half and rode the first-half offensive explosion to the win. At the 14:50 mark of the second half, the Cougars had stretched their lead to 32 points before Virginia Tech began coming back.

The Hokies went on a 10-0 run and cut the lead to 20 with 7:33 remaining in the game, but by then, the outcome had long since been determined. With just more than six minutes remaining, Josh Sharp's electric hoop-and-harm hammer dunk was an exclamation point for the Cougars.

The game was over after Haws scored six straight points and was substituted out for Craig Cusick with 3:05 remaining.

Perhaps more impressive than Haws' offensive performance was the Cougars' defense. Tech's Erick Green averages 25.4 points per game and is the nation's leading Division 1 scorer. In this contest, however, Green scored a mere 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting.

Besides Haws, BYU was led in scoring by Brandon Davies and Josh Sharp. Davies finished with 17 points, going 5 for 7 from the field and 7 for 9 from the charity stripe. Davies sprained his ankle midway through the second half did not play for the final nine minutes. Instead, Dave Rose opted in favor of a combo between 6-foot-11 freshman Ian Harward and junior college transfer Agustin Ambrosino.

BYU media relations staff said Davies could have returned if needed, but given the margin at the time, the Cougars opted not to have him play anymore.

Sharp went 3 for 5 from the field and 4 for 5 from the free-throw line to finish with 10 points. He also corralled three rebounds and had an assist.

This is the second game that BYU has played in EnergySolutions Arena this year. The previous game was a 85-60 victory vs. Montana on Nov. 28. This game was also broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

Landon Hemsley is the sports content manager for DeseretNews.com. Email: lhemsley@deseretnews.com. Twitter: @EarlOfHemsley