BYU Ties School Record For Threes In Maui Win Over Virginia Tech

LAHAINA, Hawaii – One day after losing to No. 4 Kansas, BYU head coach Mark Pope said he didn’t look at the film from the loss against the Jayhawks so he could dive into preparations for Virginia Tech.

After seeing BYU defeat Virginia Tech 90-77 in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational, the game plan Pope put into place worked for his team.

COUGS WIN!!#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/hsiH7jQPbw

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) November 28, 2019

BYU (5-3) tied a single-game school record for threes with 17 makes from deep in the win over the Hokies. Senior guard TJ Haws led the way scoring a team-high 20 points and knocking down four of BYU’s 17 three’s.

In the second half, Haws scored 13 consecutive points for BYU during a 22-4 run that created the separation needed to pull away from a young Hokies squad who knocked off No. 3 Michigan State earlier in the week.

“I felt like I could see the ball go through the hole one time and getting a little bit of rhythm,” said Haws.

“But really I was just getting good looks and fortunately they fell. I feel like our whole team was really in a great rhythm and that momentum and energy is contagious and it’s good to see the ball go through the hoop.”

TJ Haws with the "single play of the tournament" according to @BillWalton. #GoCougs #BYU @kslsports pic.twitter.com/oUaiZmrefS

— Sam Farnsworth (@SFarnsworthKSL) November 28, 2019

The soft rims at the Lahaina Civic Center were unkind to BYU against Kansas the night before, but the law of averages swung back in the Cougars’ favor. BYU shot 50-percent from beyond the arc and 54-percent from the field.

Virginia Tech’s shooting was nothing to scoff at either as they were 50-percent from deep as well. The difference was that BYU put up 12 more attempts than the Hokies.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” said Pope. “What an unbelievable effort they put on the floor and did it together from start to finish absolutely together. It was extraordinary. And I’m really excited for the future that we have together throughout the season.”

With the win over the Hokies, BYU leaves Maui with a 2-1 record and now sits at 5-3 overall on the season.

#BYU is now 5-3 on the season with two of their five wins coming against KenPom Tier-A teams and they did it without Yoeli Childs.

What a start to the Mark Pope era in Provo.#BYUhoops #KSLsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 28, 2019

“It’s so big. It’s just so big for these guys,” Pope said.

“They’re going to get on the plane tomorrow — it probably didn’t look like it post-game. Probably post-game it probably looked like we won the tournament championship. But for us to roll out of here, claiming third place in a tournament that’s just ridiculously stacked and minus what people on paper say is our best player, and to beat — this Virginia Tech team, what they have done? … For us to be able to come here and beat UCLA and Virginia Tech and get a little bit humbled and learn from Kansas is huge for us because our goal is to keep rolling.”

BYU will now look to keep things rolling this Saturday when they host Division II program Montana Tech in the Marriott Center at 1 p.m. The game will mark the last of a nine-game suspension for Yoeli Childs. The Cougars are in great shape after an eventful three games on the island of Maui.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.