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Kragthorpe: BYU's overtime win enough to land Cougars in NCAA tourney


Las Vegas


San Francisco's last shot bounced off the rim, and the BYU Cougars celebrated as if they had won something important Monday night.



Unofficially, that's true.


For the moment, all their 79-77 overtime victory earned them was the right to meet Gonzaga for the West Coast Conference tournament title - only 19 hours later at the Orleans Arena.


But this will be the achievement that secured BYU's NCAA Tournament bid when Selection Sunday arrives.


Of course, the Cougars (23-10) can eliminate all of the mystery and earn an automatic invitation with a win Tuesday night. But that's asking a lot, considering the effort that went into beating the University of San Francisco.


BYU hardly resembled a genuine, deserving NCAA participant during critical stretches Monday. The Cougars couldn't rise above USF in regulation, even after they led by eight points in the last six minutes. BYU failed to score on its last nine possessions, totally botching the design and execution of their final opportunity that ended with Kyle Collinsworth's forced-up shot being blocked.


'We got stuck on 64 for quite a while,' BYU coach Dave Rose said.


No kidding. But the Cougars never trailed in overtime, making just enough free throws to stay ahead. BYU allowed the Dons to launch a winning 3-point attempt, but Anson Winder's defense hounded Avry Holmes into a wild shot from the right corner that missed.


If the Cougars had lost, this game would have been memorable because of Tyler Haws' shooting troubles and BYU's inability to seize control. Because they won, the Cougars can point to a variety of players who did just enough to overcome Haws' 5-of-19 night that included only one basket from outside the paint.


BYU got 18 points and 12 rebounds from Collinsworth, 15 points from Winder and 11 points and 10 rebounds from Eric Mika, who returned to the starting lineup. Haws helped by making all 14 of his free throws, and the two foul shots that Collinsworth made with 28 seconds left in overtime were even more impressive, giving BYU a 76-73 lead.


He's only a 57-percent shooter, but Collinsworth stepped to the line with confidence, determined to reward his teammates' effort. That's the kind of toughness it took to win this game, and that's why BYU deserves to play in the NCAAs - regardless of what happens against Gonzaga.


The Cougars could have or even should have lost to USF, but they performed well enough to win. That's what counts. For all of their offensive struggles, they kept battling defensively at the end of regulation, keeping the Dons from scoring in the last three minutes. And then they surged ahead in overtime, thanks to three more defensive stops.


So now comes BYU-Gonzaga III. The Bulldogs won by 15 points at home in January; the Cougars won by eight points at home Feb. 20.


Gonzaga barely survived a tough battle with Santa Clara in the WCC quarterfinals before throttling Saint Mary's in the semis; BYU outlasted USF in the semis after toying with Loyola Marymount.


Based on Monday's level of effort and degree of difficulty, the Cougars may find themselves in a similar position as in 2011, when they wore down in a loss to San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament's championship game in Las Vegas.


'I know we'll get a great effort,' Rose said. 'Hopefully we can sustain it for 40 minutes.'


The Cougars needed 45 minutes Monday to put themselves in this position. The bottom line is they did what they had to do - for the sake of this tournament, and the bigger one to come.


kkragthorpe@sltrib.com


Twitter: @tribkurt


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