BYU basketball: Seldom-used Winder delivers off the bench for Cougars in big win

Santa Clara, Calif. • Having celebrated a birthday last Monday, BYU guard Anson Winder joked after Saturday's 82-64 win over Santa Clara that "you grow up a lot when you turn 21."

Actually, there might be something to his little proclamation, after Winder played one of his best games as a Cougar — certainly his best game this season — in the West Coast Conference road game at the Leavey Center.

Inserted into the game early in the first half for his defensive prowess on Santa Clara scoring machine Kevin Foster as much as anything else, Winder sparked the Cougars at both ends of the floor.

He had a season-high 10 points — giving him a grand total of 24 on the year — grabbed four rebounds and came up with a block and a steal in 13 minutes.

Winder "was just a huge spark," said Tyler Haws, who led the Cougars with 24 points. "Whenever Anson can come in and provide that defensive presence, like he did, and get his hands on loose balls, it helps. He got a few layups and was just a big spark for our team."

Defensively, Winder's value was especially evident in the first half, when Foster had just nine points on 4-for-7 shooting. Winder grew up in Las Vegas playing AAU ball with SCU's Evan Roquemore, but the "other" Nevadan in the game struggled, going 1 for 10 and scoring just three points in 33 minutes.

"It was a team effort, and I thought that Anson was great off the bench," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "We challenged Ans. We knew we needed to help him with those three guards, Roquemore, [Raymond] Cowels and Foster, and we needed his defensive presence in the game."

Rose said Winder, who has played three positions this year, was told in practice Friday that he would back up starting point guard Matt Carlino in this game.

"Anson knows our stuff," Rose said. "He got in there, scored quick, hit a couple free throws, got a lot of confidence — and then his defensive presence was really good for us tonight, and the 13, 14 minutes he played was probably the best we've had from him this season."

Battling a sprained ankle when the season began, Winder had played just 77 total minutes before Saturday. For his part, Winder said he has figured out that defense is going to earn him some playing time.

"Coaches have been trying to keep me upbeat, and I have been talking to my family a lot. They just tell me to stay ready," Winder said. "I have been practicing hard and just trying to stay ready for when my number is called." —

BYU's Anson Winder Breaks Out

Season averages

Minutes Points Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals

5.9 1.1 0.7 0.5 0.1 0.3

Saturday's game

Minutes Points Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals

14 10 4 0 1 1