BYU basketball: Sharp shows up when other Cougars struggle

Spokane, Wash. • While his former Lone Peak High teammate Tyler Haws played perhaps his worst game as a BYU Cougar on Thursday night, sophomore Josh Sharp played maybe his best.

It wasn't enough, though, as the Cougars lost 83-63 at Gonzaga in a pivotal West Coast Conference matchup.

Sharp tied Brandon Davies for team-high scoring honors with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, and kept the game from getting really, really ugly in the first half with 10 points in the first 20 minutes.

"I just had some opportunities because they were focusing on other guys," Sharp said.

Badgered at every turn, Haws went 0 for 9 from the field and finished with a single point, on a free throw with less than eight minutes remaining.

"I think Josh was the guy that was kinda let free," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "They were running guys at Ty, so we got the ball to Josh, and Josh made some big plays, got to the free-throw line. ... I thought he played really hard and [was] really effective."

Sharp is probably the most mild-mannered player on BYU's team, but he was hit with a technical foul with 1:08 remaining in the first half after getting tangled up with Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk.

When he was called for the foul, Sharp says he "gave a look to the ref and got a technical." He called it "a dumb play" on his part.

Olynyk made all four free throws to push Gonzaga's lead to 40-19 and was a perfect 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.

"Josh kinda disagreed with the call," BYU coach Dave Rose said when he was asked what the official's explanation was for the technical.

Not only did the Zags dominate the Cougars in the shooting department, they also controlled the glass. Gonzaga outrebounded BYU 37-29, including 10 offensive rebounds. Still, second-chance points were about even — 13 for BYU and 12 for Gonzaga.