PROVO, Utah – Brandon Davies had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead BYU to a 90-71 victory over Mercer in the second round of the NIT on Monday night.
Tyler Haws added 24 points, and Matt Carlino had 18 points and nine assists for the Cougars (23-11).
Travis Smith scored 19 points for Mercer (24-12) and Langston Hall added 15. Smith and Hall combined to hit 8 of 10 shots from 3-point range.
BYU used an 11-3 run to open the game and took a 28-11 lead after Carlino hit the third of his five 3s. The Bears scored 10 straight to cut the margin to four but trailed 44-35 at the break.
A 3-pointer by Hall cut BYU's lead back to four early in the second half, but the Cougars put together a 15-3 spurt to lead 80-63.
BYU hit 22 of 29 free throws to Mercer's 8 of 14 from the line. The Cougars outrebounded the Bears 43-31.
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