HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) Brock Zylstra's fifth 3-pointer of the first half swished through the net and BYU's bench broke out in wild cheers.

The 6-foot-6 guard is usually an afterthought in the Cougars' prolific offense, but he was impossible to miss on Wednesday, helping BYU easily beat Southern Miss 79-62 in the NIT quarterfinals.

Tyler Haws led the Cougars with 25 points, but it was Zylstra's 23 points - including 18 in the first half - that sparked BYU (24-11) to the easy victory. The senior hit 7 of 12 shots, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. He came into the game averaging 7.3 points.