Player Notes
Yoeli Childs scored 19 points for his 29th game in double-figures. He also grabbed eight rebounds and had one block.
Elijah Bryant contributed 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. He scored two treys, giving him multiple 3-pointers in 23 games this season.
Jahshire Hardnett recorded his sixth career game with double-digit points, scoring 11. He also tied his career-high two 3-pointers in a single game.
Team Notes
In the first half, BYU shot 48.4 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from the 3-point line and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe.
At the conclusion of the game, the Cougars shot 38.6 percent from the field, 30.0 percent from beyond the arc and 68.2 percent from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot 55.4 percent from the field, the highest percentage a team has shot against BYU this season.
The Marriott Center had a sell out crowd tonight with 18,987 in attendance.
Postgame quotes
BYU guard Elijah Bryant
On the difference in this game
"They hit shots and we couldn't. It's pretty much plain and simple. We had open shots and they just weren't going down.They have a lot of guys so we have to guard them. They have a ton of guys off the bench, making it difficult at times, but we just have to hit shots to put ourselves in a better position."
What separates BYU with St. Mary's and Gonzaga?
"A few wins probably. Other than that, we're just as good as them but they have won a few games that we let slip."
On what makes the difference in getting shots to fall
"It's just confidence a long with getting defensive stops. If we don't make shots, then we can't get stops. It's a recipe for disaster. We need to make shots in the tournament and get some wins."
BYU guard Jahshire Hardnett
What was the difference in this game
"First half we started making shots. We started off slow and we eventually started making shots. In the second half we couldn't get them to fall like we wanted to and they played with a sense of urgency."
What is the takeaway from this loss going into the tournament?
"I think this loss will help a lot next week. We will have a lot of urgency to put ourselves into position on the defensive end. We've seen what happened this game and next game we have to make more shots and defend with more urgency. I hope that's what we get out of it."
BYU assistant head coach Tim LaComb
On tonight's game
First of all, congratulations to Gonzaga for winning the championship. We competed with them in stretches, but they had several guys step up and make plays and that's what championship teams do. We were happy with some moments. In the first half it could've gotten away from us, but our guys really showed some character and got that thing back. We just have to move forward and get ready for next week and the tournament."
On Gonzaga's performance
"Gonzaga has great players. To their credit, the players all understand that everyone gets a turn. They tend to make the right play, which is really impressive. With that many guys playing together it is kind of what you hope for. They did a great job and when it was a guy’s opportunity they took advantage of it. They hit timely three's and it’s really hard to guard that. I thought that our guys did a pretty good job with it. We had some mix-ups and offensively we hit the skids so the lead got pushed out a little bit."
On the season
"There are nights you wish you could have had a shot here or a shot there and nights were you wish you could have just shot better. I will say that our team, through the ups and downs, stuck together. They held their heads high and we’ve got really good kids. We are looking forward to the post season. I think we are locked into that third spot and we will see how it works out."
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few
On tonight's game
“It was just a great win. A complete game for us with the way we played defense in the second half. BYU has a really good offensive team and those top-three [Elijah Bryant, Yoeli Childs and TJ Haws] are a handful. They keep an opposing head coach up at night and to hold those three to seven field-goals in the second half is about as good as you hope for. I thought Perkins managed a great game at point guard. We took care of the ball, which when we do, usually our offense is pretty good. Tonight we were making shots and spreading it around so it was just a complete game.”
“Johnathan Williams had some baskets early and kind of got things under control in this building. This building can get rocking and is just such a great college basketball environment. We felt like we kept the crowd at bay even though they made a couple good runs.”