SAN DIEGO, Calif. – TJ Haws and Yoeli Childs combined for 62 points to lead the BYU men’s basketball team to an 88-82 overtime victory over San Diego Thursday night in Jenny Craig Pavilion.
"It’s fun now that it’s over but it was a grind during the game, and I am proud of the guys," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "Defensively, 12 steals and 18 turnovers are where we won the game. We won the game with active hands and feet. They are good but I just think that our resolve got better as the game went on."
Haws scored a career-high 35 points while recording seven assists, three rebounds and two steals. Childs contributed 27 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
A pair of free throws and a transition 3 pointer put the Toreros (16-10, 5-6 WCC) on top, 5-0 to start the game. Childs answered with a trey of his own to put the Cougars (17-10, 9-3 WCC) on the board.
Back-to-back buckets from beyond the arc extended San Diego’s lead to double-digits, 18-6, forcing a timeout by BYU with 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
Connor Harding and Haws combined for seven-consecutive points to bring the Cougars within seven, 24-17, with 9:38 on the clock.
Childs drained a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to cut into the deficit, 28-23, but the Toreros continued to score, taking a 39-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the first half, BYU shot 40.7 percent from the field compared to San Diego’s 54.2 percent. Childs led all scorers with 15 points.
McKay Cannon kicked off the second period with a trey, but the Toreros didn’t slow down, taking a 51-37 lead early in the second half.
Haws led the Cougars on an 8-0 run to bring the score to 53-47 with 14 minutes remaining in the game as he surpassed his dad, Marty Haws, in career points at BYU.
With 9:48 on the clock, Zac Seljaas drained a long 3-pointer to pull the Cougars within one, 60-59.
Haws evened the game at 67-all with 6:26 to play after hitting a jumper and a bucket from beyond the arc.
A bucket from beyond the arc by Cannon gave BYU its first lead of the night, 70-69, with just over four minutes on the clock.
With under a minute to play, Haws knocked in a jumper to give the Cougars a 74-73 lead and forced San Diego to take a timeout with 33 seconds on the clock.
BYU held a 75-73 with two seconds left but the Toreros finished at the basket to send the game into overtime.
After San Diego hit a pair of free throws to open overtime, Haws tied the game and Childs scored five-straight points to five the Cougars an 82-77 advantage. After the Toreros pulled within two, Haws outscored San Diego 6-2 down the stretch to help the Cougars secure the victory.
Haws and Childs combined for 12 points in the overtime to lead the Cougars to the 88-82 win.
On the game, BYU shot 48.4 percent from the field, 52.4 percent from 3 and 65.4 percent from the free throw line. San Diego recorded 52 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent from the charity stripe.
The Cougars continue on the road at Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Feb. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. PST and will be televised live on Root Sports and will be streamed on TheW.tv. Audio broadcasts can be heard on BYU Sports Network, BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM) and KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM.
Postgame Notes
TJ Haws scored a career-best 35 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the field, 3 of 5 from 3 and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. He added seven assists and two steals.
Yoeli Childs posted his 15th double-double of the season with 27 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
McKay Cannon tied his career high with three 3-pointers. He finished with 10 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.
BYU overcame a 14-point deficit (51-37 with 16:48 remaining) to win 88-82. It was the team's biggest comeback of the season.
Postgame Quotes
BYU guard TJ Haws
On tonight’s game
This place is a tough place to play. To win two games on the road you have to win the first one. They came out with a tough mentality and they were making a lot of shots and we weathered the storm. We really just battled all night on both ends of the floor and we came away on top.
On passing Marty on scoring
A huge shout out to my dad. I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today without him. His mentorship and just who he is and how he has helped me become who I am as a person. On the court he is an amazing man and he understands the game so well and he has really helped me become the basketball player that I am today.
BYU head coach Dave Rose
On tonight’s win
It’s fun now that it’s over but it was a grind during the game, and I am proud of the guys. It looked like San Diego was going to put us away a couple of times, but the guys had a tremendous resolve to continue to guard. Defensively, 12 steals and 18 turnovers are where we won the game. We won the game with active hands and feet. They are good but I just think that our resolve got better as the game went on. Finally, we got the lead and it felt real for the guys and they wanted to go out and finish it.
On TJ’s performance
We challenged TJ to be a little more aggressive and he had a real look in his eye tonight and was just real aggressive. We ran a couple plays for 3-point shots and he buried those.
On game at LMU
LMU has played Gonzaga well both times. We know they are a really good team and will try to control the tempo. We did a good job at our place to control their best player. We will get the stats and film and put a game plan together. It will see how they respond with the early tipoff but I know our guys will compete because they are in a good frame of mind right now.