BYU vs. Pepperdine Postgame Notes
PROVO, Utah – Elijah Bryant and Yoeli Childs led BYU to a dominant 83-63 win over Pepperdine Thursday night in the Marriott Center.
"This was a good bounce-back win for our guys," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "The first half they had us spread out pretty well. I think we made some nice adjustments at halftime and were much more aggressive offensively in the second half."
Bryant led the Cougars with 25 points and was 5 from 8 in the 3-point range. Childs tied his career-high of six assists, contributed 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. TJ Haws added 10 points and McKay Cannon had eight off the bench.
A free-throw and layup from Childs gave BYU (14-4, 3-2 WCC) the edge over Pepperdine (3-14, 0-5 WCC) early in the game. Jahshire Hardnett contributed a 3-pointer, helping the Cougars maintain their early lead of 6-2. With under sixteen minutes remaining, Bryant scored a 3-pointer and grabbed a steal that resulted in a layup to give BYU a 13-9 advantage.
Childs scored three consecutive dunks, giving the Cougars a 19-14 lead with 12:15 remaining in the half. The Waves continued to stay in the game, and with a tied score of 24-all with under seven minutes left in the half, a pair of Bryant free-throws pulled the Cougars ahead 26-24.
Buckets from Zac Seljaas, Bryant and Haws maintained the steady BYU lead the rest of the half, sending the Cougars into halftime on top 40-34.
At halftime, Bryant and Childs led the offense with 14 points apiece. BYU shot 60.9 percent from the field, while Pepperdine shot 56 percent.
Back-to-back Bryant 3-pointers and a Childs jumper gave BYU momentum early in the second half to extend the Cougar lead to 48-36. Buckets from Bryant and Seljaas gave BYU an 18-point lead with just over fifteen minutes remaining in the second half.
After the Waves went on a 5-0 run, the Cougars answered with a trey by Cannon and a jumper by Haws to keep BYU on top 71-47. A free throw from Luke Worthington gave BYU a 25-point lead, the largest of the night.
Free-throws from Haws and Evan Troy late in the second half solidified the Cougars' domination over the Waves 83-63.
The Cougars finished the game shooting 58.3 percent from the field, while Pepperdine shot 48 percent.
BYU goes back on the road as they take on Santa Clara on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. PST. The game will be televised on BYUtv and audio broadcasts can be heard on BYU Sports Network, BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143) and KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM.