BYU vs. Southern Utah Box Score
BYU vs. Southern Utah Game Recap
Individual Notes
Jake Toolson’s 22 points is a new season high as he scored 13 in the second half to help the Cougars secure the win. He added three assists and a pair of rebounds on the night.
Scoring back-to-back treys in the opening minutes of the game, Dalton Nixon matched his career-high for 3s in a game and has hit a 3-pointer in all three games this season. His 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists were season-highs and he matched his career-best two steals.
Kolby Lee had a career-best seven points and two assists while grabbing two rebounds.
TJ Haws scored 10 points, all in the first half, for a new season high for points in the first period of play.
Team Notes
The first half ended with BYU on top 36-31, the Cougars shot 43.8 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from 3 while the Thunderbirds recorded 52.0 percent from the field and were 0-7 from beyond the arc.
Defensively, the Cougars held Southern Utah to zero percent on their 3-pointers, but the Thunderbirds recorded 50.0 percent from the field and scored 46 points in the paint. BYU shot 38.3 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from beyond the arc and 70.0 percent from the charity stripe.
Postgame Quotes
BYU guard Jake Toolson
On the 3-pointer he made in the end
"They were trying to keep us on the same side of the floor by icing the screens. Coach called a set we have and I knew the shot clock was running down and I wanted to get a good look and I stepped up."
On SUU's play
"I knew they just had a big win against Nebraska. They were feeling really good and they were coming in hungry. That was a good team and we knew it was going to be a fight. That was our mindset coming into the game. I think we got good shots offensively, but I think we can go back and watch the film and make adjustments. We have to do what we do. We put in a lot of work during the summer and during the year to be able to shoot those shots. We can’t afford not to take them."
On the first road game of the season coming up
"We’re hungry. It’s exciting. From what I heard last year, it wasn’t good. We’re going to be some road warriors and keep doing what we do."
BYU guard Evan Troy
On the teams defensive plan
"Number 3 was just getting downhill and he had quite a lot of personal runs. They told me to get on him and guard him and don’t let him get to the rim. He didn’t shoot a three-pointer tonight. We stuck to the game plan and it worked out for us."
On his role on the court
"Growing up, you always look for these moments. Close game and in-state rivalry. I just needed to step up and help the team win. That’s all I can ask for."
BYU head coach Mark Pope
On tonight's game
“Couldn’t be happier for the guys, in-state games are awesome. They matter, they mean something. They turn into ridiculousness most often in good ways, in bad ways. They’re super competitive, there was some jawing going on before the game, there was some jawing going on after the game, it just makes the game fun. I’m super happy for our guys that they were able to gut it out, grit through it. It was a great win for us, Southern Utah is a good team. Their coach is doing a great job and they’ve already won a couple games, big games, they’re going to make some noise this season.”
On holding them to nine points in the last 10 minutes
“We struggled for the first 30 minutes just managing penetration and trusting the numbers a little bit. It was actually a completely different way from what we guard every day in practice. We were breaking all our principles by not being on the same catch, getting to gaps with certain guys. It took us a while to trust that which is understandable. This is a really explosive team with some incredible athletes. This young man, number three, Knight, he’s a pretty special athlete. Played against him last year at Utah State, he was a monster on the offensive glass. They’re long and athletic, they’re a great group. For us to get stops down the stretch even when things felt so wrong, I’m super proud of our guys. For them to be focused enough and believe in that part of the game and gut it out till the end was really, really fantastic.”
On what you learned about your team
“They’re going to keep fighting. We’re sort of running on fumes, seems like our roster gets shorter by the day. Jake didn’t practice the last couple of days, we weren’t sure if he would be able to go tonight for us. He gutted it out. Then you have to reach down your bench and grab a guy like Evan Troy, you wouldn’t assume that he would be the defensive stopper, but he was fantastic tonight defensively, staying in front of his guy and stopping him. I think I know that this group is tough, I know that they’re together. I know they don’t want to let each other down. There are some things that I know that we can be the best in the country at and one of those things is being together and trying to take care of each other because we have that type of locker room."