STOCKTON, Calif. – Jake Toolson and Yoeli Childs combined for 54 points to give the BYU men’s basketball team to a 74-60 win over Pacific on Thursday night in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
"We didn’t start out the game great and when I say that it’s not because our guys weren’t locked in," BYU head coach Mark Pope said. "They knew how hard this was going to be and wanted to compete. Sometimes you just need to get popped before you feel right on the floor. They responded great."
Toolson scored a career-best 28 points on 10 of 15 shooting, including six 3-pointers while adding six rebounds and two assists. Childs recorded 26 points, nine rebounds, one block and one assist.
The Tigers (15-7, 3-3 WCC) jumped to an early 8-0 lead just three minutes into the game. Toolson scored the first basket for the Cougars (15-6, 4-2 WCC) and was followed by three free throws by TJ Haws to bring BYU within three, 8-5.
With 13 minutes to play in the first half, a layup by Dalton Nixon evened the game at 12-all. A layup by Toolson gave the Cougars their first lead of the game, 15-14, but Pacific answered with a 3-pointer and a jumper to regain a four-point advantage.
A trey by Alex Barcello evened the game at 21-all as BYU went on a 10-0 run to take a 28-21 lead with 8:03 remaining in the half. The Tigers managed to put together a run of their own to take back the advantage, 29-28, but Toolson answered with a bucket from beyond the arc to aid the Cougars to a 33-29 lead at halftime.
In the first half, BYU recorded 50.0 percent shooting from the field compared to Pacific’s 43.3 percent. Childs and Toolson led the offense with nine points while Barcello added five.
On the first possession of the second half, Haws found an open Childs at the rim to score the first basket of the half. Another Childs’ jumper in the paint and a 3-pointer from Toolson extended the lead to 40-31.
Despite runs by the Tigers’ offense, BYU was able to stay on top as Childs, Toolson and Haws hit big shots. However, back-to-back treys by Pacific put the Tigers on top, 53-51, with 10:41 remaining in the game.
Five-straight points from Toolson and a Childs layup gave the Cougars a 60-53 advantage. Toolson then caught fire, draining three-straight baskets from behind the arc to extend BYU’s lead to 69-53 with five minutes to play, forcing a timeout by Pacific and ultimately securing the win for the Cougars. The Cougar run reached 21-0 for a BYU game-high lead of 72-53.
On the game, BYU shot 54.0 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from 3 and 73.3 percent from the charity stripe. The Tigers recorded 39.7 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from beyond the arc and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.
The Cougars continue conference action on the road at San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. PST. The game will be televised on KJZZ in Utah streamed on Stadium with audio broadcasts available on BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM), BYU Sports Network and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.
Postgame Notes
TJ Haws made his 122nd-consecutive start against Pacific. His streak is tied with Jeff Chatman for the longest streak of consecutive starts in BYU history.
After missing the previous four games due to injury, Yoeli Childs finished with 26 points on 11 of 20 shooting. It marks his fifth 20-point game this season and 38th of his career. Childs is now tied with Kresimir Cosic for sixth-most 20-point games in BYU history.
Jake Toolson scored a career-best 28 points and tied his career high with six 3-pointers. It marks his ninth game this season with three-plus 3s and extends his streak to 10-straight games with a 3-pointer. He has hit a 3 in all but one game this season. Toolson has scored in double figures 17 times and reached 20-plus points six times.
Trailing 53-51 with 10:39 to go, BYU scored 21-straight points over the next seven minutes. Jake Toolson scored 14 of the first 18 during the run, hitting four 3-pointers.
Postgame Quotes
BYU guard Jake Toolson
On tonight’s win
"That was such a fun game and I am glad we pulled it out. I think the most important thing for us was we were able to get stops and when we get stops, we are able to push it and do what we do on this side of the ball. I saw a few go through and I knew that I was feeling it so I just tried to get good looks at the rim."
On Yoeli’s return from his injury
"It’s so good to have him back and he impacts the game in so many ways. I am really happy that he is back. It’s been up and down for him but he’s been so positive and is so crucial to this team whether he is on the court or not."
BYU head coach Mark Pope
On the 21-0 run
"We didn’t start out the game great and when I say that it’s not because our guys weren’t locked in. They knew how hard this was going to be and wanted to compete. Sometimes you just need to get popped before you feel right on the floor. They responded great."
On Toolson’s performance
"That was impressive. He put on a show tonight in the last 10 minutes and the thing was he was doing it in the context of what we do."
"I am just happy for all of our guys tonight and especially for Jake. He has fought for a long time and on such a long road. He understood what a big game this was and he sure did perform."