Field Level Media
Feb 20, 2020
TJ Haws went 12-for-12 from the free throw line, scored 28 points and had nine assists to lead No. 23 BYU to an 85-75 win over Santa Clara on Thursday in Provo, Utah.
Yoeli Childs added 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Jake Toolson had 20 points and 10 boards for BYU (22-7, 11-3 West Coast Conference). The Cougars won their seventh consecutive game.
Josip Vrankic led the Broncos (18-10, 5-8) with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Tahj Eaddy chipped in with 11 points, and Keshawn Justice had 10 points and eight boards for Santa Clara, which lost for the fourth straight game.
After BYU was in control for most of the first 20 minutes, Santa Clara erased a 12-point deficit and took a 49-47 lead with 13:25 left in the game. Eaddy's 3-pointer gave the Broncos their first lead since 2-0.
The teams traded baskets, and the game was tied nine times until the Cougars opened up a 72-66 lead on a Toolson layup and four free throws by Haws.
After Vrankic made one of two free throws, Connor Harding's basket gave BYU a seven-point lead with just under three minutes left.
The Cougars quickly put the game on ice, opening up an 81-69 advantage on a 3-pointer by Childs.
BYU came into the game leading the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage at 42.6 percent. Against Santa Clara, the Cougars made only 2 of 8 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half and finished 3 of 13 for the game.
The Broncos led 2-0 on a layup by Jaden Bediako. Toolson's jumper gave the Cougars the lead at 6-4.
Childs capped an 11-2 run with a jumper in the paint to put BYU up 19-8. With just under two minutes to go in the half, Childs' layup gave the Cougars their largest lead of the first half at 38-26.
BYU took a 40-30 edge into intermission.
--Field Level Media