PROVO — Elijah Bryant watched a year ago from his perfect view behind the BYU bench as Pacific took a 77-72 win in the Marriott Center, effectively ending the Cougars’ at-large NCAA Tournament chances on a February afternoon.

So, yeah, he was motivated.

Bryant had 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Eric Mika tallied his ninth double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds to help BYU cruise past the Tigers 91-62 on Saturday night.

“I saw the loss,” Bryant said. “I knew they beat us last year, and I was ready to play.”

TJ Haws scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, freshman Yoeli Childs supplied 14 points and eight rebounds, and Nick Emery added 12 points for the Cougars (12-5, 3-1 WCC).

Bryant drilled a pair of 3-pointers in his second game with the Cougars after missing a month with a knee injury to pace a BYU offense that assisted on 19 of 31 field goals and drained 10 treys.

The former Elon leading scorer came off the bench in the first half to lead all scorers en route to BYU’s 47-29 halftime lead.

“I’m proud of the guys,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “I think they responded well to a missed opportunity the other night (against Saint Mary’s). I thought defensively we were pretty good to start the game against a really good offensive rebounding team.”

Anthony Townes scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half to lead Pacific (7-10, 1-3 WCC), and teammate Jacob Lampkin added 10 points and four rebounds.

Rust-free Eli

Bryant played in just his second game since a knee injury sidelined him Nov. 23 against Valparaiso. The Elon transfer who sat out last season per NCAA regulations returned at Saint Mary’s, scoring 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting in the 81-68 loss to the No. 19 Gaels.

Against the Tigers, he was much more efficient for a BYU team that hit 51 percent of its shots. Bryant hit a 3-pointer midway through the first half to halt Pacific’s first attempt at a run, and he was the only player to drain multiple first-half triples on either team.

“My confidence is definitely coming back,” said Bryant, who scored in double figures just once in five games prior to his injury. “The guys have been building up my confidence, and it’s definitely helped a lot to see the ball finally go in the hoop.”

Yet while his knee isn't “100 percent,” he still feel likes he can be better — and his coach agrees.

“He’s a guy who is extremely versatile,” Rose said of Bryant. “He can score off the dribble, he’s a good 3-point shooter, he’s strong around the rim in finishing. We missed him, but I think in the process, a couple of other guys have developed for us.

“Hopefully it will make us better.”

Air Mika

It may not be news anymore, because he can do it every game. But Mika showed off some high-flying theatrics and overpowering array on the glass Saturday night against the hapless Tigers, even racing down the court to finish off a pair of lobs from his former Lone Peak teammate Haws.

“It’s nice when you have a big guy who runs the floor,” Haws said. “Those first few steps he takes, he outruns pretty much everyone. To have him run the floor like that, we try to work on it. And we’ve known each other for a long time, so it helps.”

Mika had his ninth double-double of the season in just 20 minutes of playing time, and entered the game second on the team with 17 dunks — just two behind Childs.

Mighty Mouse in the Marriott

Pacific head coach Damon Stoudamire is one of four new coaches in the West Coast Conference, and he was the second to play in Provo after Santa Clara’s Herb Sendek opened conference play in the Marriott Center.

Portland, whose game against No. 5 Gonzaga was postponed Saturday for storms in the Pacific Northwest, recently hired former Trailblazers great Terry Porter, while former Columbia coach Kyle Smith took over the head job at San Francisco.

T.J. Wallace has been one of the Tigers’ leading scorers this season, but BYU held him to just six points in 18 minutes.

“I think Nick did a really good job early. And then our post guys were really active,” Rose said.

“TJ can post up Wallace, and we did a good job containing him.”

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