PROVO — Maybe it just wasn't BYU's night.

Saint Mary’s scored one point over the final seven minutes of play, but the No. 22 Gaels still defeated BYU 70-57 in the Marriott Center on a senior night devoid of active seniors on the roster and with little drama or electricity.

Eric Mika led all scorers with 18 points, but the Cougars (19-10, 10-6 West Coast Conference) couldn’t make up for the Gaels’ one-two punch of Calvin Hermanson (17 points, six rebounds) and Evan Fitzner (15 points, six rebounds).

BYU used a flurry of late boards to outrebound the Gaels 37-32, but couldn’t make up for a slow start and the Saint Mary’s defensive precision.

Frustrating, right?

“I’m frustrated,” said BYU’s TJ Haws, who scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. “I feel like we’re better than we showed tonight. But I think this team will stick together. We’ve still got another shot, and right now is where this team either breaks or comes together.

“I think this team is going to come together and get back at it next week.”

BYU has lost games before, and falling to the No. 22 team in the nation certainly isn’t worse than losing to San Diego or Pepperdine.

But the way BYU lost — a lack of precision, an inability to take advantage of the Gaels’ early foul troubles, and Saint Mary’s lockdown on the perimeter (the Cougars shot just 4 of 14 from 3-point range) can’t be underestimated.

“You get a few opportunities during the season, and every one of them we’ve had we haven’t played our best,” BYU coach Dave Rose said.

The Cougars have one more regular season game against a nationally ranked opponent next Saturday against Gonzaga, who should still be ranked No. 1 in the country, in the regular season finale in Spokane, Washington.

“They’ll come back Monday. They’ll get going; they have a lot to play for,” Rose said. “We’ll get another opportunity next Saturday to play another nationally ranked team. Hopefully we can get better.”

Here are a few takeaways from the evening.

Childs is still healthy

The biggest groan of the night came when freshman Yoeli Childs was helped off the court by injured senior Kyle Davis and the BYU athletic training staff.

Childs then produced the biggest sigh of the night when he re-entered the game a few minutes later to a rousing applause after rolling his ankle and being examined in the locker room.

“I was proud of Yo to come back after turning that ankle,” Rose said. “We’ll see how he responds in the next day or two. Hopefully that thing doesn’t swell big.

“He came in and fought, and gave us all he could, but it wasn’t enough tonight.”

Childs’ play was a bright spot for BYU. The former Bingham High standout finished with 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.

Santiago’s benefit treys

The best 3-point shot of the first half, when BYU made just 3 of 9 from deep, came from BYU associate athletic director Brian Santiago.

The Provo native shot 3-pointers to raise money for local charity Five for the Fight at halftime, and the one-time Provo High spot-up shooter raised more than $11,000 for the Qualtrics-founded charity that will debut jersey sponsorship with the Utah Jazz in 2018.

Santiago played college ball for Fresno State, where he averaged 9.9 points and 6.4 assists in two seasons with the Bulldogs of the old Western Athletic Conference.

Anyone know if he has any eligibility left?

Celebrating seniors

They weren’t able to suit up, but BYU celebrated its two seniors in Davis and point guard L.J. Rose in a pregame ceremony with both families.

Davis’ career ended before WCC play began with a knee injury, while Rose recently underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus that will keep him out at least for the remainder of the regular season.

But both players addressed the team in the locker room before their second home contest with a nationally ranked opponent.

“I’ve never had a senior night where we didn’t have one of them in the game,” coach Rose said. “I wanted them to participate in this event … and they were both great. That leadership can help you from the bench. But tonight, we needed a little bit more out there.”

A lack of senior leadership has been a major storyline in the Cougars’ season, even when both players were healthy. Few teams have as few upper classmen as BYU.

But both Davis and L.J. Rose can teach the younger players a significant lesson.

“A lot of it was just the mentality,” Haws said. “That team made a lot of runs on us, and it was a tough defensive and offensive team. They’re very poised and disciplined, and I want our team to fight. When they punch us in the face, I want us to punch right back.

“I just want us to fight every possession.”

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