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MALIBU, Calif. — BYU’s longstanding losing streak on the beach is over.
Elijah Bryant scored a game-high 25 points, including every BYU free throw in overtime, to help the Cougars to a 75-70 win Thursday night at Pepperdine in West Coast Conference play.
The win was BYU’s first victory in Malibu, California, since 2012. The Cougars improved to just 4-5 all-time at Pepperdine.
Yoeli Childs had 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks to lead the Cougars (21-7, 10-5 WCC).
"This was a really hard-fought game," BYU coach Dave Rose said in a team statement. "Defense is what won this game for us. We had segments of time during this game where we were really determined defensively. We had a nice rhythm early in the game, but then it just became really hard for us to get in a rhythm scoring. We stayed in there and really fought defensively."
Freshman Trae Berhow led Pepperdine (4-23, 1-14 WCC) with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Bryant’s and-one play gave the Cougars a three-point lead with just 12.8 seconds left in overtime, and it was all BYU needed to snap its lengthy road hex against the Waves.
BYU led by as much as 28-21 with 3:26 remaining in the first half, but the Waves finished the half on a tear and took a 36-34 lead at the break.
From there, it was an uphill battle, with the Cougars staring at a potential fifth-straight loss to Pepperdine in Malibu.
AND ANOTHER ONE!@Elijah_Bryant3 converts a 3-point play to give @BYUbasketball the lead with less than a minute left in OT. Watch the finish ➡️ https://t.co/bhSFTCKuLRpic.twitter.com/NKxn7HZkL1
— #WCCHOOPS (@WCChoops) February 16, 2018
Jahshire Hardnett’s 3-pointer capped an 11-3 run that put the Cougars up by four with five minutes to play. But Pepperdine matched BYU’s six 3-pointers to help force the extra session.
Hardnett finished with nine points and five rebounds for the Cougars. TJ Haws had five points and five assists, and Dalton Nixon supplied eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench.
BYU travels to San Diego for a 2 p.m. MST tipoff Saturday.
