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PROVO — When Rice opened Wednesday night’s game against BYU with single-team coverage against BYU star Yoeli Childs, the matchup looked favorable.
Eventually, the Owls changed that strategy with a few double teams, packing the paint and forcing the Cougars to hit outside shots.
And then something weird happened — or at least, weird considering the Cougars entered their sixth game of the season as a 27.3 percent shooting team from 3-point range.
BYU hit a shot — and another. And another, as well.
A team that started breaking out of an offensive funk against lackluster Alabama A&M was finding its rhythm.
Childs poured in 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and BYU drained 10 3-pointers, to lift the Cougars to their highest offensive output in two years with a 105-78 win over Rice in the penultimate game of the on-campus Men Against Breast Cancer Cougar Cup in the Marriott Center.
TJ Haws added 18 points and eight assists for the Cougars (5-1), who got 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from Jahshire Hardnett.
“We haven’t been shooting it as good as we want all season,” said Hardnett, who was 3-of-4 from 3-point range to lead the barrage. “But we finally saw some of them go in, and that was a good thing in the first half. In the second half, the confidence was up and the rim was just bigger than we thought it was.”
Ako Adams scored 17 points to lead Rice, which shot 55 percent from the field in the first half but finished with 46 percent.
The Owls (3-3) entered the game allowing 79.8 points per game in the first five contests of the season. They finished the contest shooting 45.3 percent from the field, including just 36.4 percent from 3-point range with a 3-of-10 effort from beyond the arc.
Drew Peterson added 11 points and four rebounds for the Owls, who got 12 points off the bench from Robert Martin.
“It was the best offensive night of the season for us, so far,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “We were really sharing the ball early, and we played at a good pace.”
Connor Harding had nine points and seven rebounds off the bench for BYU, and Mckay Cannon supplied a season-high eight points on 3-of-3 shooting for a Cougar squad that allowed 55 percent shooting in the first half and just 12-of-33 (36 percent) after the break.
“I think defensively, we really talked about having an edge,” Haws said. “We’ve talked all year about defending as a team, more in the gaps, helping each other. It’s not just one guy, but everyone guarding everyone.”
Content to run with the fast-paced Cougars, Rice scored on six-straight trips to take a 19-16 edge. But Childs sparked a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from the elbow, and the Cougars regained control on Hardnett’s driving scoring, 23-19 with 10:52 left in the half.
The run culminated with Cannon’s trey that gave the Cougars a 30-23 lead en route to a 54-43 halftime advantage.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field, with BYU out-shooting the Owls 58-54, including a 7-of-16 effort from 3-point range. Childs led all scorers with 15 points and five rebounds, while Haws added 12 points and five assists.
The 54 halftime points and seven halftime threes set a season-high for the Cougars, who averaged just 27.3 percent from deep in the first five games of the season.
“I thought that was a really good challenge for our guys, and we responded really well,” Rose said. “They had a great plan against us early, and they spread us out and drove us to the basket.
“I think we got better at guarding it as the game went on. But there are things that we are going to have to do to guard dribble-penetration and still guard shooters.”
BYU’s defense — or the Owls' lack-of-shooting — showed up in the second half.
Rylan Bergersen capped a 12-0 run with a layup that pushed the Cougars’ lead to 72-52 midway through the second half.
Back-to-back dunks from Childs just moments later kept the lead at 22, 79-57, and the Owls never threatened again.
“I think we’ve been pushing the ball a lot recently, and we’re getting good looks that haven’t been falling for us as much as we’d like,” Haws said.
“(Wednesday night’s win) proves that when we shoot the ball like this, we can be a dangerous team — and defend well. It’s fun to see the shots go, and when you are feeling it, it’s fun to get others involved as well.”
Next up
The Cougars wrap up the school-hosted Cougar Cup with a 4 p.m. tipoff Saturday afternoon against Houston, which is Dave Rose’s alma mater. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and KSL Newsradio.
