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PROVO — Yoeli Childs was hitting everything Thursday night against Saint Mary’s.
Did he call bank on a 3-pointer from the top of the key? Who knows, but he swished it.
What about a rim-rattling dunk that sent the crowd of 11,427 into a frenzy? Check and check.
Maybe a buzzer-beating fadeaway to end the half with a seven-point lead? Done.
But the most important finish of all was the one the BYU basketball team got in the end.
Childs finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds as BYU beat Saint Mary’s for the first time since 2016, 71-66, late Thursday night in the Marriott Center.
TJ Haws added 17 points and seven assists for the Cougars, who beat the Gaels for the first time in the regular season since a 70-59 victory Feb. 4, 2016 in Provo.
That’s a significant drought for the Cougars, who have had more success historically against every other team in the conference — including Gonzaga when it was ranked in the top-five nationally — than the Gaels.
And it made Thursday night's victory that much sweeter — even "amazing," Childs said.
“It’s up there with beating Utah,” he added. “We’ve had a tough run against those dudes. They’re a really tough team to beat. They slow the ball down, they make great decisions, they are really well-coached, and they execute on offense. They make it really hard for you on defense.
“They’re a great team and it feels great to beat a great team.”
With the win, the Cougars snapped a lengthy futility streak against the Gaels.
A win over Saint Mary’s in last year’s West Coast Conference tournament semifinals was anything but the norm for BYU, which had lost seven of its past nine encounters with a team perennially rated as the second-best team in the conference to Gonzaga.
This year’s Gaels (13-8, 4-2 West Coast Conference) aren't like those year-to-year powers, with losses to the likes of Utah State, UC Irvine and Western Kentucky. But they still boast one of the top scorers in the conference in Jordan Ford, as well as a formidable post presence led by Malik Fitts and Jordan Hunter.
But BYU held Hunter to just six points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes, and kept the Gaels to their lowest scoring output since a 61-57 loss to then-No. 15 Mississippi State back on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas.
“I think that it was a real, quality win for our team,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “Our guys responded well to the disappointing outcome at their place and we weathered a lot of storms. When you had a team to 66 points and they get 17 offensive rebounds, I think it shows a little bit of determination and grit.”
Childs shot 10-of-24 from the field, including 7-of-13 in the first half capped by a fadeaway buzzer-beater that gave BYU what was then a game-high lead of seven, 33-26, at the break.
But he had plenty of help, too.
Freshman Gavin Baxter supplied 10 points and five rebounds for BYU, which improved to 13-9 on the year and 5-2 in West Coast Conference play. Eight players scored for BYU, including seven points and two assists in 17 minutes off the bench from Nick Emery.
But mostly, it was the team defense.
Fadeaway buzzer-beater ✅@yochilds22 gives BYU a 33-26 lead heading into the half!#BYUhoops#GoCougspic.twitter.com/lTjI7VMBaH
— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) January 25, 2019
Fitts led Saint Mary’s with 19 points and five rebounds, while the Cougars (led by senior guard McKay Cannon) held sharpshooting guard Jordan Ford to 15 points — all but two in the second half.
Saint Mary’s did register an assist for nearly 30 minutes of game time, and connected on just 26 shots. Even as the Gaels out-rebounded BYU 42-28, BYU’s defense kept them from doing anything with the loose balls.
“I thought we did a really good job of making them uncomfortable,” said Haws, employing a tactic that Saint Mary’s used in an 88-66 win in Moraga, California. “A lot of their guys are very talented, and I thought we made them do things that they didn’t want to do.
“We knew they were going to make tough shots and they did. But we’ll live with them shooting those tough ones all night.”
The Cougars kept the double-digit lead much of the rest of the way until Ford scored on a step-back jumper with four minutes left as part of a 10-0 run that pulled the Gaels within two, 61-59.
But Haws re-entered the game from the bench — despite possessing four fouls — and scored and assisted on back-to-back buckets to put the game back in BYU’s control.
“I just tried to stay aggressive all night and get to the basket,” he explained. “I came in and I think we had a pick-and-roll right when I got in. I just tried to attack those guys right away.”
