BYU basketball holds off Oral Roberts 79-73 in nonconference finale

(Colter Peterson, KSL)


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PROVO — Against an Oral Roberts squad with at least five players that measured taller than BYU’s biggest front court mate, the Cougars knew they were going to need to hit the right shots.

It didn’t happen early.

Better late than never.

Yoeli Childs poured in 23 points and seven rebounds, and Jake Toolson added 22 points, six rebounds and eight assists to help BYU pull away from the Golden Eagles, 79-73 in the nonconference finale Saturday night at the Marriott Center.

TJ Haws added 14 points and six assists for the Cougars (11-4), who were out rebounded 46-37 by Oral Roberts.

“We just wanted to get a good look,” said Toolson, who shot 7-of-11 from the field and 2-of-2 in the final 1:56 with two assists and a clutch rebound. “I think people tend to make hero plays down the stretch by themselves, but we were able to do it together. I was happy with the looks we got, and down the stretch we grinded it out.”

Emmanuel Nzekwesi had 23 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles (7-6), who tied the game at 67-67 on Ty Lazenby’s 3-pointer with 2:14 remaining. Kevin Obanor supplied 12 points and 10 rebounds for Oral Roberts.

But Toolson poured in a 3-pointer, then added a cool fadeaway with 58 seconds left after Dalton Nixon pulled down one of team-high eight boards, to help BYU end the game on a 12-6 run and hold on for the win.

“Find Jake, and you win ball games,” Childs joked (or was he joking?) after the game.

BYU guard Alex Barcello (4) goes for a layup against Oral Roberts Golden Eagles guard Sam Kearns (10) and guard Max Abmas (3) during the first half of an NCAA men's basketball game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019. (Photo: Colter Peterson, KSL)
BYU guard Alex Barcello (4) goes for a layup against Oral Roberts Golden Eagles guard Sam Kearns (10) and guard Max Abmas (3) during the first half of an NCAA men's basketball game at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019. (Photo: Colter Peterson, KSL)

Untrue to form, the Cougars — who opened the game ranked fourth nationally in 3-point field goals made — missed on their first six attempts from beyond the arc. But Zac Seljaas drained the home team’s first triple with 14:05 on the clock, converting from deep after Childs passed out of an alleyoop opportunity from Haws.

Moments later, Toolson added a three that put the Cougars up 16-9 midway through the first half. That seemed to right the shooting ship, though BYU struggled (by its own lofty standards) to shoot just 45.9 percent from the field and 9-of-30 (30 percent) from 3-point range.

But coach Mark Pope didn’t tell his players to make any significant changes to ease out of the slump; quite the opposite, really.

“Coach told us to keep shooting shots, and to keep owning the shots we take. That’s what we do,” Toolson said. “There are going to be nights where we aren’t shooting at a high clip. But we’re going to keep letting them fly, because that’s what we do. It helps to have Yo to throw the ball inside, too.”

With 10 points in the first half, Childs passed former BYU standout Mark Bigelow for 10th all-time in scoring. Bigelow finished his four-year career in 2004 with 1,715 points.

Oral Roberts tied the game at 34-all on Nzekwesi’s putback just under two minutes into the half, then twice more over the next four minutes. But Toolson’s three and Childs’ dunk paced a 9-0 run that put the Cougars back up 53-44 with 12:30 remaining.

Despite tying the game four times total, Oral Roberts never took the lead outside of the first 34 seconds of the game.

“We did things in a very different way,” Pope said. “It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t easy; there wasn’t a lot of flow to the game. But guys figured it out, and we had some guys step up to make some unbelievable defensive plays.

“It’s so beautiful to be able to win different ways, and our guys did that tonight.”

Next up

BYU opens West Coast Conference play next Saturday, Jan. 4 against Loyla Marymount (7 p.m. MST, BYUtv).

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