Yoeli Childs Scores Career-High 38 Points To Lead BYU Over Pepperdine

MALIBU, California – BYU basketball closed out the regular season on Saturday with an 81-64 victory at Pepperdine led by a career night from senior star Yoeli Childs.

Childs scored a career-high 38 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to give BYU their ninth consecutive win and finish the regular season with a 24-7 record.

No. 17 #BYU 81, Pepperdine 64

BYU is rolling right now as they close out the regular season with a 24-7 overall record.

With the win, #BYU clinches the No. 2 seed in the WCC Tournament.#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/pCqapIUoYo

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 1, 2020

Even though it was a pro-BYU crowd at the sold-out Firestone Fieldhouse, the Cougars found themselves down 35-32 at the half to a Waves team that could smell an upset. The first half looked like a BYU team that was trying to find their shot after a week had passed since their win over Gonzaga.

Dare we say, the wave turned early in the second half as BYU put to rest any more thoughts from Pepperdine about a potential upset.

Childs scored a quick four points in the second half then Connor Harding gave BYU all the momentum by knocking down a corner three-pointer to give BYU a 46-43 lead and had the Cougar faithful in Malibu on their feet.

Yoeli Childs puts up 38 points and 14 rebounds.

This was a game where Childs put #BYU on his back and said don't worry, I got this.

Seniors do magical things. We're witnessing magic in Yoeli Childs this season.#BYUhoops @kslsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 1, 2020

From there, BYU continued to roll with Childs in the post. Whether it was the baby hook, monster slam dunks or cleaning up everything on the glass Childs was not going to let his team suffer a setback heading into March. Especially against a Pepperdine defense that made the costly decision to bring one defender on the WCC Player of the Year candidate.

“Felt like I took a lot of shots,” said Childs to the BYU Sports Network on his 38-point performance. “I felt kind of bad. I was getting them up tonight. To score a lot of points you have to shoot the ball a lot. My teammates were finding me and the coaching staff did a great job of running sets to get me the ball in spots that I like.”

🎥 // BYU vs Pepperdine#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/a58N7Jg27d

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) March 1, 2020

Another key contributor in the second half for BYU was senior forward Zac Seljaas who ended up with 12 points on 5-8 shooting from the field. At one stretch in the second half, Seljaas scored 10 consecutive points for BYU as the Cougars pulled away to a double-digit lead.

“Zac is a monster. He is the definition of a team guy a glue guy. He is someone that has sacrificed so much that’s worked so hard and he’s changed his game for our team. The way he plays, he’s always in the right spots,” said Yoeli Childs to the BYU Sports Network. “He helps our team in so many different ways.”

BYU’s “Bulldog” Alex Barcello also stepped up on the defensive end defending Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross. Barcello held Ross to only eight points and it changed the “flow and tenor of the game” according to BYU head coach Mark Pope. Barcello also knocked down a big three in the second half that gave BYU even more separation over the Waves.

BYU defeating Pepperdine gives BYU the No. 2 seed in Vegas

With the win, BYU closes out the regular season with a 24-7 overall record and 13-3 mark in West Coast Conference. The victory also ensures that BYU will have the No. 2 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.

BYU has a three-round bye until the Semifinal round on Monday, March 9th.

Jake Toolson ejected

BYU guard Jake Toolson scored 11 points and was a perfect 3-3 from three-point range but he had an early exit in the game. During the second half, Toolson was on the bench to get a quick rest and while out, Alex Barcello took a hard fall after attempting a shot at the rim. The action on the floor had stopped and Toolson then left the bench and ran on the floor to attend to his teammate.

According to rule, Jake Toolson (ejected for leaving the bench) is not subject to suspension. He will play in BYU’s next game. pic.twitter.com/9H1DEcjpne

— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) March 1, 2020

Because Toolson wasn’t one of the five players on the floor, he was not allowed on the court so it resulted in an automatic ejection.

A lesson for all players out there, don’t leave the bench to help your teammate.

TJ Haws dishing out dimes

Senior guard TJ Haws didn’t have his greatest offensive performance scoring eight points and only shooting 30 percent from the field, but that didn’t stop his ability to have an impact on the game. Haws dished out 13 assists in BYU’s 17-point win over Pepperdine.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.