BYU’s Shooting Struggles Cause Them To Lose To Illinois State In Overtime

NORMAL, Ill. – The BYU Cougars had chances late in regulation and overtime but lost to Illinois State 92-89.

Yoeli Childs led the Cougars with 27 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists. T.J. Haws added 22 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Childs and Haws were the only two BYU players to score in double figures.

The Cougars shot just 40 percent including 6-of-28 from the three-point-line. They struggled at the free-throw line as well, shooting just 69 percent.

Phil Fayne put up 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Illinois State, while Milik Yarbrough added 19 points and 8 rebounds. All five starters scored in double figures.

The difference in the game was the Redbirds hitting seven more three-pointers than the Cougars.

Tightly Contested Game In Regulation

Most of the first half was neck-and-neck as the largest lead was six points for Illinois State. With 3:58 left, BYU was up 29-27 before extending that lead to 40-31 ending the half on an 11-4 run.

In the second half, the Cougars kept the gap with Redbirds around 10 points but they allowed Illinois State to climb back into the game with an 8-2 run to trail by two with 7:55 left in the game.

Illinois State had a four point lead with 2:36 left when Childs drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead to one with 46 seconds left. The Redbirds turned the ball over with 29 seconds left when Childs made the put-back to take the lead back.

Evans missed a three pointer but the Redbirds grabbed the offensive rebound but Childs stole ball away, preventing the second chance points.

When Illinois State was forced to foul, Jahshire Hardnett made one of the two free-throws. The Redbirds snatched an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession when Haws fouled Zach Copeland. He made both of his free-throws to tie the game at 78 with two seconds left.

BYU’s final chance in regulation was a missed shot from half court by Haws, sending the game into overtime.

High’s And Low’s In Overtime

The Redbirds jumped out to a six point lead when they outscored BYU 7-1 in overtime. After a score by Childs, Haws nailed three free-throws to pull within one point but William Tinsley put the advantage back out to four points with a triple.

Hardnett hit four free-throws on back-to-back possessions to give BYU some light with a tie at 88 with 1:27 left. The Cougars got the ball back after an Illinois State miss and Childs appeared at the foul line once again and made one of two but BYU was back on top by one with 45 seconds remaining.

In a free-throw filled overtime, Phil Fayne made both of his attempts to give Illinois State the advantage again by one, 90-89. BYU couldn’t take the lead back as Dalton Nixon missed a three-point attempt that forced the Cougars to foul.

They sent Josh Jefferson to the line, who made both of his attempts to jump their lead to three points with 13 seconds left.

BYU had two chances to tie the game but missed both of their three-point tries, giving the Redbirds the win.

BYU 89
Illinois State 92

Final/OT.#BYUhoops

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) November 29, 2018

Next Up

The Cougars fall to 5-3 on the season and have lost their last two games. They will travel to Ogden to face Weber State on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and KSL News Radio.