Cougars Get Blown Out By Saint Mary’s, 88-66
Jan 5, 2019, 11:07 PM | Updated: Jan 6, 2019, 2:10 pm
MORAGA, Calif. – The BYU Cougars couldn’t keep pace with the Saint Mary’s Gaels in an 88-66 West Coast Conference loss.
Final.#BYUhoops pic.twitter.com/z0iwGW98x7
— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) January 6, 2019
The two teams played tight basketball almost all the way through the first half, trading baskets back and forth. The Gaels would end the first half on a 17-7 run after Malik Fitts’ 3-pointer broke a 25-all tie with a little more than five minutes remaining.
The score at halftime was 42-32 and would have been a greater lead for Saint Mary’s had TJ Haws not drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer just before the halftime break.
Hey, why not? 🤷🏻♂️ @tjhaws30 beats the buzzer with a long 3️⃣ as @BYUbasketball trails SMC by 10 at the half.
Second half action ➡️ ESPN2 📺 pic.twitter.com/F4EFBWFVLB
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) January 6, 2019
In the second half, things got ugly as the Gaels rolled to an easy 22-point victory.
“Saint Mary’s is a really tough team to play when they’re ahead,” said BYU center Yoeli Childs. “Our effort was there in the second half, but it was more of an out-of-control effort. When you get down to a team like that, it’s tough to come back.”
By The Numbers
Haws and Childs played well for the Cougars. Haws finished with 20 points while Childs had 21 with a double-double with 12 rebounds.
Childs has his second-straight double-double, 10th this season and 30th of his career. His 30 double-doubles are tied with Steve Trumbo for sixth most in BYU history #BYUhoops
— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) January 6, 2019
Jordan Ford led Saint Mary’s with a game-high 23 points.
The Cougars struggled to get anything going on offense with just seven assists on 22 made field goals.
Next Up
The Cougars will host Portland on Thursday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on BYU TV.
