SANTA CLARA, Calif. – BYU started fast and never let up against Santa Clara men's basketball in Saturday's West Coast Conference matchup.
Yoeli Childs (22 points and 13 rebounds) and Elijah Bryant (14 points and 12 rebounds) each produced double-doubles and TJ Haws scored 14 on 4 of 5 shooting from behind the 3-point line to lead the Cougars to a convincing 84-50 victory over the Broncos.
The Cougars nailed 14 of their first 16 from the field and put the game out of reach with an early second-half run.
Josip Vrankic posted a career-high 20 points, but he was the only player in double figures for the Broncos who shot just 34 percent for the game, including 7 of 27 in the second half.
KJ Feagin's 3-pointer out of the locker room cut the deficit to 46-31, but the Cougars reeled off the next nine points with Hawes nailing back-to-back 3's and Bryant scoring a on a 3-point play.
Vrankic connected on a 3-pointer with 17:54 remaining in the game, but that was last field goal for the Broncos for more 12 minutes of action.
While Santa Clara missed 16 straight from the floor, the Cougars were scoring in the paint and from long range as the lead grew to 38 with 6 minutes left.
BYU shot 62 percent from the floor in the game, including 8-for-15 from behind the 3-point line, and dominated the boards (42 to 18 rebounding edge).
Childs, who also had eight assists, scored 15 of the team's first 24 points and seven straight made field goals from the Cougars built a 31-16 lead.
BYU made 19 of 24 field goals (79 percent) in the opening half and may have led by more than 46-28 if not for eight turnovers.
Zac Seljaas scored 11 for the Cougars who had 45 points in the paint and 26 assists on 32 field goals.
Feagin posted nine points, but was 3-for-11 from the floor.
HIGHLIGHTS | Watch the #SCUBroncos in action tonight vs. BYU! FULL HIGHLIGHTS ▶️ https://t.co/hZS192fVQL #StampedeAhead #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/JH8JjPTFTV
— Santa Clara Hoops (@SantaClaraHoops) January 14, 2018
NOTES
• Matt Hauser, KJ Feagin, Henry Caruso, Josip Vrankic and Emmanuel Ndumanya started for the 12th time this season, including sixyj-straight contest.
• In a series that began in 1951, BYU now leads 28-6. The Cougars had their 14-game winning streak in the series snapped last season when the Broncos came away with a 76-68 victory in Santa Clara (Jan. 26).
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