Toolson and Childs lead BYU to 107-80 win against Pepperdine

PROVO, Utah – With six players scoring in double-digits, the BYU men’s basketball team defeated West Coast Conference opponent Pepperdine 107-80, Thursday night at the Marriott Center.

BYU vs. Pepperdine Box Score

BYU vs. Pepperdine Game Notes

"Really happy with our guys," BYU head coach Mark Pope said. "We weren't great tonight but we were good. Our guys have a great sense of how we can be great. I'm happy with the outcome. This Pepperdine team is really, really good. They have a couple big-time players that are hard to figure out. It's a big win."

The Cougars (16-7, 5-3 WCC) outshot the Waves (11-11, 4-4 WCC), hitting 61.2 percent from the field and 60.7 percent from beyond the arc, compared to Pepperdine’s 49.1 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent shooting from 3.

Jake Toolson and Yoeli Childs scored over 20 points each, with Toolson posting 25 and Childs 21. Childs led the team in rebounds with nine and dished out six assists alongside the six dimes TJ Haws distributed. Toolson hit a career-best seven 3-pointers on his way to his 25 points.

Trading baskets with Pepperdine at the start of the game led BYU to a 5-5 tie. Five minutes into the first half, the Cougars quickly took the lead on back-to-back treys by Toolson and Childs.

BYU continued its shooting streak as the Cougars put up 23 points while holding the Waves to two, putting the score at 28-7. During the scoring run, BYU went five for five in 3-pointers, three coming from Toolson, while Childs and Zac Seljaas contributed one apiece.

A 16-0 run for the Waves brought them within six points of the Cougars at 36-30 and a jumper from Kolby Lee broke the Pepperdine shooting streak. Connor Harding dropped in a 3, scoring the final points of the half for BYU. The Cougars went into halftime holding the lead at 46-38 over the Waves.

Coming out of the break, BYU went on a 13-0 run, extending the Cougars’ lead to 20 points at 61-41. With the Pepperdine defense behind him, Dalton Nixon dunked the ball to put BYU up 70-49, seven minutes into the half.

Despite consistent shooting from the Waves, the Cougars kept their lead above 20 points as baskets from Childs, Lee and Alex Barcello put the score to 86-61. A trey from Harding pushed BYU over 100 points to 102-79 with just over a minute remaining in the game. The Cougars closed out the game with a 107-80 win over the Waves.

Up next, BYU remains at the Marriott Center to host WCC foe Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. MST. The game will be live on ESPN2 with audio broadcasts available on BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM), BYU Sports Network and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.