PROVO, Utah – The BYU Cougars couldn’t create a big separation but they were able to come away with an 80-74 win over the Santa Clara Broncos.

After scoring 16 points in the first half, Yoeli Childs finished with 27 points and 6 rebounds. T.J. Haws had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists and Luke Worthington scored a career-high 13 points.

The Broncos had four players score in double figures with Trey Wertz dropping 20 points to lead the team, Josip Vrankic added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Santa Clara Stays Close In First Half

Luke Worthington, T.J. Haws scored one basket each and Yoeli Childs nailed a triple to get the Cougars off to a great start, leading 7-0 early in the first half.

Santa Clara countered with four unanswered points to cut the lead to 7-4 at the first media timeout.

The Broncos tied the game at 15 with 11 minutes left in the first half, hitting 3 of their first 6 three-point attempts. BYU had a hot start, making 4 of their first 6 attempts from downtown.

After the tie, BYU went on a big 10-0 run to lead 25-15 with 8 minutes left in the first half.

The Cougars stretched that run to 15-2 and was starting to find a rhythm, holding a 30-17 lead. But Santa Clara wouldn’t go away with two straight threes to trim the BYU lead to seven.

Making four straight field goals, the Broncos were within striking distance after the Cougars went four minutes without a made field goal. Their lead was a 33-28 with 3 minutes left in the half.

Connor Harding banked in a three-pointer as time expired to give the Cougars a 40-33 halftime lead. Childs had 16 points in the first half and BYU shot 54 percent from the perimeter.

BYU Sneaks Away With Win

The start of the second half was neck-and-neck in the first eight minutes with Santa Clara outscoring BYU 16-15.

Hitting five straight field goals, the Cougars created a little bit of separation with a 60-49 lead with 12 minutes left in the game.

The Broncos would not go away with seven minutes to go in the game, BYU hit six of their next 10 field goals but Santa Clara hit five of their next seven. The Cougars had a 68-63 advantage.

Santa Clara went four minutes without a made field goal but with their efforts at the free-throw line they stayed in the game. BYU’s had a 72-68 lead with 3 minutes left in the game.

T.J. Haws hit a big triple to put the Cougars lead to six with one minute left. Santa Clara couldn’t make a shot on their next possession and fouled Haws.

He made one of his two attempts and Harding made both of his attempts at the line to give BYU the win.

COUGS WIN!!#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/MoL5Jr7ii2

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) January 13, 2019

Up Next

BYU improved to 11-8 overall and 3-1 in West Coast Conference play and have won two straight games. They will travel to Pepperdine on Thursday to face the Wave, who are 9-9 overall and 2-2 in conference action. Tip-off is at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and KSL Newsradio.

The Cougars beat Pepperdine in both meetings with an 83-63 win in Provo and a 75-73 overtime victory in Malibu.