Cougars miss out on opportunity to knock off WCC rival St. Mary’s
BYU’s nine-game winning streak comes to an end with a difficult loss to West Coast Conference rival St. Mary’s in overtime, 74-64. It was an electric crowd at the Marriott Center despite the students being on Christmas break. But the senior leadership of the Gaels won the day when both teams were starting to drag to the finish line in overtime.
Afternoon games have been rare in the Dave Rose era, especially since the Cougars joined the WCC. Last time #BYU had a 2 pm tip was two years ago against Pacific. Rose has said in the past he usually prefers evening games.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
You look at #BYU's history since joining the WCC, they haven't had many opportunities like this one to establish themselves as the team to beat in the league. Huge game. #SMCvsBYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Prediction: #BYU 67, St. Mary's 65
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
St. Mary's opting to double team Yoeli Childs early on in this game. #SMCvsBYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Jock Landale picks up his first foul 90 seconds into the game. #BYU has to attack Landale and get him in foul trouble. #SMCvsBYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Big shot from Payton Dastrup. This guy keeps getting buckets. #BYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Who rocks the short shorts better? Seljaas or SMC's Cullen Neal? #BYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Excellent entry pass from McKay Cannon to Yoeli with the baby hook. Great game so far. #SMCvsBYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
It's all about the t-shirt. War the shirt under the jersey. TJ Haws with a sick crossover. #BYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
#BYU on a 10-0 run. Great passing from Cannon to Childs for a throwdown. And it all started with a Payton Dastrup block on the defensive end.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/Mitch_Harper/status/947219841072619521
Landale getting the NBA superstar treatment today from the refs. #BYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
SMC closed the first half on a 8-2 run. Not the greatest close to the half for #BYU. Cougars lead 31-29.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Nice cut from Jahshire Hardnett to get an easy bucket. #BYU fortunate SMC is cold right now from beyond the arc.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Strong start from #BYU to open the second half. At the under-16 MTO and SMC has yet to make a field goal. Cougars extend their lead to 8. Jahshire Hardnett played very well in that stretch.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
The #BYU killer, Calvin Hermanson, knocked down his first three of the afternoon. Smart timeout by Dave Rose to try and stop any momentum for the Gaels after that bucket.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Yoeli Childs is incredibly good at basketball. Enjoy him #BYU fans.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Jock Landale has 24 points and is 11-12 from the field. #SMCvsBYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Big 3 from Eli. Cougars lead 55-49. Shooting 45% from beyond the arc while SMC is shooting 24%.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
This next 3:16 is where we will truly see how much #BYU has improved on the defensive end this season.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
You knew at some point SMC was going to start knocking down those three's. Gales lead 60-58.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
The Marriott Center held their collective breath when Hermanson jacked up that three-pointer. 20 seconds left, tied up at 60. Get to ESPNU. #SMCvsBYU
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Eli needed to be the guy putting up that shot, but you can't argue with how wide open Seljaas was on that attempt. Great game. St. Mary's & #BYU headed to overtime.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
First overtime game for #BYU since they played Harvard in Hawaii two years ago.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Three missed opportunities from #BYU on that last possession.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
The BYU killer strikes again. #Hermanson
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Final: SMC 74, #BYU 64.
Cougars were outscored 14-4 in the OT session. Nine-game winning streak is over.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
What makes this loss difficult for #BYU is the few opportunities the Cougars get to a host a Top-100 team in the Marriott Center. Can't let those chances slip away.
Now two of the remaining three games vs. T100 will be on the road.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
A lot of minutes played for #BYU's big 3:
Elijah Bryant – 45 minutes
Yoeli Childs – 41
TJ Haws – 40Gassed in the overtime session.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
TJ Haws on Seljaas' shot at the end of regulation: "I'd take Zac shooting that shot 10 out of 10 times. Zac is a heck of a shooter, I'd give that to him again, any day."
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
Dave Rose: "This game gave us a good benchmark of where we're at."
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 30, 2017
