BYU men’s basketball bounced back after two straight losses to defeat Santa Clara 80-58 in the Marriott Center. Yoeli Childs led the way with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.

“Every guy was so antsy to play a game and get the bad taste out of our mouth from last week,” said Dalton Nixon.

Elijah Bryant and TJ Haws also made solid contributions, putting up 14 points a piece, along with a combined 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

BYU jumped out to an 11-4 lead just four minutes into the game, but allowed Santa Clara to come right back with a 12-0 run to take the lead midway through the first half.

It continued to be a game of runs, with the Cougars returning with a 13-3 swing.

BYU reached their largest lead, 38-27 with a minute left in the half, and entered the locker room up by 10, 41-31.

The Cougars came out somewhat disinterested to begin the second half, allowing Santa Clara to cut the lead to five points twice, 45-40, and then 50-45.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Dalton Nixon and Elijah Bryant extended the lead back to double-digits, however, with 12:20 to go in the game.

The three gave Nixon his first double-digit scoring night since returning from injury last month.

“It felt good to get in a little bit of a rhythm after my injury,” Nixon said. “The whole bench gave their all tonight.”

A fast-break score from Haws extended the lead to 15 midway through the second half.

A fast-break jam from Childs extended the BYU lead to 23 with 3:34 left in the game.

Rylan Bergersen entered the game in the final minutes and scored the final basket to give the Cougars 80 points, and send the fans home happy with free Sonic.

“There was a really good feel with our team tonight,” coach Dave Rose said. “The guys shared the ball really well, and connected on defense.”

The Cougars stay home to take on San Francisco Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv.

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