Forward Yoeli Childs recorded his fourth straight double-double and the BYU bench contributed 26 points in an 85-65 win over the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
Oral Roberts kept the game close early before the Cougars went on a 12-1 run late in the first half and would never look back, scoring their highest point total of the season.
“I think it’s really important for us to share the ball and make the extra pass, and that’s what we started doing,” Childs said. “When we make plays for each other, it’s so fun to play out there and we’re a lot better.”
The Cougars continued to struggle from behind the arc, shooting just 6-24 from three and 40.8% from the field. The defensive effort was the triumph of the night, with BYU forcing 13 turnovers with seven steals.
“It’s the little things that you don’t normally see, like when they run a pick and roll and our bottom guy is in the right position which makes it easier for our top guy to go get in the passing lane,” Childs said. “The guy that gets the steal isn’t necessarily the one that caused it, it’s definitely a team effort.”
BYU scored 15 points from turnovers and out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 52-37.
“Defensive rebounding is so important and that’s the one thing we’ve constantly done well through four games,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “I think we have a good purpose as a team defensively and our guys have been dialed in really well. Our execution hasn’t been perfect but our focus and urgency have been good. We don’t have a lot of lapses defensively.”
Childs led the Cougars with 24 points and 14 rebounds, becoming the 51st member of the 1,000 career points club at BYU.
“The coaches run a lot of stuff for me and the players pass me the ball,” Childs said. “Every individual accomplishment is really a team accomplishment because you can never do it without your guys making plays for you.”
Point guard Jashire Hardnett scored 16 points and TJ Haws recorded a near double-double with eight points and eight rebounds. Guards Connor Harding and Rylan Bergersen came off the bench to add 10 and seven points respectively.
“Connor came in and gave us a great lift, Gavin (Baxter) helped us early and Rylan (Bergersen) really gave us a spark at the end of the first half, so that was good to see those guys come in and contribute and get some confidence,” Rose said.
Depth has been a strength for the Cougars already this season, with 11 different players scoring against the Golden Eagles.
Even after his dominant performance, Childs was much more excited about his teammates’ successes than his own.
“I’m so happy for those guys, this is probably the deepest team I’ve ever played on,” Childs said. “It’s awesome when you can have guys like Connor and Rylan come in off the bench and play like starters.”
BYU looks to win their fourth straight game on Nov. 17 at home against Alabama A&M. Tip-off is set for 4:00 PM.
