PROVO – Down six points with 39 seconds left, BYU got a three-point play from Jahshire Hardnett and a 3-pointer from Elijah Bryant to force overtime and eventually beat San Francisco 75-73 Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center.
TJ Haws made two free throws with 4.2 seconds left in the extra period to give the Cougars the lead. A 3-pointer by USF’s Frankie Ferrari was off the mark as time expired.
“I’m really happy for our guys.” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “We made enough plays to get it into overtime and one more play to win it, so good for us.”
The game was tied at 52-52 with 5:37 left in regulation when the Dons went on a 9-2 run. Souley Boum started the run with a jumper on a Ferrari assist and also had a three-point play as San Francisco opened up a 61-54 lead with 3:05 to play.
The two teams each missed and exchanged turnovers before Haws cut it to 61-57 on a deep 3-pointer with 44 seconds left. But Boum pushed the lead back out to six a few seconds later with two free throws to make it 63-57 with 39 seconds left.
BYU looked dead in the water after a miss by Haws, but USF’s Jimbo Lull missed two free throws with 30 seconds to play to keep the game alive. Haws missed again with 22 seconds left, but BYU’s Yoeli Childs put the rebound back in to make it 63-59 with 0:21 showing on the clock. After a USF timeout, BYU tried to foul, but instead got a steal by Bryant. He dished to Hardnett, who scored and was fouled with 11 seconds to play.
Hardnett’s free throw made it 63-62, but Boum caught a long lead pass from Ferrari and laid the ball in the basket to make it 65-62 with still 10 seconds left.
BYU then inbounded the ball and worked for a shot. Bryant got a pass from Haws and a screen from Childs and swished a long 3-pointer with six seconds left. Ferrari’s jumper at the buzzer was wide and the game went into extra time.
“I just stuck with it and believed in myself,” Bryant said. “TJ was able to find me, Yoeli set a great screen and I was able to get it off.”
In the OT, San Francisco started the scoring with a jumper by Ferrari for a 67-65 lead. It was nip-and-tuck from there. Ferrari hit a 3-pointer with 2:16 left to make it a 72-69 Dons lead. BYU countered with a basket by Haws on a backdoor cut to make it 72-71 with 1:59 on the clock.
Chase Foster made 1 of 2 free throws with 48 seconds left, but Haws tied the game up just eight seconds later on another layup in traffic. It was 73-73 with 40 seconds left.
Boum drove the baseline for the Dons, but threw the ball away with Zac Seljaas getting credit for the steal with 24 seconds left. The Cougars then held for a last shot, but Boum got called for a blocking foul on Haws with 4.2 seconds left. The BYU sophomore swished both free throws for his 25th and 26th points of the game and the ultimate game winners.
“We caught a break at the end of regulation, so our mentality was we’re going to win this game in overtime,” Haws said. “We got down a little bit early, but our resilience was awesome. I thought we fought hard tonight and it showed who this team really is.”
Bryant earned a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Haws led the Cougars in points with 26. Haws also added seven assists while Childs contributed 20 points and nine rebounds.
Player Notes
TJ Haws led the offense with a season-high 26 points, seven assists, four rebounds, one block and one steal. This was the 11th game this season he has had five or more assists. Haws scored eight of the Cougars’ 10 points in overtime, including the game-winning pair of free throws.
Yoeli Childs had 20 points, extending his streak to 25 games with double-figures. He grabbed nine rebounds, while adding two assists and one block.
Elijah Bryant had a double-double for the third time this season. He contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds. He had three treys, including the basket to send the game into overtime. Bryant also tallied four steals and one assist.
Team Notes
Collectively, the Cougars shot 46.3 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc and 78.3 percent from the charity strip. In overtime, BYU went 6 of 6 from the free-throw line. The Cougars out-rebounded San Francisco 39-31.
Defensively, BYU held the Dons to 43.5 percent shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers down the stretch.
The Cougars hit the road to take on Pepperdine in Malibu, California, on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. PST. The game will be televised live on BYUtv and radio broadcasts can be found on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143, the BYU Sports Network and Easy 101.5 in St. George.
Box score: USF-BYU-Box_0
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