Bryant pushes BYU past Utah, 77-65

PROVO, Utah – Elijah Bryant led BYU to a 77-65 win Saturday night over Utah in the Deseret First Duel at the Marriott Center.

"What a great crowd," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "I thought it was a great college basketball game. It came down to a few plays here and there. I'm happy for our guys and the fans."

Bryant made 5 of 7 3-pointers and had a season-high 29 points, with nine rebounds and four assists. Yoeli Childs followed with 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Childs scored six of BYU's first eight points as the Cougars got out to an 8-7 lead five minutes into the game.

McKay Cannon buried a 3-pointer to put BYU up 19-11. Childs scored on the next two possessions to make it a 23-11 lead halfway through the first half.

With 5:03 on the first-half clock, Bryant knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 29-22 for the Cougars. He hit 3s on the next two possessions to make it a 35-22 lead.

At the half, BYU led 37-28. Bryant led all scorers with 13 points. Childs followed with 12.

With 16:00 left in the game, Bryant made both free throws after being fouled to give the Cougars another 10-point lead at 45-35. A minute and a half later, he got to 20 points on the night with a turnaround jumper to put BYU up 49-40.

Payton Dastrup's 3-pointer with 10 minutes left in the game gave the Cougars a 56-46 lead. He buried another 3 to put BYU up 63-50 with 7:30 left on the clock.

With just over three minutes left, Jahshire Hardnett got fouled while making a lay-in and hit the free throw to make it 70-57 for the Cougars. BYU went on to win 76-62.

The Cougars stay at home to host Idaho State on Thursday at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on BYUtv, with radio broadcasts on KSL (102.7 FM and 1160 AM) and BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143).

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