Childs' double-double leads BYU to win over Portland 79-56

BYU vs. Portland State Box Score

BYU vs. Portland Postgame Notes and Quotes

PROVO, Utah – Yoeli Childs’ double-double led BYU to a 79-56 win against Portland to open up the home West Coast Conference slate Thursday night in the Marriott Center.

"It's good to be home," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "I think our guys came out with great focus and energy. I thought we played the first 10 minutes as well as we've played all year long."

Childs led all scorers posting 28 points to go with 12 rebounds. He added three assists while going 8 for 9 at the charity stripe. McKay Cannon tallied 11 points with four boards, three assists and four steals. Off the bench, BYU put up 24 points, including eight points from Zac Seljaas and seven from Rylan Bergersen.

The Cougars quickly took control of the game, going up 20-4 with an 18-0 run. A Childs dunk gave BYU its first points of the game, and Childs, Harding, Cannon and Emery all drained 3-pointers as part of the 18-0 run.   

After Zac Seljaas nailed a 3-pointer of his own and Gavin Baxter make a layup, BYU took their biggest lead of the half with a 19-point margin at 25-6.

Portland answered with a 10-3 run to bring the score to 28-16. Late in the first half, the Pilots caught fire and cut the deficit to three, 33-30, after dropping three treys and a layup. Rylan Bergersen capped the first half sinking a 3-pointer, putting BYU up 36-30 going into halftime.

To start the second half, the Cougars quickly put up six points to increase its lead back to 13 points. Childs kept the momentum going converting 12-straight BYU points, making the score 53-41.

BYU went on an 11-2 run that started with Seljaas netting a trey and included TJ Haws scoring his first points of the game with a pair of free throws, followed by a layup and a jumper, putting the score at 67-45.

With just over six minutes to go in the game, the Cougars took their largest led of the night, going up 24 points with the score at 69-45. BYU tallied a six-point run late in the game, making the final score 79-54.

BYU returns to the Marriott Center Saturday, Jan. 12, to take on Santa Clara at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv with radio coverage available on BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2 and KSL (1160 AM/102.7 FM).