BYU’s Jake Toolson drives with the ball during the Cougars’ 98-63 win over Montana Tech at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019. | Madeline Mortensen/BYU
The Cougars have survived Yoeli Childs’ nine-game NCAA suspension — and at times, they’ve thrived without him. He’ll return to the court Wednesday when BYU visits archrival Utah.
PROVO — Not long after BYU easily dispatched NAIA opponent Montana Tech 98-63 Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center, coach Mark Pope said his team is embarking a new start of the season of sorts.
That’s because the Cougars have survived Yoeli Childs’ nine-game NCAA suspension — and at times, they’ve thrived without him. He’ll return to the court Wednesday when BYU visits archrival Utah.
“Monday is going to feel like a new start for us in the sense that we finally have at least all the collected pieces competing together now,” Pope said. “We get to start in a new place, hopefully with all the progress we’ve made in tow and then start this race to see how fast we can grow. Yoeli’s obviously going to be a massive part of that.”
The Cougars’ 6-3 record at this point is much better than most had predicted, considering they were playing without Childs against a formidable schedule.
“I think it’s great. This team has grown a lot since the beginning of the season. We’ve learned a ton,” said guard TJ Haws, who scored 15 points and made 4 of 4 3-pointers Saturday and dished out a game-high six assists Saturday. “Every day, every game, we’re getting better. We’re trusting each other a little bit more. We’re trusting in coach a lot. I feel good about the state of our team right now. Hopefully, we can bring Yoeli in and continue to get better.”
“I think 6-3 is awesome,” Pope said of his team’s record. “But my evaluation is maybe less based on the record and more based on progress that I think we’ve made in the past month. I think we’ve made really good progress.”
Of course, Childs’ teammates are looking forward to playing with him.
“It’s awesome. We’ve missed him. He’s been in practice and everything but he just hasn’t been in games,” said guard Zac Seljaas. “It’s kind of weird. He’s a brother and it will be fun to have him back on the floor with us, especially with him coming back for the big rivalry.”
Saturday’s game against Montana Tech was sandwiched in between three consecutive Maui Invitational games earlier this week and next Wednesday’s showdown at the Huntsman Center.
But the Cougars picked up where they left off in Maui. They tied a school record for most 3-pointers in a single game — 17 — in last Wednesday’s win over Virginia Tech. Against the Orediggers Saturday, BYU recorded the sixth-highest field goal percentage in the history of Cougar basketball — 68.6% (35 of 51).
“That doesn’t just come by mistake,” Pope said. “It’s because of the way these guys are playing together.”
To what does Haws attribute BYU’s torrid shooting for most of this past week?
“Our team is really growing and we’re trusting in each other offensively. Our shooting percentage is a product of how we’re playing,” Haws said. “We’re making simple plays and extra passes and we’re shooting open shots. We work on those shots every single day. We have a lot of confidence shooting those shots. If we continue that, we’ll continue shooting well.”
While Haws, Jake Toolson (17), Seljaas (14) and Kolby Lee (11) each scored in double figures, three others (Dalton Nixon, Alex Barcello and Trevin Knell) added nine points apiece. Toolson went 3 of 5 from long distance while Seljaas drilled a pair of 3-pointers and pulled down a game-high six rebounds.
After playing four games in six days, not to mention logging a lot of travel time, the Cougars are understandably drained.
“Our bodies are banged up,” Haws said. “Those were tough, fun games that we played in Hawaii and it was a battle (Saturday). It’s always good to have a Sunday off and get some rest, and we’ll be ready to go for a fun week ahead.”
And this week, for the first time this season, BYU will get to play with Childs in the lineup.
TIP-INS: Former BYU player Kari Liimo, a native of Finland, attended Saturday’s game. Liimo was the first foreign-born all-conference player in program history. He scored 1,156 points and averaged 15.2 points in three seasons for the Cougars, and he played for Finland in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. … Montana Tech coach Adam Hiatt formerly coached at Westminster, where he finished fourth all-time in total victories and third in winning percentage. Hiatt played two seasons at Ricks College, where he was a two-time All-Conference performer.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2Y3q3df
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