No. 23 BYU upsets No. 2 Gonzaga 91-78
BYU took the fight to Gonzaga and sent a message to everyone else about how dangerous it could be when March rolls around.
The No. 23 Cougars imposed their will on offense and defense for the better part of 40 minutes for a 91-78 victory over second-ranked Gonzaga on Saturday night. They ended the Bulldogs’ 19-game winning streak by battling for loose balls and forcing turnovers on one end and attacking the basket without fear on the other end.
BYU (23-7, 12-3 WCC) never trailed after halftime en route to winning its eighth straight game.
“Gonzaga is a great team,” forward Yoeli Childs said. “They made their runs and they had great players out there making great plays, but nothing they did slowed us down. It gets me really excited for the future.”
Childs led BYU with 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. The senior put the Cougars on his shoulders at critical points when the offense needed an extra boost.
Gonzaga trailed by 14 points early in the second half before mounting a comeback. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 70-68 on a jumper from Drew Timme with 7:52 remaining.
Zac Seljaas made back-toback baskets to give the Cougars a little breathing room again. Then Childs bookended a string of four straight BYU baskets with a layup and a jumper to put the Cougars up 87-76 with 3:15 left.
Gonzaga scored a single basket over the final seven minutes.
“Our guys were fighting,” BYU coach Mark Pope said. “If you want to have a chance to play with them, then you better be dialed in on every single possession.”
Jake Toolson added 17 points for the Cougars and T.J. Haws had 16 points.
Killian Tillie scored 18 points and Corey Kispert added 16 for the Bulldogs.
Filip Petrusev added 14 points and Admon Gilder chipped in 13. Gonzaga (27-2, 13-1) won the previous five meetings in Provo. The Bulldogs turned it over 14 times and allowed BYU to score 18 points off those turnovers.
“They came after us with their offense,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “They came after us with their defense, physically taking the ball from us. We didn’t deserve to win.”