Cougars drop overtime thriller to UNLV at the buzzer, 92-90

BYU vs. UNLV Box Score

LAS VEGAS – The BYU men’s basketball team fell 92-90 as UNLV hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in the Neon Hoops Showcase benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer.

"They left everything out there and played their hearts out," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "There are a lot of really good things here. We switched our defense on that last play and I think it confused them a little bit. The kid jumped up and made a shot and those are tough."

Childs recorded a double-double as he scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while grabbing two steals and adding an assist. Jahshire Hardnett and TJ Haws each contributed 19 points. Hardnett added three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Haws tallied six assists, three steals and one rebound.

A pair of UNLV (5-4) free throws started the scoring before Haws and Connor Harding scored back-to-back buckets to give BYU (8-5) an early 4-2 lead two minutes into the game.

Harding hit a trey and was followed by a layup by Hardnett to take a 13-9 advantage with 14:52 remaining in the first half.

After the Rebels evened the game at 17-all, Haws and Childs finished at the rim for a four-point lead, 21-17, and 11:11 on the clock.

UNLV went on a 30-9 run through the final minutes of the first half, hitting six 3-pointers on the Cougars' defense to take a 47-30 lead at halftime.

In the first half, BYU shot 45.2 percent from the field while the Rebels shot 48.4 percent. UNLV dominated shooting from beyond the arc, recording 56.3 percent with nine makes compared to the Cougars' 25 percent and one make.

Haws opened the second half with a trey but the Rebels continued to score and kept a double-digit lead.

A three-point play by Hardnett was followed by a jump shot from Zac Seljaas to cut the deficit to 11, 56-45, with 15:10 remaining in the game.

With 9:19 on the clock, Haws setup Nick Emery for a 3-pointer on the transition to bring the deficit to single-digits, 68-59. Emery followed with a layup on the next possession to bring the score to 68-61.

A 6-0 run by BYU was highlighted by buckets from Childs and Dalton Nixon that brought the Cougars within one, 70-69, with under six minutes to go.

UNLV hit a long 3-pointer but Childs responded with a dunk on the other end of the court to keep BYU in the game with 4:12 remaining in the game and a 75-73 score.

Seljaas hit a shot from beyond the arc and a steal by Haws led Hardnett to another 3-point play to take an 83-81 lead with 2:22 left on the clock.

The Rebels hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 83-all and a missed shot at the Buzzer by the Cougars sent the game into overtime.

Childs scored the first bucket of the overtime period nearly two minutes in but UNLV answered with a pair of free throws and a jumper to take an 87-85 lead.

With under a minute to go, Hardnett netted a layup to take a one-point lead with 18 seconds on the clock. As the buzzer sounded, the Rebels hit a long trey to take the two-point win.

The Cougars continue on the road as they take on former Mountain West foe San Diego State on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m. PST. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network and audio broadcasts can be heard on BYU Sports Network, BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM) and KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM.

Postgame Notes

Yoeli Childs totaled 25 points, 11 rebounds and two steals vs. UNLV. It was the eighth 20-point game and eight double-double of the season for the junior forward. Childs now has 28 career double-doubles, tied for eighth all-time in BYU history. Childs has scored in double figures in 19-straight games dating back to last season.

TJ Haws finished with 19 points, six assists and a season-high three steals vs. UNLV. It marks his fourth-straight and 10 game this season scoring in double figures.

Jahshire Hardnett totaled 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. It marks his sixth game scoring in double figures this season.

Postgame Quotes

BYU guard Jahshire Hardnett

On UNLV's 3-point shooting

Yeah definitely. I think that was us just not making shots and then defensively we started slacking and not being where we were supposed to be but in the second half I think we did a much better job.

On the second half comeback

Just our mindset. After we saw a few balls go in it boosted our defense intensity. We wanted to come out and have more intensity than we did in the first half.

On the positives from this game

"The second half comeback boosted us up. Two weeks ago I don't know if we would have been able to come back from that. We continued to fight and we played defense so I think that's a positive take.

BYU head coach Dave Rose

On tonight's comeback

Two weeks ago on a Saturday night we were in the locker room at halftime kind of in the same spot and hadn't played a great first half. We had couldn't find a formula to get ourselves back in the game and it ended up getting away from us. Even though this one will really hurt we found a way our guys can relate to and go back to.

On the outcome

It's just one of those games that you feel as a coach and as a team that you should have won it and that's going to sting for the guys.