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Elijah Bryant was the player BYU coaches promised he would be when he transferred from Elon University two years ago and the Cougars found their offensive rhythm Thursday night at a place that hasn't been kind to them in recent years.

The result was an easy, confidence-building 97-78 romp over Portland as BYU tuned up for a trip to the Kennel to face No. 1-ranked Gonzaga on Saturday.

Bryant made a career-high seven 3-pointers en route to a career-high 39 points.

"I am always super-confident in my shot," the sophomore told the IMG Radio Network. "I've been working hard on my shot and I finally found the sweet spot."

The Cougars (20-10, 11-6 WCC) remained a game ahead of San Francisco and Santa Clara for third place in the league with one game remaining. Portland (10-20, 2-15) suffered its 15th straight conference loss on Senior Night while playing without injured senior star Alec Wintering.

Filling in for injured forward Yoeli Childs (ankle), sophomore Braiden Shaw made his first career start and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. Eric Mika added 19 points and eight rebounds and Nick Emery had 16 points and made three 3-pointers.

"We needed some momentum for Saturday's game, and I think we got it," Bryant said.

BYU coach Dave Rose has now won 20 or more games in 12 straight seasons.

BYU led by as many as 27 points before Rose cleared his bench in the final five minutes. Portland scored eight points on one trip down the floor in the last two minutes but otherwise struggled and finished shooting 43 percent.

The Pilots were 32 of 43 from the free-throw line as 28 fouls were called on BYU.

With Bryant going 7 of 12 from beyond the arc, the Cougars made a season-high 13 triples, on 30 attempts.

"The biggest thing in this game for me was to keep focusing on the moment," Bryant said when asked if he knew he was having a career scoring night. He also tied a career-high with six assists.

Bryant scored 22 points in the first half, eclipsing his season-high before intermission, and the Cougars took a 51-34 lead at the break. Bryant's previous career-high was 32 against Drexel his freshman year at Elon.

Bryant hit three 3-pointers in the first three minutes and when Mika made a pair of free throws, the Cougars had a quick 14-3 lead early.

Childs, who sprained his ankle in the 70-57 loss to Saint Mary's, made the trip and did some warming up, but did not play.

The Cougars led by as many as 18 in the first half, despite getting no points from TJ Haws, who picked up three fouls in the first 20 minutes. Haws hit a 3-pointer early in the second half, but eventually fouled out.

Xavier Hallinan, a walk-on who wasn't on the roster when BYU beat Portland 73-62 in Provo on Feb. 4, hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the half to keep the Pilots reasonably close. He finished with a career-high 17 points.

Steven Beo added 12 points for BYU, which got 16 points from its bench after getting six points from its reserves the past three games combined.

BYU was scheduled to fly directly from Spokane and will face the No. 1 Zags at 8 p.m. MST Saturday. —

Storylines

* Elijah Bryant makes seven 3-pointers and is perfect from the free-throw line in scoring a career-high 39 points for BYU

* The Cougars clinch a top-four seed in the WCC Tournament with an easy win over the shorthanded Pilots, who suffer their 14th-straight conference loss

* Eric Mika and Nick Emery add 19 and 16 points apiece as BYU coach Dave Rose gets his 12th-straight 20 win season