BYU overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half and a defensive blunder at the end of regulation and beat San Diego 88-82 in overtime on Thursday night at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
TJ Haws scored a career-high 35 points and tied a career-high with seven assists, and Yoeli Childs added 27 points and 12 rebounds as BYU improved to 9-3 in West Coast Conference play, 17-10 overall.
BYU outscored San Diego 13-7 in the extra period to get its first win at Jenny Craig Pavilion since 2016.
“Fun night for me,” Haws said.
USD’s Isaiah Wright made an uncontested layup to beat the buzzer and force overtime, driving the length of the court with 6.4 seconds remaining.
The Cougars missed six of their final nine free-throw attempts in the final three minutes of regulation after taking their first lead of the game, 70-69, with just over four minutes remaining on a 3-pointer by McKay Cannon.
In overtime, Haws scored eight points, including four clinching free throws in the final 27 seconds. The junior guard passed his father, Marty, for 23rd on BYU’s all-time scoring list and was 11 of 18 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
“It really helps when you have shooters who can make 3-point shots and a big guy like Yo who can make shots from anywhere,” Haws said.
BYU made 11 of 21 3-pointers, while USD was 10 of 24 from long range after going 7 of 15 from deep in the first half. Isaiah Pineiro and Olin Carter III scored 20 points apiece for San Diego (16-10, 5-6), which is now 11-2 at home.
“Man, this place is a tough place to play,” Haws said. “They came out with a tough mentality, and they were making a lot of shots, and we weathered the storm. We really just battled all night.”
The Cougars, who had just seven turnovers, forced USD into 18 turnovers and scored 18 points off of them.
Haws hit a jumper with 37 seconds left in regulation to give BYU a 74-73 lead. But Zac Seljaas and Nick Emery missed free throws, and Wright’s basket came after the Toreros had gone five straight possessions without scoring.
Having downed USD 85-79 in the WCC quarterfinals last spring, BYU got off to an awful start and trailed 24-10 early.
Trailing by 14 just four minutes into the second half, the Cougars began their comeback. It was their largest comeback of the season, surpassing a seven-point comeback last month.
Childs started the rally with a dunk, Haws followed with a 3-pointer, and Cannon swished a trey from the corner.
The Toreros shot 54 percent in the first half, but went cold in the final 20 minutes, especially from beyond the arc.
The Cougars were out-rebounded 18-10 in the first half, but just 34-29 in the game.
San Diego took a 77-75 lead in overtime on two free throws by Wright, but did not make a field goal in the extra session.
Haws and Childs were the only Cougars who scored in OT and combined for 62 of BYU’s 88 points. Haws was 10 of 11 from the free-throw line.
“My shot just felt good tonight,” Haws said.
Cannon added 10 points and Emery had eight.
The Cougars maintained their 11/2-game lead over San Francisco and Saint Mary’s for second place in the WCC, and will play at Loyola Marymount on Saturday at 2 p.m. MST.
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