Numerous players step up for BYU Cougars in narrow victory over SUU Thunderbirds

PROVO — Southern Utah outshot and out-rebounded BYU Wednesday night at the Marriott Center and it outscored the Cougars in the paint, 46-22.

But BYU knocked down eight 3-pointers compared to zero for the Thunderbirds, and senior Jake Toolson hit the biggest 3 of the night when he buried a step-back jumper as the shot clock was winding down and with 34.5 seconds remaining in the game to give the Cougars a 66-62 advantage.

That 3-pointer helped lift the Cougars to a hard-fought 68-63 victory over SUU. 

“I knew the shot clock was running down and I wanted to get a good look,” said Toolson, who scored a team-high 22 points. “I stepped up and got a good look.”

“Him going left with that kind of step-back 3, he loves it,” coach Mark Pope said of Toolson. “He’s made a boatload of shots like that. He’s a tough, talented competitor.”

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Still, if it weren’t for unlikely hero Evan Troy, a senior walk-on, the Cougars may have suffered a loss at the hands of the T-birds. 

At one point during the second half, SUU (2-1) had hit 11 of 15 shots from the floor and it led by as many as four points with 11 minutes remaining. Thunderbird guard John Knight III, who scored 22 points, was having his way driving to the basket.  

So Pope turned to Troy for defensive help and he was assigned to guard Knight. Troy played the final nine minutes and though he didn’t score a point, he proved to be a defensive force. 

“You reach down the bench and grab a guy like Evan Troy, who, when you look at him, you wouldn’t assume that he’s going to be the defensive stopper but he was fantastic tonight,” Pope said. “Evan Troy is a senior walk-on. I don’t know if he’s playing seven minutes in his whole life. But he was huge for us tonight. It’s nice to be able to reach down and pluck guys off the bench that can fill a role for you. I felt comfortable with him on the floor.”

“I was just doing my job. It’s not all about points for me,” Troy said. “I stepped up when I needed to. Other guys will do it the rest of the season. It just happened to be me tonight.”

On the night, SUU shot 50 percent from the field and 0-of-12 from 3-point range. BYU shot 38 percent and 36 percent (8 of 22) from distance. 

“We struggled for the first 30 minutes just managing penetration,” Pope said. “It’s a really explosive team. They have some incredible athletes.” 

Dalton Nixon turned in a much-needed, all-around performance, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out three assists and logging two steals. 

Nixon suffered a nasty cut under his eye in the first half but after being treated briefly, kept on playing.

“That dude just fights. He’s kind of the heart and soul of our team,” Toolson said of Nixon. “He does whatever we need to do to win.”

Guard TJ Haws scored 10 points and missed time in the second half due to foul trouble.

BYU (2-1) led by as many as 10 points in the first half and took a 36-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.

But the Cougars couldn’t pull away from SUU. 

“The game was frustrating. We struggled keeping the ball in front and guarding their penetration,” Toolson said. “It seemed like every time down the floor, we were reviewing something. Things were kind of slow for us. We needed to win every possession.” 

BYU led 66-63 with less than 30 seconds remaining when SUU missed a three-pointer but grabbed an offensive rebound. Cougar guard Alex Barcello stole the ball away and sealed the win by hitting a pair of free throws with 10.3 seconds remaining.

Toolson and his teammates learned something about his team Wednesday night. 

“We learned that we can respond, we can win ugly games, we can win frustrating wins, we can fight, we can win together, guys can step up,” he said. “We learned a lot about our team tonight.”

“There was jawing going on before the game and during the game, which makes the game fun,” Pope said. “I’m super happy for our guys, that they were able to gut it out and grit through it and figure out some answers at the end. It’s a great win for us. Southern Utah’s a good team.”

With the win, BYU improved to 12-0 all-time against SUU. But the Cougars earned a lot of respect for the Thunderbirds. 

“They’re a really good team,” Troy said. “They’re going to make some noise in the Big Sky, I swear.”

BYU visits Houston Friday night.