Bryant scores 28, but BYU can’t overcome Stanford in NIT

AP Photo

STANFORD, Calif. – Reid Travis scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Michael Humphrey added 11 and 14 and Stanford topped BYU 86-83 on Wednesday night in the first round of the NIT.

Travis gave Stanford a 69-58 lead on a dunk with 7:09 remaining, but the Cardinal didn’t hit another field goal until freshman Daejon Davis sank a contested 3-pointer at the 1:48 mark. BYU’s Jahshire Hardnett grabbed an offensive rebound and finished in traffic, then his steal led to a fast-break layup to pull to 72-68 and cap a 10-0 run after a technical foul on Cougar coach Dave Rose.

“I’m a little disappointed because we wanted to move on and keep playing in this tournament,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “There comes a time where you lose a game and then there are no games left. The message this year is this team found a really unique way to stay together and overcome a lot of things this season.”

Stanford forward Reid Travis (22) takes a shot over BYU forward Payton Dastrup (15) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Elijah Bryant led all scorers with 28 points while tallying 10 rebounds and two assists. Hardnett added 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Stanford led by 10 with 36 seconds left, but BYU wouldn’t go away. TJ Haws made a steal at 13.5 on an inbounds pass and Elijah Bryant hit a long 3-pointer to pull BYU to 85-83. Davis went 1 of 2 at the line for a three-point lead. Bryant was fouled at 5.7 before he could get off a potential tying 3-pointer and Haws grabbed the second free-throw miss, raced to the 3-point line and was just off on a 3.

Stanford (19-15) will play Oklahoma State in the next round.

Bryant led BYU (24-11) with 28 points and Childs fouled out with 2:27 remaining with 11 points and 10 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season. Haws missed all seven of his 3-pointers and finished with 10 points.

The Cougars got on the board first with a dunk by Bryant and was followed by a Childs layup to take an early 4-0 lead two minutes into the game. Stanford answered with an 8-0 run to take an 8-4 advantage with 6:50 remaining in the first quarter.

With the Cardinal on top 13-8, BYU answered with buckets by three different players to take back the lead, 15-13 with 3:13 on the clock.

The Cougars ended the first quarter on top, 18-16 after Bryant hit his second 3-pointer of the night.

In the second quarter, layups by Dastrup and Childs extended the BYU lead to 22-16 with 8:21 left on the clock.

Stanford forward Reid Travis (22) drives to the basket against BYU forward Yoeli Childs (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday, March 14, 2018, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/ Tony Avelar)

The Cardinal regained the lead after a 9-0 run for a two-point lead, 26-24 with five minutes before halftime.

A 10-0 run by the Cougars, including five points by Rylan Bergersen, gave BYU it’s largest lead of the night, 39-30 with 1:41 on the clock.

At halftime, the Cougars were on top 39-35. BYU shot 48.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Stanford shot 46.4 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from the 3-point line. Defensively, the Cougars forced 13 turnovers.

Seven-straight points by the Cardinal put Stanford on top 42-39 early in the third quarter. Despite buckets by BYU to slow down the Cardinal offense, the Cougars were unable to take back their lead.

Another 7-0 run by Stanford at the end of the quarter extended the margin to 61-52 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into the final quarter.

BYU scored the first two buckets of the fourth quarter, but a 9-2 run by the Cardinal extended the lead to 14-points, 72-58 with 6:13 left in the game.

The Cougars did not back down as they answered with 10 consecutive points that ended with back-to-back layups by Hardnett to make it a two possession game, 72-68, with three minutes to go.

In the final 30 seconds of the game, Bryant scored 8-of-10 BYU points to make it a one possession game, 85-83. Stanford went 1-of-2 from the line to keep it a 3-point game. The Cardinal held on to take the 86-83 victory.

The Cougars shot 44.7 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from three and 60.0 percent from the charity stripe. Stanford shot 44.8 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from beyond the arc and 59.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Stats: Box Score 34

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