PROVO, Utah -- Elijah Bryant scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half and BYU defeated Loyola Marymount 82-67 on Thursday night.
With Bryant making 7 of 9 shots, including 4 of his 5 3-pointers, the Cougars (16-4, 5-2 West Coast Conference) shot 67 percent and rolled to a 46-29 lead at halftime. Bryant had five points in an early 20-2 run that pushed the lead to 11 and the margin was in double figures for the last 14 1/2 minutes. BYU opened the game making 11 of 13 shots.
The Lions (6-12, 1-6) slowly chipped away, pulling within nine, 70-61, on a 3-pointer by Donald Gipson with 6:11 to play.