Malibu, Calif. • BYU learned a couple of things Thursday night with an 87-76 win over Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse.
First, the Cougars discovered they can win back-to-back games at the Waves’ tiny gymnasium.
Second, they learned that freshman Gavin Baxter probably should have been playing more when they were struggling in December.
Baxter scored 13 points off the bench, including a couple monster dunks after lobs from TJ Haws, and also blocked three shots as BYU followed last year’s 75-70 overtime win with another gut-check victory in Malibu.
Haws led all scorers with 34 points, a career-high, while Yoeli Childs added 20, including 13 in the second half.