Elijah Bryant added 25 points for the third-seeded Cougars (24-9), while TJ Haws scored 11 points and reserve Dalton Nixon hit for 10. BYU will meet Gonzaga on Tuesday night with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at stake.

Jordan Ford paced the second-seeded Gaels (28-5) with 27 points, while WCC Player of the Year Jock Landale tallied 23 before fouling out with 21.4 seconds left. Calvin Hermanson contributed 12 points for Saint Mary's, which should still earn an at-large bid despite a soft non-conference schedule.

The Cougars eliminated the Gaels with sound offensive execution and terrific shooting. BYU canned 61.5 percent of its field-goal tries in the second half and 61.1 percent for the game. It drew assists on 20 field goals and committed only six turnovers.

Leading 55-54 with 11:14 left in the game after a layup by Evan Fitzner, the Cougars took control with a 12-0 run. Childs capped the spurt with a layup that made it 67-54 with 7:30 remaining, and Saint Mary's never got closer than six points again.

As it did during Saturday night's 69-66 nailbiter against 10th-seeded Pepperdine, Saint Mary's got into a quick hole. BYU established an 11-4 lead less than five minutes into the game when Jahshire Hardnett converted a layup.

Unlike Saturday night, when the Gaels had to work their way back from a 15-point deficit, they quickly erased that deficit with an 11-2 run. Hermanson's 3-pointer with 11:33 remaining in the half gave them a 15-13 edge.

From there, the game ping-ponged back-and-forth, both teams executing well offensively. There were nine lead changes and five ties following Hermanson's bucket, with the Cougars rallying late to take a 41-37 lead to the locker room on a 3-ball by Childs with seven seconds left.

--Field Level Media