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. But LMU missed its next five shots and the Cougars made 5 of 6 free throws before T.J. Haws made a 3-pointer to seal the win.

Yoeli Childs had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, who had 13 of their 15 turnovers and 14 of their 17 fouls in the second half.

Steven Haney led LMU with 16 points, hitting five 3s.