LAS VEGAS (Jan. 8 2000) -- Terrell Lyday scored 30 points, grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds and tied a career high with six steals to lead BYU to a 77-75 upset win over UNLV Monday in the Mountain West Conference opener at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The win is BYU's fifth straight and its 10th in the last 11 games. The Cougars are now 5-2 on the road after going 2-10 last season. "This was a character win for this team," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. "The kids showed a lot of courage. UNLV has a solid team -- they are one of the top three or four in the conference."
Lyday, who was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week Monday afternoon for his play last week, score 30 points for the second straight game, making 10-17 shots, including 5-10 from three-point range, and all five free throws. Saturday Lyday scored a career-best 35 at Utah State.
Lyday was not only impressive offensively but also was a force on the defensive end, coming up with six steals and causing other turnovers with his pressure defense. Ten of his 11 rebounds came on the defensive glass.
Mekeli Wesley scored 17 points to aid Lyday in the scoring column while Michael Vranes added nine and Todd Christensen eight. Christensen, who started his second straight game at the point in place of Matt Montague, hit a big three with 3:04 left in the game to extend BYU's lead to four at 70-66. Montague played 24 minutes off the bench and dished out a team-high seven assists while scoring a season-best six points. He hit two driving layups after penetrating the defense and made two clutch free throws with less than a minute to keep the Cougars in front.
"The thing I was most proud of was when UNLV came back we kept our composure," Cleveland said.
The Rebels tied the score at 60 with six minutes remaining but Wesley responded with a three and Silester Rivers made two free throws to give BYU a five-point advantage. When UNLV came back and took the lead 66-65 at the 3:44 mark on a Kaspars Kambala put-back inside, the Rebels had their first lead since a 5-0 beginning and had the 12,597 fans in attendance rocking. The Cougars didn't fold, however, as Silester Rivers found Wesley open for a layup before Christensen pulled up for three with three minutes to go.
The Cougars led at the half 42-32. BYU shot 48 percent to the Rebels' 39 and made 10-19 three pointers. With the win, BYU improves to 12-2 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV falls to 9-4 and 0-1.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICSBrigham Young vs UNLV Runnin' Rebels
01/10/00 07:35 PM at Las Vegas, Nevada
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VISITORS: Brigham Young 12-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
15 WESLEY, Mekeli...... f 5-11 1-1 6-8 1 3 4 4 17 1 4 1 2 36
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... f 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 2 4 4 2 0 3 0 0 10
13 VRANES, Michael..... g 3-7 2-5 1-4 0 4 4 2 9 1 1 0 3 29
24 LYDAY, Terrell...... g 10-17 5-10 5-5 1 10 11 1 30 2 5 1 6 38
4 CHRISTENSEN, Todd... g 3-6 2-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 8 2 1 0 0 20
2 RIVERS, Silester.... 0-3 0-0 3-4 2 3 5 3 3 1 6 1 0 20
31 MONTAGUE, Matt...... 2-2 0-0 2-3 0 3 3 4 6 7 4 0 1 24
42 COOPER, Nathan...... 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 4 2 1 1 0 1 22
50 NIELSEN, David...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 24-50 10-19 19-26 7 28 35 24 77 15 25 3 13 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-22 .545 2nd Half: 12-28 .429 Game: .480 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 .444 2nd Half: 6-10 .600 Game: .526 REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-12 .750 2nd Half: 10-14 .714 Game: .731 3
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HOME TEAM: UNLV Runnin' Rebels 9-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
10 JOHNSON, Dalron..... f 8-16 0-1 0-1 4 3 7 2 16 1 2 2 2 31
14 STEWART, Donovan.... f 2-7 0-1 0-1 2 3 5 5 4 3 2 0 1 23
34 KAMBALA, Kaspars.... c 2-8 0-0 4-6 1 7 8 4 8 0 4 0 0 21
03 DIGGS, Trevor....... g 5-12 4-7 6-6 0 1 1 1 20 2 3 0 4 38
11 DICKEL, Mark........ g 4-7 3-6 6-6 0 2 2 2 17 10 3 0 4 38
01 POPOOLA, Chris...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
05 BROTHERSON, Danny... 0-3 0-0 5-6 0 1 1 4 5 0 2 0 0 20
13 DOTSON, Sylvester... 2-6 0-0 1-1 3 4 7 2 5 0 2 0 0 17
20 RICHARDSON, Chris... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 9
33 EPPS, Issiah........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 23-59 7-15 22-27 11 23 34 21 75 16 21 2 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-37 .270 2nd Half: 13-22 .591 Game: .390 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-6 .167 2nd Half: 6-9 .667 Game: .467 REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-11 1.000 2nd Half: 11-16 .688 Game: .815 2
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Officials: Tom O'Neill, Verne Harris, Jim Danner
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-None. UNLV Runnin' Rebels-None.
Attendance: 12597
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Brigham Young................. 42 35 - 77
UNLV Runnin' Rebels........... 32 43 - 75
Coming off its win over Utah State Saturday, BYU travels to Las Vegas to play its inaugural Mountain West Conference game Monday against UNLV in the Thomas & Mack Center. Tip off is set for 7:35 Pacific (8:35 Mountain). The game will be televised by SportsWest Productions on KSL-TV with Dave McCann calling play by play and and former Cougar coach Tony Ingle providing game commentary. The game can be heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 AM with Greg Wrubell and former Cougar Mark Durrant calling the action.
Up Next
After Monday's game against UNLV, BYU will return home to prepare for its first meeting with in-state rival Utah. The game is being televised on ESPN regional (KJZZ channel 14 in Salt Lake City). Tip off is at 1 p.m. Mountain.
Last Time Out
Terrell Lyday scored 35 points to lead BYU to an 82-73 road win against in-state rival Utah State Saturday. He made six three pointers, one shy of the BYU record, in nine attempts (11-17 overall) and went 7-8 from the line. The 35-point outburst set a new career high and was the most points scored by a Cougar since Russell Larsen scored 36 against Nicholls State in 1993. BYU shot 57 percent in the first half to take a 40-28 halftime advantage. Lyday scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half. Silester Rivers scored 15 points off the bench while Mekeli Wesley added 11 and Vranes nine. Todd Christensen scored seven points, all in the early going, in his first start of the year to help the Cougars' hot first-half shooting. For the game, BYU shot 50 percent while the Aggies shot 39 percent. Wesley had team-high eight rebounds and three assists. Tony Brown, who scored 18 points, led USU.
Quick Facts
BYU (11-2) at UNLV (9-3)
Monday, Jan. 10 • Thomas & Mack Center (18,500) •Las Vegas • 7:35 p.m. Pacific
SportsWest Television (KSL Channel 5)
BYU's Probable Starters
F 25 Eric Nielsen 6-8 205 So. 4.5 4.0
F 15 Mekeli Wesley 6-9 230 Jr. 18.3 6.3
G 24 Terrell Lyday 6-3 190 Jr. 16.7 3.5
G 4 Todd Christensen 6-1 185 Jr. 6.7
G 13 Michael Vranes 6-3 190 So. 8.6 4.5
UNLV's Probable Starters:
F 10 Dalron Johnson 6-9 205 Fr. 8.0 5.4
F 5 Danny Brotherson 6-4 200 Jr. 9.6 4.8
C 34 Kaspars Kambala 6-9 250 Jr. 19.3 8.8
G 11 Mark Dickel 6-2 175 Sr. 13.6 4.6
G 3 Trevor Diggs 6-3 185 Jr. 15.9 1.7
BYU Coach: Steve Cleveland
Record at BYU: 32-39 (3rd year)
Overall Div. I record: Same
UNLV Coach: Bill Bayno*
*will miss the game serving one-game MWC suspension
Record at UNLV: 77-55 (5th year)
Overall record: Same
Series Record: 4-2 UNLV
Game Time: 7:35 p.m. Pacific (8:35 p.m. Mountain)
Broadcast Plans
Television:
Network: SportsWest Productions
Station: KSL, Channel 5
Air Time: 7:30 p.m. Pacific (8:30 Mtn)
Play-by-play: Dave McCann
Commentary: Tony Ingle
Radio:
Network: Cougar Sports Network
Station: KSL Newsradio 1160 AM
Air Time: 7 p.m. Pacific (8 p.m. Mtn)
Play-by-play: Greg Wrubell
Commentary: Mark Durrant
Scouting UNLV
UNLV is 9-3 overall and 8-1 at home. The Rebels won their first five games before losing to North Carolina (102-78) at the Food Lion MVP Classic in Charlotte, N.C. All three UNLV losses have come against nationally ranked opponents (North Carolina is ranked 14th, Oklahoma State 16th and Cincinnati third in the latest AP poll). The Rebels' lone home loss was to Oklahoma State (89-75) and its only true away game of the year was a defeat at Cincinnati (106-66). After Cincinnati, UNLV defeated High Point (72-53) Tuesday at home. The Rebels, who defeated Georgetown (85-69) earlier in the year, have won their last three home games. Two starters and five letterwinners return from last year's 16-13 team that qualified for the NIT Tournament and tied for first in the WAC Mountain Division. UNLV is sixth in the nation in scoring at 84.9 ppg, led by Kaspars Kambala (19.3), Trevor Diggs (15.9) and Mark Dickel (13.6). Danny Brotherson, a transfer from Utah Valley State College, is fourth on the team in scoring with a 9.6 average. He adds 4.8 boards per game and has four starts this season. Kambala pulls down a team-leading 8.8 rebounds and Dickel accounts for 8.5 assists per game. As a team, the Rebels shoot 46 percent from the floor, 28 percent on threes and 68 percent from the line. Head Coach Bill Bayno will miss Monday's game with BYU while serving a one-game suspension for missing a mandatory Mountain West Conference head coaches meeting on Oct. 21. Glynn Cyprien, associate head coach, will coach the rebels in Bayno's absence. Lou Kelly, a 6-5 sophomore forward from San Bernardino Valley who had resigned a national national letter-of-intent, will be eligible for Monday's game.
Series Notes
This will be the seventh meeting between the two schools. UNLV leads the series 4-2 and is 2-1 at home against the Cougars. Playing in different WAC divisions last year, the two schools did not play. The Rebels won the last meeting, an 84-76 victory in Provo on Feb. 21, 1998. UNLV also won the last game in Las Vegas that same year with a 76-63 win on Jan. 22, 1998. BYU's previous game in Las Vegas was in 1982 (52-50 Rebel win). Both of BYU's wins in the series took place during the 1980-81 season with an overtime victory in Las Vegas (92-90) before a win in Provo (86-77).
Recent Meetings
Mekeli Wesley is the only player on the Cougar roster who has played against the Rebels. He had 16 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes as a freshman in the last meeting between the two schools (84-76 UNLV win in Provo). Ron Selleaze, who scored 31 points and had seven rebounds and four assists, led BYU. The Rebels had five players in double figures. Tyrone Nesby led the way with 22 and current players Mark Dickel and Kaspars Kambala added 14 and 12, respectively. In the last game in Las Vegas in 1998, the Rebels led 30-28 at half and outscored the Cougars 46-35 in the final 20 minutes for a 76-63 victory. Keon Clark had 21, Nesby 20 and Brian Keefe 19 to lead the Rebels. Kambala had six points and nine boards in 22 minutes while Dickel had a game-high nine assists in 30 minutes but did not score. Danny Bower's 20 points led BYU while Selleaze added 12. Wesley had five points and four rebounds in 30 minutes.
BYU Team Notes
Cougar Start among Best in Past 20 Years
BYU has achieved a 11-2 record for only the fourth time in the past 20 years and is off to its best start since 1991-92 when the Cougars also started the season with a 11-2 mark. BYU's best start was a 17-0 beginning in 1987-88 when the Cougars won their first 17 games and achieved a No. 2 national ranking.
Going for No. 12
BYU's next win will match the Cougars' win total from last year when they compiled a 12-16 record. Last year's 12th win came in BYU's 27th game, a 90-74 upset of TCU at the Thomas & Mack Center in the WAC Tournament. The Cougars could also earn their 12th win this year on the same floor, but in only their 14th game, with an upset of UNLV Monday.
Streaks
BYU has a four-game win streak and has won nine of its last 10. BYU's longest win streak of the year is five games. BYU has won its last three straight road games. The last time the Cougars won three straight on the road was in 1993-94. The last time BYU won four straight road games was in 1992-93, when the Cougars has a six-game road streak. BYU's three straight non-conference road wins was a first since the 1991-92 season. BYU is a perfect 7-0 at home this year and has won eight consecutive times at home including last year's regular season-ending win over UTEP (85-64). All eight wins have been by double-digit margins.
Numbers on the Road
BYU is 4-2 on the road this year, having already doubled the number of wins it achieved in the opponent's home arena last year (2-10 in road games last year). The Cougars are scoring 71.3 for a 4.0 scoring margin. On the road, BYU is shooting .429, including .426 on threes, and .699 from the free throw line. BYU is being out rebounded 38.2-35.3 in its five away games. Terrell Lyday leads the Cougar scoring effort on the road with a 19.0 average after scoring a career-high 35 Saturday at Utah State. Mekeli Wesley averaged 18.8 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds.
Playing at Home
BYU is a perfect 7-0 at home this year. The Cougars are averaging 79.4 points per game in the Marriott Center and a whopping 20-point margin of victory. BYU is making 51.5 percent of its shots, including 40.6 percent of its three-point attempts, in the Marriott Center this year. The Cougars are pulling down 37.6 rebounds per game to their opponents 32.9. Wesley is scoring a team-best 17.9 points, followed by Terrell Lyday at 14.7, Michael Vranes at 10.0 and Nathan Cooper at 9.9.
Defense
BYU ranks 12th in the nation in field goal percentage defense in the latest rankings released Jan. 3. The Cougars have held their opponents to a collective 37.3 shooting percentage and a 27.9 percentage on three-pointers. The Cougars have held the opposition to below 40 percent shooting in nine of 13 games this year. In BYU's two losses, however, Arizona shot .544 and South Alabama .490. BYU is 10-0 when it out shoots its opponent. BYU is holding opponents to 63.1 points per game.
On the Boards
BYU is pulling down 36.5 rebounds per game while its opponents are grabbing 35.3. The Cougars are 8-0 when they have out rebounded their opponents and 3-2 in games were the opposition totalled more boards. Mekeli Wesley leads BYU with 6.3 rebounds per game, including a team-best 62 defensive boards. Silester Rivers has a team-high 22 offensive rebounds.
Offense
BYU has shot better than 50 percent from the floor in seven of its 13 games. The Cougars have shot below 40 percent twice -- 36.5 percent in a loss at nationally ranked Arizona and a season-low 29.6 in a win at UC Santa Barbara. The Cougars are shooting 47.3 percent from the floor, including 41.6 percent on threes, and 71.4 percent from the line. Three Cougars are shooting better than 50 percent. Silester Rivers is making a team-best 59.4 percent from the floor. Nathan Cooper has made all but five free throws (29-34) for a team-best 85.3 percent. As a team BYU shoots 71.4 percent from the line. The Cougars score 75.7 points per game.
Three-Point Range
BYU is ranked seventh in the nation in three-point percentage in the latest rankings released Jan. 3. The Cougars are shooting 41.6 percent (82-193) from three point range this year. Four players are shooting 40 percent or better individually, led by Todd Christensen (20-43) who is making nearly 47 percent of his attempts. Terrell Lyday (30-67) has made 43.8 percent, Michael Vranes (16-37) 43.2 percent and Mekeli Wesley (9-21) 42.9 percent. Six players have made a three-pointer, led by Lyday's team-high 30. Nathan Cooper has made five and Matt Montague two. Silester Rivers (0-1) and the departed Morgan Smith (0-1) are the only other Cougars to attempt a shot from behind the arc. BYU's opponents are shooting 27.9 percent from three-point range. BYU is making 6.3 threes per game compared to 5.0 by its opponents.
BYU Starting Lineups
UCR Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
SUU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
Ariz. Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
Den. Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
ASU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
TSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
WSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
SCSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
USA Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
FIU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Rivers, Wesley
UCSB Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Rivers, Wesley
UCI Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
USU Christensen, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley
Player Notables
Mekeli Wesley
Mekeli is BYU's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 18.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg. He has been BYU's top scorer in seven games this season and has scored in double figures in 11 of BYU's 13 games. He scored 11 points and had a team highs with eight rebounds and three assists in Saturday's win at Utah State. He scored 18 points and pulled down six boards against UC Irvine. He had six rebounds and scored a game-high 24 points, 16 in the second half, at UCSB -- the seventh time he has scored 20 or more points. He had eight points and seven rebounds at Florida International. He had a game-high 20 points at South Alabama. He averaged 21 points and nine rebounds to earn MWC Player of the Week honors (Dec. 7-11) and was named the Cougar Classic MVP for the second time in his career (also as freshman). After averaging three rebounds per game in first three contests, he averaged 7.4 over the next eight. He recorded his first double-double of the year (fourth of career) with 24 points and 10 rebounds in win over Texas Southern. He scored a season-high 26 points in back-to-back games this year versus Denver and Arizona State (he scored 31 points twice as a freshman).
Terrell Lyday
Lyday averages 16.7 points, second on the team, and team-high 32.2 minutes. He has scored in double figures in 11 of BYU's 13 games and has made a three-pointer in all 13 games this season on his way to a team-high 30 three pointers (30-67, .448). Last year he made more than 100 treys for Fresno City College. After shooting 2-11 at UCSB, he has averaged 28.5 points in his last two games. He carried BYU to a win at Utah State Saturday with a career-high 35 points, including six three pointers. Wednesday, he scored a game-high 22 points to lead a BYU comeback win over UC Irvine. He had career-best six steals at UCSB, despite the off night scoring (2-11 for eight points and held scoreless in the first half for the first time this year). He scored 26 points at FIU and had 15 points against South Alabama, where he was a perfect 4-4 on three-point attempts. He joined Wesley on the Cougar Classic All-Tournament team Dec. 10-11 and is showing why he was recruited by Coach Steve Cleveland out of Fresno City College to help replace production lost by the LDS Church mission departure of freshman sensation Mark Bigelow (15 ppg last year). He scored 18 points against Arizona and had 17 vs. ASU.
Michael Vranes
Vranes is pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game and is third on the team in scoring at 8.6 ppg. He is second on the team with 3.2 assists per game from his shooting guard spot (averaged 2.9 last year as point guard). He has made a trey in eight of 13 games and has scored in double figures in five games, including four of the last seven. He is 16-37 (.432) on treys. He had a solid nine points, five rebound, two assist night Saturday at Utah State and had one of his better games of the year Wednesday with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists against UC Irvine. Vranes matched a career high with a team-best nine rebounds at UCSB. He also had team-high three assists despite three points on 1-9 shooting. He scored eight of his 12 points in overtime at FIU. He totalled 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high seven assists vs. South Carolina State. He had a season-high 15 points along with five rebounds vs. Weber State.
Matt Montague
The only true point guard on the BYU roster, he has team-leading 55 assists (4.2 apg). He is averaging 2.5 points and 3.1 rebounds. He has been plagued by a achilles injury all year and did not start for the first time this year Saturday against Utah State but played 25 minutes off the bench and had four points and two assists. He was limited to only 10 minutes because of his achilles against UC Irvine Wednesday and did not record an assist for the first time this year. Montague did not take a shot but made three clutch free throws down the stretch at UCSB. He had two points, four rebounds and eight assists in team- and personal career-high 41 minutes at FIU. He shared team-high five rebounds with Wesley at South Alabama while handing out four assists. He matched his season high with five points vs. South Carolina State and made his second three-pointer of the year (2-6 on the season). After receiving stitches to repair a cut above his eye against ASU, Montague returned and led BYU on a 14-1 run. He dished out a season-high nine assists vs. Weber State and helped hold Wildcat guard Eddie Gill to 2-14 shooting.
Eric Nielsen
A returned LDS missionary to Russia, the sophomore is averaging 4.5 points and 4.0 rebounds. Nielsen returned to the starting lineup against UC Irvine after a two-game stint off the bench. He averaged 5.4 points (52.8 percent) and 4.0 rebounds in 24.6 minutes as a starter in the first nine games. He makes 48 percent of his attempts (23-48). After scoring 10 and 12 points in first two games, he has not reached double digits in the past 11 outings. Saturday at Utah State he was held scoreless for the first time this year, going 0-3 with four rebounds while defending USU's larger post players. He had four points, three rebounds and a season-high three assists against UC Irvine. At UCSB, he had three points and equaled a career-best seven rebounds. He was married to BYU All-American volleyball player Anna-Lena Smith Dec. 30 in Mesa, Ariz. Coming off the bench at Florida International, he had two points and two rebounds while fouling out in 16 minutes. He had eight points at South Alabama and at Denver. He scored a season-high 12 points versus Southern Utah and had 10 in the season-opener against UC Riverside.
Silester Rivers
Rivers averages 8.4 points (4th on team) and 5.0 rebounds (2nd on team) per game. He has a team-high 22 offensive boards and is shooting a team-best 59.4 percent (FG). He has scored in double figures six times this year and has led the team in rebounds three times (6 vs. UC Riverside, 9 at Denver, 11 at FIU). Rivers had a strong outing Saturday at Utah State, scoring 15 points with some nice post play and pulling down seven rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Rivers came off the bench against UC Irvine after starting the two previous games. Despite being weakened by the flu, he contributed five points and six rebounds in 11 minutes. He started his second straight game against UCSB but was 0-2 with four rebounds in 17 minutes. He played a season-high 31 minutes in his first start at Florida International and had double-double 10 points and season-high 11 rebounds. He scored eight points in 12 minutes at South Alabama. He scored game- and season-high 17 points against South Carolina State. Coming off the bench in the first nine games he averaged 8.8 ppg and is 4.3 rebounds, including 10 points versus Arizona State and 14 points in back-to-back games to open the year against UC Riverside and Southern Utah.
Nathan Cooper
He is coming off the bench this year after starting 23 of BYU's 28 games last year. He is averaging 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 20.5 minutes and making 43 percent of his shots and team-best 29 of 34 free throws (.853). He has made a trey in four games. He played 15 minutes at Utah State, scoring one point and adding two boards and two assists. He and Michael Vranes received the coaches game ball for their effort against UC Irvine. Cooper had 14 points and four rebounds in a season-high 31 minutes. He scored BYU's first basket at UCSB five minutes into the contest and sparked an 8-0 run with a steal, forcing a turnover and handing out an assist. He finished with three points and three boards. He had five points, six rebound effort at FIU. He set a career high with seven assists at South Alabama. He scored a season- and team-high 15 points against Weber State, the third time he has reached double figures.
Todd Christensen
Regarded as the best shooter on the team, Christensen has made 29-55 attempts (.527), including 20-43 (team-best .465) from behind the arc. He averages 6.7 ppg in 16.5 minutes. He is sharing point guard duties after playing shooting guard most of last year. Christensen started at Utah State and scored seven early points to help BYU shot 57 percent in the first half. He played 15 minutes, limited some because of foul trouble. He had three points against UC Irvine Wednesday. Christensen scored 13 points, including a four-point play at UCSB. Against UCSB and Florida International he was 9-16 (.562) from the floor, 6-11 (.545) on treys, and 3-3 from the line while averaging 13.5 ppg. He scored all of his 14 points in the first half at FIU (4-5 treys in 11 minutes). He had season-best three assists at South Alabama in 12 minutes. He had a season-high 16 points, including 5-8 threes, vs. South Carolina State. He scored 10 at Denver.
BYU's record when . . .BYU leads at half 9-0
Opponent leads at half 1-2
Score tied at half 1-0
BYU leads with 5 minutes left 10-1
Opponent leads with 5 min. left 0-1
BYU leads with 1 minute left 10-0
Opponent leads with 1 min. left 1-2
Score tied with 1 minute left 0-0
Game goes into overtime 1-0
BYU out rebounds opponent 8-0
Opponent out rebounds BYU 3-2
BYU and opponent tie in rebounds 0-0
BYU shoots 50 % or better 7-0
Opponent shoots 50 % or better 0-1
BYU out shoots opponent 10-0
Mountain West Conference Preseason Polls
Coaches
1. Utah 63
2. New Mexico 54
3. UNLV 44
Wyoming 44
5. Colorado State 35
6. BYU 28
7. San Diego State 12
Air Force 12
Media
1. Utah (28first-place votes) 224
2. New Mexico 181
3. UNLV 155
4. Wyoming 148
5. Colorado State 116
6. BYU 97
7. San Diego State 57
8. Air Force 32
BYU vs. MWC Opponents
Team Won Loss Pct.
Air Force 34 6 .850
Colorado State 70 40 .636
New Mexico 57 44 .564
San Diego State 30 13 .698
UNLV 2 4 .333
Utah 113 112 .502
Wyoming 83 64 .565
BYU in Mountain West Conference Stats
Team (as of 1-7-00)
Scoring Offense, 3rd (75.2)
Scoring Defense, 3rd (62.2)
Scoring Margin, 1st (12.9)
Field Goal Percentage, 3rd (.471)
Field Goal % Defense, 1st (.369)
3 pt. Percentage, 3rd (.408)
3 pt. % Defense, 1st ((.282)
Rebounding Offense, 4th (36.5)
Rebounding Defense, 3rd (34.9)
Rebounding Margin, 5th (+ 1.6)
Blocks, 8th (1.8)
Assists, 4th (16.3)
Steals, 6th (7.58)
TO Margin, 2nd (1.92)
Asst./TO Ratio, 3rd (1.17)
Individual (as of 1-7-00)
Scoring:
Wesley, 3rd, (18.9)
Lyday, 8th (15.2)
Rebounding:
Wesley, 6th (6.2)
Rivers, 14th (4.8)
Field Goal Percentage (min 3 per game):
Wesley, 10th (.527)
3 pt. Percentage:
Christensen, 6th (.475)
Vranes, 8th (.455)
Lyday, 10th (.414)
Free Throw Percentage:
Cooper, 1st (.875)
Wesley, 8th (.762)
Lyday, 12th (.714)
Assists:
Montague, 3rd (4.4)
Steals:
Lyday, 7th (1.75)
Asst./TO Ratio:
Montague, 5th (1.77)
Vranes, 6th (1.60)
BYU in National Stats (as of 1-3-00)
3 pt. percentage, 7th (41.1)
Field Goal % Defense, 12th (.365)
Brigham Young Season Box Score (as of Jan 08, 2000)
All games
RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL
ALL GAMES........... (11-2) (7-0) (4-2) (0-0)
CONFERENCE.......... (0-0) (0-0) (0-0) (0-0)
NON-CONFERENCE...... (11-2) (7-0) (4-2) (0-0)
|---TOTAL---| |---3-PTS---| |----REBOUNDS----|
## Player GP-GS Min--Avg FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF FO A TO Blk Stl Pts Avg
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15 WESLEY, Mekeli...... 13-13 392 30.2 83-160 .519 9-21 .429 63-82 .768 20 62 82 6.3 39 0 23 22 6 17 238 18.3
24 LYDAY, Terrell...... 13-13 419 32.2 70-149 .470 30-67 .448 47-64 .734 3 42 45 3.5 22 0 21 32 4 24 217 16.7
13 VRANES, Michael..... 13-13 334 25.7 40-98 .408 16-37 .432 16-30 .533 19 39 58 4.5 26 1 42 25 0 14 112 8.6
02 RIVERS, Silester.... 13-2 233 17.9 38-64 .594 0-1 .000 33-53 .623 22 43 65 5.0 39 0 8 20 5 9 109 8.4
42 COOPER, Nathan...... 13-0 267 20.5 30-70 .429 5-19 .263 29-34 .853 14 31 45 3.5 31 1 31 14 1 6 94 7.2
04 CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 13-1 214 16.5 29-55 .527 20-43 .465 9-13 .692 0 8 8 0.6 25 0 13 9 1 8 87 6.7
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... 13-11 300 23.1 23-48 .479 0-2 .000 12-20 .600 18 34 52 4.0 34 1 11 14 5 8 58 4.5
31 MONTAGUE, Matt...... 13-12 350 26.9 7-27 .259 2-6 .333 16-20 .800 4 36 40 3.1 15 0 55 30 0 11 32 2.5
50 NIELSEN, David...... 5-0 19 3.8 1-4 .250 0-0 .000 6-7 .857 1 2 3 0.6 4 0 1 3 0 1 8 1.6
40 HOWARD, Dan......... 4-0 19 4.8 3-3 1.000 0-0 .000 0-2 .000 3 5 8 2.0 4 0 0 2 0 0 6 1.5
05 ROBERTS, Marc....... 7-0 32 4.6 2-5 .400 0-0 .000 5-6 .833 1 3 4 0.6 2 0 2 5 1 0 9 1.3
33 SMITH, Morgan....... 5-0 13 2.6 1-8 .125 0-1 .000 4-4 1.000 1 2 3 0.6 0 0 1 2 0 0 6 1.2
10 ALLEN, John......... 6-0 22 3.7 2-3 .667 0-0 .000 2-3 .667 0 6 6 1.0 2 0 1 1 0 1 6 1.0
34 ELLSWORTH, Joe...... 3-0 6 2.0 1-3 .333 0-0 .000 0-1 .000 0 3 3 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.7
20 TAGGART, Nick....... 3-0 5 1.7 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
TEAM................ 18 35 53 4.1 0 2
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Total............... 13 2625 330-697 .473 82-197 .416 242-339 .714 124 351 475 36.5 243 3 209 181 24 99 984 75.7
Opponents........... 13 2627 285-764 .373 65-233 .279 185-265 .698 174 285 459 35.3 268 - 162 201 28 90 820 63.1
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT Total
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Brigham Young................. 450 520 14 - 984
Opponents..................... 375 439 6 - 820
DEADBALL REBOUNDS: OFF DEF TOTAL
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Brigham Young................. 48 6 54
Opponents..................... 29 6 35
