MALIBU -- With four Cougars in double figures and solid play from the bench, BYU improved its record to 2-0 on the season by defeating the Waves of Pepperdine (0-1) 82-53.

“We were much better prepared for this game than for Long Beach State,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “We isolated Pepperdine's three or four best offensive players and our guys did a good job of executing. We have a lot of new players, but when we get them doing the right things at the right pace we dominate the game.”

The four double-figure leaders on the night included junior Jonathan Tavernari with 17 points, sophomore Jimmer Fredette with 16 points, senior reigning Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Lee Cummard with 13 points and junior Chris Miles with 10 points.

Eleven of Pepperdine’s 12 players scored against the Cougars, but none had double digits on the night.

The 29-point margin of victory was the largest in the series versus Pepperdine, surpassing the 19-point victory set last season. This win ties the Cougars and Waves with four wins apiece.

The Cougars went 24-for-28 in free throw shooting on the night (85.1-percent), a season-high.

Tavernari led the Cougars in points with 17, starting his second game of the season and making his 31st career start. After going two years without a dunk, Tavernari now has two dunks in two games. He threw one down with 11:25 to go in the first half.

“Jonathan is becoming a terrific all-around player for us,” Rose said. “I think when he takes the shots that you want him and expect him to take, he’s probably an 80-percent shooter. I give Jonathan a lot of praise — he is a solid defender, great rebounder and is able to score in a variety of ways.”

“I didn’t even realize it was a 30-point game until I got off the court,” said Tavernari. “We played really strong defense and our shots were really good tonight. We did rush a few shots, but this is the second game of the season and we will continue to improve.”

Sophomore Jackson Emery, who is back from an LDS mission to Mexico, posted a career-high nine assists on the night, also racking up nine points for the Cougars. He played the role of facilitator in the first half, dishing out a career-high six assists before the break.

“Jackson had a lot of energy defensively,” said Rose. “He had the first steal of the game and gave us a boost that way. He just needs more time on the floor to feel more relaxed for longer periods of time. Nine and nine is a great way to play. Jackson is a team guy.”

Starting out the Cougar scoring was Miles and the Cougars maintained the lead the entire game. An 8-0 run early in the first half held off the Waves and BYU led at the half by 11 points (32-21).

Coming out of the locker room, the Cougars pulled away in the second half shooting 60.5-percent and making 90.8-percent of its free throws.

After BYU had an 18-point lead early in the second half, Pepperdine chalked up nine points on three-pointers in a 1:03 span while Cummard was on the bench.

Cummard entered the game and gave the Cougars a four-point push to pace the Cougars in a 16-2 run, widening the margin of victory and leaving the Waves scoreless for five and a half minutes.

Continuing their solid defense, the Cougars held off the Waves in an 82-53 victory on their home court.

Other key players included freshman Noah Hartsock who set a career high in points in the first half, scoring six on 2-for-2 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 shooting from the line.

BYU will host the Basketball Travelers Invitational at home Thursday-Saturday, playing three games in three days. They will play North Florida Thursday, Rice Friday and Cal Poly Saturday in the Marriott Center at 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., respectively.

“We don’t know a lot yet about the three teams this week, but I think the goal with these back-to-back-to-back games is to prepare the team for the end-of-season tournaments,” said Rose.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Brigham Young vs Pepperdine
11/18/08 7:05 p.m. at Malibu, Calif. (Firestone Fieldhouse)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Brigham Young 2-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  7-13   3-7    0-0    1  9 10   3  17  1  2  1  3  32
54 MILES, Chris........ c  3-5    0-0    4-5    0  3  3   0  10  0  2  0  1  20
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  3-5    0-2    3-5    0  2  2   2   9  9  4  0  2  27
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ g  5-9    0-4    3-3    3  2  5   3  13  1  2  0  2  29
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  5-10   2-5    4-5    1  0  1   1  16  5  2  0  1  32
01 ABOUO, Charles......    1-2    1-1    6-6    0  2  2   1   9  1  0  1  0  13
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    0-2    0-1    0-0    0  3  3   4   0  2  0  0  1  19
15 ANDERSON, James.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   8
20 PINEGAR, Matthew....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  2  0  0   3
34 HARTSOCK, Noah......    2-3    0-0    2-2    1  1  2   2   6  0  1  0  0  14
53 MACGREGOR, Gavin....    0-0    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   0   2  0  1  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         2  5  7
   Totals..............   26-50   6-21  24-28   9 27 36  17  82 19 16  2 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-27 44.4%   2nd Half: 14-23 60.9%   Game: 52.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-13 23.1%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 28.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-7  71.4%   2nd Half: 19-21 90.5%   Game: 85.7%    3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Pepperdine 1-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 THOMPSON, Mychel.... f  2-6    1-2    0-0    1  0  1   2   5  3  3  0  1  26
32 DARBY, Taylor....... f  3-9    0-0    1-2    2  1  3   3   7  0  0  0  0  20
50 AGRE, Denis......... c  1-3    0-0    0-0    1  4  5   4   2  0  0  0  0  23
03 BELL, Keion......... g  3-10   0-2    3-4    3  4  7   3   9  5  3  0  2  26
31 HOLMES, Ryan........ g  1-3    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   3   2  0  4  0  0  19
01 SUTTLE JR., Dane....    2-5    2-4    2-2    0  1  1   2   8  0  0  0  0  17
14 TUCKER, Rico........    1-5    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  0  1  0  2  12
20 JACKSON, Lorne......    1-2    0-0    4-5    0  0  0   2   6  1  1  0  1  11
22 DUPRE, Jonathan.....    3-7    2-3    0-0    1  1  2   2   8  0  1  0  0  21
24 HORNBUCKLE, Mike....    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2   2  1  3  0  1  12
44 MOORE, Corbin.......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   2  0  2  0  0  10
45 SHANNON, Andy.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  1  0   3
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   19-53   5-14  10-13   8 16 24  24  53 10 18  1  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-22 40.9%   2nd Half: 10-31 32.3%   Game: 35.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-6  33.3%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 35.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  1-2  50.0%   2nd Half:  9-11 81.8%   Game: 76.9%    2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Dick Cartmell, Rick Batsell, Chris Rastetter
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-None. Pepperdine-None.
Attendance: 1642
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young.................   32   50  -   82
Pepperdine....................   21   32  -   53
Points in the paint-BY 26,PEP 14. Points off turnovers-BY 23,PEP 12.
2nd chance points-BY 4,PEP 6. Fast break points-BY 8,PEP 4.
Bench points-BY 17,PEP 28. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-BY 2nd-03:44, PEP 2nd-01:27.
Largest lead-BY by 33 2nd-02:23, PEP None.

BYU GAME #2 FAST FACTS

BYU COUGARS (1-0)

vs.

Pepperdine Waves (1-1)

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008

Firestone Fieldhouse (3,104)

Malibu, Calif.

7 p.m. PT (8 p.m. MT)

Coaches:

BYU, Dave Rose (73-26 in fourth season; same overall)

PEPP, Tom Asbury (126-59 in seventh season; 211-147 in 13th season overall)

Series: . . . . Pepperdine Leads, 4-3, with BYU winning the last meeting, 86-67, in 2007 in Provo

TV:None

Radio:KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (6 p.m. PT pregame show — Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web:Live audio and live stats links are available on the basketball schedule page at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

BYU TO PLAY AT PEPPERDINE IN FIRST ROAD GAME

Coming off a season-opening victory at home against Long Beach State, BYU men’s basketball will play its first road game of the 2008-09 season on Monday at Pepperdine. The Cougars defeated Long Beach State 75-65 behind Lee Cummard’s career-high 36 points to extend the school record and nation’s best home winning streak to 48 games. Pepperdine is 1-1 on the year and led by Mychel Thompson’s 17.5 points per game. Saturday’s game will not be televised but can be heard live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. PT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City or via the Internet at KSL.com.

UP NEXT

BYU will host the Basketball Travelers Invitational from Nov. 20 to 22 at the Marriott Center. The Cougars will play three games in three days against North Florida on Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m., Rice on Nov. 21 at 8:30 p.m. and Cal Poly on Nov. 22 at 8:30 p.m.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU extended its nation’s-best home winning streak to 48 games with a 75-65 victory at home over Long Beach to open the 2008-09 season. The Cougars went 16-0 at home last year. The streak is the longest in school history.

— Two-time MWC Coach of the Year Dave Rose has guided BYU to three-straight 20-win seasons and three-straight postseason appearances. In his first season the Cougars were 20-9 and made a trip to the NIT. In his second campaign he guided the Cougars to the outright MWC title, a top-25 ranking, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a 25-9 overall record. Last season he led BYU to a 27-8 overall record, a second-straight outright league title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

— BYU has been picked to finish second (five first-place votes) in the MWC preseason poll by the league’s media.

— Lee Cummard has been named a 2008-09 preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award All-America Team and Player of the Year trophy.

LOOKING AT Pepperdine

Pepperdine has opened the 2008-09 season by splitting two home games. The Waves defeated CS Monterey Bay 91-82 in the opener. Mychel Thompson scored 25 points and Ryan Holmes added 22 points in the win. Thompson hit 3-of-5 from downtown in the win while Holmes was 10-of-13 from the free throw line. Keion Bell scored 17 points to lead the Waves in their 66-65 loss to Arkansas-Little Rock. The Waves had two game-winning opportunities but Thompson missed a 15-footer and Jonathan Dupre’ missed a baseline jumper. Tom Asbury is in his seventh season as head coach of the Waves but his first since 1993-94. Asbury was 125-69 from 1989 to 1994 and led the Waves to three NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the NIT. Following his stint at Pepperdine Asbury was the head coach at Kansas State from 1995-2000 and an assistant coach at Alabama from 2004-07. Last season the Waves had an overall record of 11-21. The Waves play in the West Coast Conference and finished sixth in league play last season with a 4-10 record.

LBSU’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Pos.#NameHt. Wt.Yr. PPGRPG

G31Ryan Holmes6-1185Sr.16.51.5

G3Keion Bell6-3180Fr.15.54.0

F15Mychel Thompson6-7200So.17.52.5

F32Taylor Darby6-7210Fr.3.04.5

C50Denis Agre6-8230So.6.54.5

PEPPERDINE’S LAST OUTING — WAVES FALL TO ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK

After opening the season with a 91-82 victory over CS Monterey Bay, Pepperdine dropped a close on to Arkansas-Little Rock, 66-65 at home. The Waves had two chances to win the game but came up empty. Keion Bell scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures. Dane Suttle, Jr., came off the bench and hit 4-of-5 three-pointers for 12 points.

SERIES NOTES

This will be the seventh meeting between Pepperdine and BYU. The Cougars trail the series 3-4 but have won the last two meetings, including last season’s 86-67 win at the Marriott Center. The Waves lead the series in Malibu 3-0, winning the last meeting 82-79 in overtime in 2002. Pepperdine won the first three meetings of the series with the first game dating back to 1944. The Waves won again in 1959 and then in 1985 before BYU picked up its first win of the series at home in 1997.

LAST YEAR VS. PEPPERDINE

No. 25 BYU (9-2) won its 37th straight home game with a convincing 86-67 win over Pepperdine (5-7) Saturday night in the Marriott Center. Junior guard Lee Cummard led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting, while junior center Trent Plaisted posted his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. Plaisted’s 18 boards also matched his career high. Jason Walberg paced Pepperdine with 17 points, while Malcolm Thomas chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds. BYU shot 57 percent for the game to the Waves’ 31 percent. The Cougars recorded 24 assists on their 37 field goals. BYU also won the battle of the boards, 46-37. The Cougars applied a balanced attack early on as Sam Burgess followed up a lay-in with a head fake and kiss off the glass to give him a quick four points. Plaisted scored on a strong post move going left, while Cummard nailed a trey from the top of the key giving BYU a 9-2 lead. Minutes later, Plaisted flushed a layup and a dunk in succession to give the Cougars a double-digit lead little more than five minutes into the game. Carrying a 20-8 edge with 11 minutes remaining in the first half, BYU got a little sloppy. Thanks in large part to the Cougars’ 12 turnovers in the game’s first 12 minutes the Waves used an 11-2 run to get back in the game. Leading by only three points at 22-19, BYU went back to work in the paint. After another Plaisted slam, freshman Chris Collinsworth put down a layup to extend the Cougars’ cushion to seven at 26-19. Freshman guard Michael Loyd, Jr. knocked one down from beyond the arc and then swished a 15-footer along the left baseline. Pepperdine responded with back-to-back three-pointers to cut BYU’s lead to 31-28 with five minutes to go in the half. Seconds later it was Loyd, Jr. again bringing a little show time basketball to the Marriott Center. The Las Vegas native stole the ball and drove the length of the court before throwing up a perfectly timed alley-oop to Cummard. A Ben Murdock three and a Plaisted jump-hook in the paint brought the Cougars’ lead back to 10 at 38-28. With just under two minutes remaining, Cummard went coast-to-coast for a two-handed slam that gave BYU its largest lead of the half at 40-29. Pepperdine scored four unanswered points in the low post to make it a 40-33 game at the break. The Cougars shot a smoldering 62 percent from the field in the opening half, while holding the Waves to just 34 percent.