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PROVO -- The BYU men’s basketball team remained unbeaten Wednesday as it earned its ninth win of the season. The Cougars played a dominant second half, scoring 61 points to beat Boise State 94-56.

“In the first we were rushed and hurried things, but in the second we settled down. Rather than hurry to do things ourselves, we relied on teammates,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “This is where we want to be right now. In the next few weeks we’ll see what this team is really made of.”

BYU came out the more dominant team, going on a 9-1 scoring streak to begin the game. The Cougars led by 11 with 3 minutes left in the half. Solid offense from Boise State’s Aaron Garner put the Broncos back in the game. Garner scored 17 points in the first half and helped BSU tie the game with just under six minutes remaining.

Both teams turned in strong defensive performances with BYU earning 20 total rebounds to Boise State’s 19. The Cougars also notched five steals and four blocks.

The Cougars continued to pressure Boise State and sophomore Jimmer Fredette gave the Cougars back the lead, scoring four points in the last two minutes to end the half with a 33-29 scoreline.

Fredette began the second half the way he ended the first, scoring seven points in the first three minutes. With baskets by Jackson Emery and Jonathan Tavernari, BYU pulled to a 47-31 lead.

BYU went on a 45-13 run and increased their lead to 36 with ten minutes left in the game. The team showcased its depth with five players in double figure scoring. Fredette led the team with a career-high 23 points. James Anderson notched career highs of 10 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.

“Jimmer did a terrific job tonight finding opportunities to score,” Rose said. "James played really great in the way we needed him to—he was strong inside on offense and defense and I'm pleased with his effort."

The Broncos put defensive pressure on BYU with 43 rebounds, but the Cougars had the advantage in both blocks and steals.

The Cougars will look to improve their nation's best home winning streak to 52 games on Saturday night as they face Portland. The game begins at 8 p.m and will be broadcast live on The Mtn.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Boise State vs BYU Cougars
12/10/08 8:05 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Boise State 6-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
03 Okoye, Ike.......... f  4-7    0-0    1-1    1  3  4   1   9  1  1  1  1  19
25 Noonan, Paul........ f  1-3    1-3    1-2    0  2  2   1   4  2  6  1  0  21
43 Sanchez, Mark....... f  4-12   0-1    1-3    3  6  9   1   9  1  0  0  0  25
04 Greene, Jamar....... g  0-3    0-1    0-0    0  3  3   4   0  3  3  0  0  26
11 Thomas, Anthony..... g  0-5    0-3    0-0    0  1  1   4   0  2  6  0  0  20
01 Rouse, Shawn........    0-3    0-3    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  0  0  0   7
12 Garner, Aaron.......    7-13   3-7    2-2    0  3  3   1  19  0  0  0  0  26
14 Larsen, Nate........    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   3
20 Imadiyi, Sean.......    1-4    0-0    0-1    3  2  5   1   2  0  0  0  0  15
24 Anderson, La'Shard..    0-5    0-1    0-0    0  4  4   1   0  4  7  0  2  18
32 Moritz, Zack........    3-5    0-0    0-0    3  0  3   1   6  0  0  0  0   5
50 Cunningham, Kurt....    3-5    0-0    1-1    3  0  3   2   7  1  2  0  0  15
   TEAM................                         3  2  5
   Totals..............   23-66   4-20   6-10  16 27 43  19  56 14 25  2  3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-31 38.7%   2nd Half: 11-35 31.4%   Game: 34.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half:  0-11  0.0%   Game: 20.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  1-2  50.0%   2nd Half:  5-8  62.5%   Game: 60.0%    0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 9-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ f  6-15   2-2    6-6    3  4  7   1  20  4  1  1  0  25
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  5-12   3-6    0-0    0  8  8   1  13  2  0  1  1  26
54 MILES, Chris........ c  0-2    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   3   0  2  2  2  0  13
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  5-7    2-4    2-2    0  2  2   2  14  2  1  0  2  21
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 10-15   1-2    2-2    0  0  0   0  23  2  0  0  4  31
01 ABOUO, Charles......    1-2    0-1    1-4    0  0  0   0   3  0  2  0  1  19
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    3-3    2-2    0-2    0  2  2   0   8  2  4  0  1  18
05 ROSE, Archie........    1-2    0-0    1-2    2  3  5   2   3  1  0  0  1  15
15 ANDERSON, James.....    4-7    0-0    2-5    2  5  7   3  10  2  0  5  2  27
20 PINEGAR, Matthew....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         1  4  5
   Totals..............   35-66  10-18  14-23   9 31 40  12  94 17 10  9 12 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-32 40.6%   2nd Half: 22-34 64.7%   Game: 53.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-6  16.7%   2nd Half:  9-12 75.0%   Game: 55.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-8  75.0%   2nd Half:  8-15 53.3%   Game: 60.9%    4
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Officials: Vern Harris, Bob Staffen, Mark Whitehead
Technical fouls: Boise State-Greene, Jamar. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 10506
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Boise State...................   29   27  -   56
BYU Cougars...................   33   61  -   94
Points in the paint-BSU 28,BY 45. Points off turnovers-BSU 7,BY 40.
2nd chance points-BSU 11,BY 4. Fast break points-BSU 4,BY 23.
Bench points-BSU 34,BY 24. Score tied-4 times. Lead changed-2 times.
Last FG-BSU 2nd-00:53, BY 2nd-00:44.
Largest lead-BSU by 2 1st-03:05, BY by 42 2nd-05:16.

BYU GAME #9 FAST FACTS

BYU (8-0)

vs.

Boise State (6-1)

Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008

Marriott Center (22,700)

Provo, Utah

8 p.m. MT

Coaches:

BYU, Dave Rose (80-26 in fourth season; same overall)

BSU, Greg Graham (115-83 in 7th season; 133-88 in 8th season overall)

Series:

BYU leads, 8-4, with Boise State winning the last meeting 73-70 in Boise in 2007

TV:

Live on The Mtn. (James Bates, Play-by-play; Andy Toolson, game analysis)

Radio:

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (7 p.m. MT 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/

Cougars Return to the Marriott Center to Play Boise State

BYU (8-0) men’s basketball will look to extend its nation’s best home win streak to 52 games when the Cougars take on Boise State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The game will be the 13th meeting between the teams with BYU owning an 8-4 advantage. The Cougars are coming off a 68-63 victory against Utah State (at Energy Solutions Arena) on Saturday and the Broncos defeated Colorado State 85-76 at home in their last outing. BYU is looking to extend its best start since the 1987-88 season, when the Cougars started 17-0. Saturday’s game will be televised live on The Mtn. and can be heard live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 7 p.m. MT 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 play its second-straight game at the Marriott Center when the Cougars take on Portland on Saturday, Dec. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. and the game will be televised live on The Mtn.

Cougar Quick Hits

— At 8-0 BYU is off to its best start since the 1987-88 season.

— BYU extended its nation’s-best home winning streak to 51 games with a perfect 3-0 record at the Basketball Travelers Invitational in the Marriott Center. 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. He has the best record through 100 games of any BYU basketball coach.

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

Looking at Boise State

Boise State is off to a 6-1 start this season and has won its last five games. The Broncos are 6-0 at home and 0-1 on the road, losing 82-52 to Siena. Boise State’s last two victories have come against MWC opponents Wyoming (86-85) and Colorado State (85-76). Mark Sanchez leads the Broncos in scoring (17.1), rebounding (8.1) and shooting percentage (.595). Paul Noonan (11.6 ppg) and Kurt Cunningham (10.9 ppg) also average double figure scoring totals. Boise State is shooting 49.3 percent from the field while limiting opponents to 39.9 percent shooting. The Cougars and Broncos have played one common opponent this season in Idaho State. BYU defeated Idaho State, 85-65 on the road, while Idaho State won at home 92-84 in double overtime.

Series Notes

Saturday’s game will mark the 13th meeting between BYU and Boise State, a series that dates back to Dec. 1, 1976. The Cougars lead the all-time series 8-4 but Boise State won the last meeting 73-70 in Boise on Dec. 29, 2007. The Broncos also won on Nov. 29, 2006 by a score of 72-68. Prior to the two losses BYU had won four straight in the series. The Cougars have won the last two meetings between the teams in Provo, including 80-77 in 2005 and 90-77 in 2004.

1,000-Point Man

Including a season-high performance with 36 against Long Beach State, 30 against Weber State and 28 against Cal Poly, Lee Cummard now has 150 total points for the season and 1,163 for his career. He is now 24th all-time in scoring in BYU history. He passed Steve Schreiner (1,128), Travis Hansen (1,137), Doug Howard (1,143), Elwood Romney (1,150) and Kari Liimo (1,156) during the Weber State game. Cummard is four points from hurdling Randy Reid for 23rd all-time and 43 from passing Joe Richey, Eldon Brinley and Gary Trost to crack the top-20.

Downtown Record Watch

With three treys against Utah State Jonathan Tavernari has 136 career threes, including 19 this season. He started the season with 117 and has passed Terrell Lyday for fourth place and is five downtown makes from tying Andy Toolson (141) for third. Tavernari also has 376 attempts from downtown, good for third all-time and five from tying Mike Rose for second. Lee Cummard hit one three against Utah State to give him 129 for his career, now two ahead of Terrell Lyday for fifth all-time and seven behind Tavernari for fourth.