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Dec 30 | 07:00 PM
74
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68
Kyle Chilton
| Posted: 30 Dec 2008 | Updated: 8 Nov 2020
TULSA -- A rusty BYU men’s basketball team was able to shake off a sluggish first half en route to a close 74-68 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday at the Reynolds Center. The Cougars are now 11-1 on the year while the Golden Hurricane fall to 8-5.
Team captain Lee Cummard led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting with fellow captain Jonathan Tavernari pouring in 20 points by going 9-of-17 from the field. Jimmer Fredette contributed 13 points and the Cougars shot 53 percent overall in the game.
“It was a great college basketball game,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “It had the feel of a January or February conference game, and though we could have played better, we made enough plays to win the game.”
Tulsa was led by guard Justin Hurtt, who scored 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field with Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan scoring 15 and 13 points, respectively. Jordan had five offensive rebounds in the game, but was held to two points in the second half.
Trailing 35-31 at halftime, the Cougars came out with a balanced attack with multiple scorers getting into the mix with Cummard, Fredette and Tavernari converting buckets to stay in close range, trailing 40-44 early in the second half.
“Tulsa is built on getting rebounds and wearing you down over the stretch of the game,” Rose said. “Luckily we got to the free throw line enough times and we stayed competitive. We played at our pace and got them out of their rhythm.”
The Cougars pulled ahead 45-44 as Tavernari made a big three-pointer following a Cummard basket. The duo kept the team intact by helping BYU maintain a 50-49 lead. Fredette proceeded to score a circus layup accompanied by a Tulsa foul. Lamont Morgan then hit a shot to force a Hurricane timeout with a 59-53 lead.
BYU slowly pulled away with Cummard and Fredette going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line with Tavernari making a bucket en route to its largest lead of the game at 67-59. Hurtt and Uzoh kept it close, but Cummard made 5-of-6 crucial free throws at the end to seal the victory for the Cougars.
The Cougars jumped to a quick start in the first half with a pair of free throws by Miles and Cummard while Tavernari contributed a few quick layups.
The Golden Hurricane fought back to trim the Cougar lead to 17-14 after Jordan converted two buckets with Uzoh pouring in consecutive shots. Tulsa then went on a rampant shooting streak to jump to a 32-24 lead when Hurtt made two big three-pointers and an easy dunk off a rebound while Jordan also put in a dunk off a missed shot.
The Cougars managed to climb back off a difficult Jackson Emery trey and a Tavernari jump shot to cut the deficit to 35-31 at halftime.
Tavernari led BYU with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half with Cummard putting in nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. Emery and Chris Miles had five and four points, respectively, in the opening half.
Interestingly, the Cougars shot nearly 50 percent from the field in the first half by going 13-of-28 from the field, but didn’t own possession of the ball nearly as much as Tulsa. The Hurricane managed 37 percent on 15-of-40 shooting. The Cougars shot just 1-of-7 from 3-point range in the first half.
The Cougars will now look to a big date with No. 6 Wake Forest on Jan. 3 at the Marriott Center. Approximately 2,000 tickets remain for the game against the Demon Deacons. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.byutickets.com or the BYU Ticket Office.
The ticket office is closed until Saturday at noon. Fans are encouraged to get tickets as soon as possible online to avoid long lines around game time. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
“We are excited to play Wake Forest,” Rose said. “We don’t get many opportunities to play teams like this on our home court and we hope to make the most of the experience. They’re a talented team, but our guys will be ready to play another big game.”
CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.
Official Basketball Box Score
BYU vs Tulsa
12/30/08 7:05 p.m. at Tulsa, Okla. (Reynolds Center)
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VISITORS: BYU 11-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 EMERY, Jackson...... * 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 6 6 0 5 1 0 1 0 19
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ * 9-13 0-2 8-10 0 2 2 3 26 2 0 1 0 31
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... * 5-12 0-2 3-3 0 1 1 4 13 2 6 0 1 36
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. * 9-17 2-5 0-0 2 8 10 2 20 1 2 1 4 36
54 MILES, Chris........ * 2-4 0-0 3-6 3 4 7 3 7 2 0 0 0 25
01 ABOUO, Charles...... 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 5 6 1 1 1 2 0 1 25
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont. 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 9
05 ROSE, Archie........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
53 MACGREGOR, Gavin.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 12
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 28-53 3-12 15-21 7 32 39 16 74 9 13 3 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-27 48.1% 2nd Half: 15-26 57.7% Game: 52.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-7 14.3% 2nd Half: 2-5 40.0% Game: 25.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 11-15 73.3% Game: 71.4% 1
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HOME TEAM: Tulsa 8-5
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 UZOH, Ben........... * 6-19 0-5 3-4 0 1 1 2 15 3 0 1 6 38
22 ANDREWS, Glenn...... * 3-12 1-6 0-0 1 1 2 1 7 0 1 0 1 18
23 JORDAN, Jerome...... * 5-10 0-0 3-4 5 9 14 3 13 1 2 1 0 33
45 MITCHELL, Sam....... * 3-6 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 2 6 0 1 0 0 24
53 REESE, Ray.......... * 2-10 1-4 0-1 1 1 2 4 5 2 1 0 1 26
11 IDLET, Steven....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
12 WHEATLEY, Bishop.... 2-4 0-0 1-2 1 5 6 5 5 2 1 0 0 30
15 HURTT, Justin....... 5-11 2-6 5-6 4 1 5 0 17 0 1 0 0 24
33 RICHARD, Joe........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 26-72 4-21 12-17 15 23 38 17 68 8 7 2 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-40 37.5% 2nd Half: 11-32 34.4% Game: 36.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-10 20.0% 2nd Half: 2-11 18.2% Game: 19.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 9-13 69.2% Game: 70.6% 4
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Officials: David Hall, Steve Welmer, Verne Harris
Technical fouls: BYU-None. Tulsa-None.
Attendance: 5545
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
BYU........................... 31 43 - 74
Tulsa......................... 35 33 - 68
Points in the paint-BY 34,TLS 30. Points off turnovers-BY 7,TLS 8.
2nd chance points-BY 11,TLS 23. Fast break points-BY 4,TLS 0.
Bench points-BY 3,TLS 22. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-8 times.
Last FG-BY 2nd-03:21, TLS 2nd-00:13.
Largest lead-BY by 9 2nd-05:36, TLS by 8 1st-03:40.
Kyle Chilton
| Posted: 27 Dec 2008 | Updated: 8 Nov 2020
BYU GAME #12 FAST FACTS
BYU (10-1)
at
Tulsa (8-4)
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008
Reynolds Center (8,355)
Tulsa, Okla.
7 p.m. CT
Coaches:
BYU, Dave Rose (82-26 in fourth season; same overall)
Tulsa, Doug Wojcik (64-46 in fourth season; same overall)
Series:
BYU leads, 7-4, including a 68-49 win in Provo on Dec. 30, 2005
TV:
CBS CS
Radio:
KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (6 p.m. CT pregame show — Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Andy Toolson, game analysis)
Web:
Live audio and live stats links are available on the basketball schedule page at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/
Cougars to Play at Tulsa
Coming off its first loss of the season the BYU (10-1) men’s basketball team will look to start another winning streak when the Cougars face Tulsa (8-4) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT in Tulsa, Okla. BYU fell 76-75 to No. 20 Arizona State on Saturday, Dec. 20, when Charles Abouo’s potential game-winning tip was waved off. The officials called the shot good but waved it off after reviewing the play. The Cougars are 7-4 all-time against Tulsa and won the last meeting 68-49 in 2005 at home. Tuesday’s game can be heard live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. CT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City or via the Internet at KSL.com. It will be televised on CBS CS.
Up Next
When BYU takes on No. 6 Wake Forest on Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. at home it will be the Cougars’ first game in the Marriott Center since defeating Portland on Dec. 13. BYU was scheduled to play Western Oreon on Dec. 23 but the game was postponed to Jan. 6 due to inclement weather. Follow the game on www.byucougars.com and listen live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 5 p.m. MT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.
Cougar Quick Hits
— At 10-1 BYU is off to its best start since the 1987-88 season.
— BYU extended its nation’s-best home winning streak to 53 games with a 91-76 victory over Portland 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 Tulsa
Tulsa, a member of Conference USA, is 8-4 this season and currently riding a four-game win streak. The Golden Hurricane have defeated Missouri State, Presbyterian and Texas-Arlington at home and Loyola Marymount on the road during the streak. Tulsa averages 66.5 points per game and limits opponents to 59.7 points per game. The Golden Hurricane have held their opponents to 39.5 percent shooting from the field so far this season. Ben Uzoh averages 15.7 points per game while Jerome Jordan is second in scoring (11.6 ppg) and first in rebounding (8.4 boards per game) and blocked shots (2.8 per game). Head coach Doug Wojcik is in his fourth season at Tulsa and led the Golden Hurricane to the College Basketball Invitational title last season.
Series Notes
Saturday’s game will mark the 12th meeting between BYU and Tulsa and the first since Dec. 30, 2005 when the Cougars defeated the Golden Hurricane 68-49 in the Marriott Center, the sixth win of the current 53-game home winning streak. BYU won the first five meetings (1979-91) in the series before dropping four of five (1997-98).
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 195 total points for the season and 1,208 for his career. He is now 20th all-time in scoring in BYU history. Cummard is 11 points from passing Doug Richards for 19th all-time.
Downtown Record Watch
With four treys against Arizona State Jonathan Tavernari has 148 career threes, including 31 this season. He started the season with 117 and has passed Andy Toolson for third place and is 16 downtown makes from passing Mike Rose (163) for second. Tavernari also has 403 attempts from downtown, good for second all-time in school history. Lee Cummard hit two threes against Arizona State to give him 133 for his career, now nine threes from passing Andy Toolson for fourth.
Magic Number: 70
With a 76-75 loss to No. 20 Arizona State in the Stadium Shootout at University of Phoenix Stadium BYU is now 9-1 when scoring at least 70 points in 2008-09. BYU’s only game without scoring 70 points was a 68-63 win against Utah State. In 2007-08 the Cougars were nearly perfect when scoring at least 70 points, posting a record of 22-1. The Cougars scored 90 or more points in five games last season (three times this season), reaching 100 against Jackson State, and were 10-0 when scoring more than 80 points. BYU is 6-0 when scoring more than 80 points in 2008-09. Portland and Arizona State are BYU’s only opponents to have reached 70 points in a game in 2008-09. Prior to the Arizona State loss the Cougars had won 20 games in a row when reaching 70 points.
