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PROVO -- The BYU men’s basketball team hit the ground running against TCU, opening the game with a 10-0 lead over the Horned Frogs thanks to strong team play and never looking back, beating TCU 76-56.

BYU was lead by Jimmer Fredette with 26 points. Noah Hartsock also contributed 14 points for the Cougars while Jackson Emery chipped in 12 points. Senior Chris Miles led the BYU effort on the boards with a career-high 11 rebounds.

“It was a good win for our team,” Cougar head coach Dave Rose said following the game. “It was a quick turnaround from Saturday but I was pleased with our team. We were able to defend, get some rebounds and hang on for the win.”

The offensive success that BYU found in Saturday’s game against Utah continued into the opening minutes of the contest versus TCU. Emery led the offensive explosion with two threes in the first five minutes of the game while also leading BYU on the defensive end with two early steals. With seven minutes to play, BYU led 21-13 and had assisted on each of their first seven field goals with Emery leading the Cougars with three assists.

With a relatively comfortable lead, Rose began to showcase the depth of his bench which scored 13 points in the first half, including two treys by Lamont Morgan, Jr., and a three-pointer by Jonathan Tavernari. Morgan is currently 9-for-12 from long range on the year.

With 2:45 left to play in the first half Emery hit a three-point bucket of his own to give BYU their largest lead of the half at 33-19. The Cougars held onto their 14-point lead to go into the break ahead, 35-21.

TCU came out of the locker room revitalized, scoring five unanswered to open the half. BYU was unable to make a field goal for the first 3:36 of the half until turning to their post players. Hartsock made a jumper to end the drought and give the Cougars a 38-26 lead. During the subsequent play, Chris Miles made a turnaround jumper to extend the BYU lead.

The Cougars’ 40-28 lead was too close for comfort for Fredette. The junior guard, who had scored six points in the first half, went to work, making a layup followed by a three-point basket.

"We started to figure out how they were going to guard Jimmer and late in the game we started to run what we thought would work best based on the way they were guarding him," Rose said. "It's good to have Jimmer out there running things."

The Horned Frogs cut the BYU lead to 10 with 8:14 remaining but Fredette responded, making a trey and extending the lead to 13. TCU answered with a three-pointer of their own with seven minutes left to play. The Horned Frogs would cut the lead to eight but once again Fredette answered hitting yet another three-point basket.

In the final minute of the game Fredette hit an NBA-range three-pointer for his 20th point of the half, sealing the 20-point victory.

The Cougars hit the road to play at UNLV on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m. PST. The game will be televised live on Versus. It will also be broadcast on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com.

CLICK HERE for game notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
TCU vs BYU COUGARS
02/02/10 7:02 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: TCU 10-13, 2-6 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 CERINA, Nikola...... f  2-7    0-0    2-4    2  4  6   4   6  0  1  3  0  29
24 BUTLER, Kevin....... f  0-3    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   3   0  1  0  0  1  16
02 ROBERSON, Xavier.... g  3-7    2-4    0-0    0  0  0   3   8  0  1  0  2  19
05 MOSS, Ronnie........ g  4-14   0-4    2-2    0  4  4   1  10  7  4  0  0  37
13 RUZGAS, Edvinas..... g  1-4    0-1    0-0    1  4  5   3   2  0  2  0  0  23
15 BULJAN, Zvonko......    3-14   0-3    1-2    0  9  9   1   7  0  1  2  0  29
22 MITCHEM, Keion......    0-0    0-0    1-2    0  1  1   0   1  0  2  1  0   8
25 HILL, Greg..........    5-7    1-3    0-0    1  3  4   2  11  0  0  0  1  20
33 GREEN, Garlon.......    3-4    0-1    5-5    1  2  3   2  11  0  0  0  0  19
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   21-60   3-16  11-15   8 28 36  19  56  8 11  6  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-28 35.7%   2nd Half: 11-32 34.4%   Game: 35.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-8  12.5%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 18.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-2   0.0%   2nd Half: 11-13 84.6%   Game: 73.3%    2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 22-2, 7-1 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
23 HAWS, Tyler......... f  0-4    0-2    0-0    0  4  4   0   0  0  0  0  0  12
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... f  6-9    0-1    2-2    3  3  6   1  14  0  2  1  1  30
54 MILES, Chris........ c  1-5    0-0    1-2    3  8 11   2   3  2  0  0  0  22
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  4-9    4-8    0-0    2  2  4   1  12  6  1  2  2  37
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  8-17   4-6    6-6    0  4  4   0  26  3  1  0  1  29
00 DAVIES, Brandon.....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
01 ABOUO, Charles......    0-4    0-2    5-6    1  3  4   3   5  3  1  1  1  20
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    2-3    2-2    0-0    0  0  0   1   6  2  0  0  0  11
10 LOYD, JR., Michael..    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0   5
15 ANDERSON, James.....    1-3    0-0    2-2    2  1  3   1   4  1  1  1  0  10
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan.    2-7    1-4    1-3    0  4  4   2   6  1  2  0  0  21
   TEAM................                         1  4  5
   Totals..............   24-62  11-25  17-21  12 33 45  11  76 19  8  5  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-33 39.4%   2nd Half: 11-29 37.9%   Game: 38.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  7-14 50.0%   2nd Half:  4-11 36.4%   Game: 44.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-2  100 %   2nd Half: 15-19 78.9%   Game: 81.0%    2
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Officials: Mark Whitehead, Rick Hartzell, Mike Reed
Technical fouls: TCU-None. BYU COUGARS-None.
Attendance: 11454
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
TCU...........................   21   35  -   56
BYU COUGARS...................   35   41  -   76
Points in the paint-TC 24,BY 18. Points off turnovers-TC 6,BY 11.
2nd chance points-TC 4,BY 12. Fast break points-TC 4,BY 4.
Bench points-TC 30,BY 21. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-TC 2nd-01:41, BY 2nd-00:21.
Largest lead-TC None, BY by 20 2nd-00:21.

Cougars to Complete First Half of MWC Slate with TCU at Home

No. 12/12 BYU men’s basketball (21-2, 6-1 MWC) will complete the first half of the MWC schedule when it hosts TCU on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center. The game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MST on 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.

Up Next

The Cougars hit the road to play at UNLV on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m. PST. Listen to the game live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 12 p.m. PST on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on Versus.

Cougar Quick Hits

— Jimmer Fredette set BYU single-game records with 49 points and nine threes against Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Ariz., at the McKale Center. BYU handed Arizona its worst loss at the McKale Center, 99-69.

— BYU’s 15-game winning streak, it’s second-longest winning streak in school history ended on Jan. 27 at New Mexico, 76-72.

— Fredette is 21st all-time in scoring at BYU with 1,226 career points. He leads the conference in scoring at 21.2 points per game. He is also 15th at BYU in career assists with 300 and 12th in steals with 108.

— Two-time MWC Coach of the Year Dave Rose has guided BYU to three-straight MWC regular season titles and three-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Under Rose, BYU also has five-straight 20-win seasons and four-straight postseason appearances. At 118-36 (.766) overall, he is BYU’s all-time leader in winning percentage.

— Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari became BYU’s all-time leader in three-pointers with two treys vs. San Francisco to give him 214. He is now at 237 after hitting one three vs. Utah. He is also climbing the lists for points (14th with 1,380) and steals (3rd with 141).

— Since Jonathan Tavernari’s freshman year BYU has won 98 games — the best four-year stretch in BYU basketball history — and he has played in 94. The only Cougar to have played in more wins in BYU history is Lee Cummard, who play in 97 victories.

BYU Game #24 Fast Facts

No. 12/12 BYU (21-2, 6-1) vs. TCU (10-12, 2-5)

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010

Marriott Center (22,700)

Provo, Utah

7 p.m. MST

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (118-36 in fifth season; same overall)

TCU, Jim Christian (24-29 in second season; 162-87 in eighth season)

Series

BYU leads 13-3, including a BYU sweep in 2008-09

TV

Live on The Mtn. (James Bates, play-by-play; Joe Cravens, game analysis)

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM and online at KSL.com) and the Cougar

Sports Network (6 p.m. MST pregame show — Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web

Live stats links are available on the basketball schedule page at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

Last Three Games

Fredette has been scoring at a torrid pace the last three games, averaging 32.0 points per game. He posted 33 at San Diego State, 27 at New Mexico and 36 at home against Utah. He is shooting .476 from the field, .684 (13-19) from three and .920 (23-25) from the free throw line during the three-game stretch.

Records are Meant to be Broken

After tying a career high with six steals against Utah, Jackson Emery has 62 steals this season, tied for second most in school history and six from tying the school record set by Marty Haws in the 1989-90 season.

Home Court Winning Streaks

With an 82-69 win over Utah, the Cougars have won 18 straight at home, tied for the seventh-longest home court winning streak in the nation.

Best Start

At 21-2 overall, BYU men’s basketball has tied the 1987-88 team for the best record through 23 games in program history. See below for the other best records through 23 games.

In the Rankings

BYU men’s basketball entered the top-25 rankings for the first time this season on Jan. 4 at No. 25 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cougars are currently ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Rose has led his teams to the rankings in each of the last four seasons to become the first Cougar coach to lead BYU into the rankings in four-straight seasons. The Cougar basketball program has now been ranked in the AP Poll during 18 seasons since its first national ranking in 1950-51.

BYU as a Ranked Team

BYU owns a 144-59 record as a ranked team, including 7-1 this season. The Cougars are 83-12 at home, 39-29 on the road and 22-18 at neutral sites when nationally ranked. BYU is 16-7 as a ranked team under Dave Rose.

1,000-Point Scorers

With five points vs. Utah, Jonathan Tavernari has 1,380 career points and is 14th all-time in scoring at BYU. He is nine points from passing Andy Toolson for 13th all-time.

After scoring 36 points vs. Utah, Jimmer Fredette has 1,226 career points — 21st all-time. He is 59 points from passing Alan Taylor for 20th all-time.

Downtown Record Watch

Jonathan Tavernari hit two threes vs. San Francisco to become BYU’s all-time leader in career threes, passing Mark Bigelow who had 213 for his career. He is also the leader for career attempts. Tavernari owns the record for threes in a season with 88 in 2007-08. He now has 237 makes and 631 attempts. Jimmer Fredette is tied for fifth with 141 makes and is fourth with 359 attempts.

Top-10 Pick Pockets

Senior forward Jonathan Tavernari had one steal vs. Utah to give him 141 for his career. He is third all-time in BYU history. Jackson Emery is ninth with 119 while Jimmer Fredette is 12th with 108.

When Jimmer Scores 20...

Jimmer Fredette had 36 points vs. Utah, his 13th 20-point game this season and 21st of his career. He has reached 30-plus points four times this season. BYU is 18-3 when Fredette scores 20 or more and had won 17 of the last 18 games in which he had reached the 20-point mark.