Cougars Lose to SDSU Despite Hot Shooting

SAN -- BYU's road woes continued as the men's basketball team fell to San Diego State, 77-73, at Cox Arena in San Diego Monday night. The Cougars lost despite shooting 51 percent, including 50 percent from beyond the arc (6-12). The Cougars are 12-3 when they out shoot their opponent as they did tonight against SDSU, 51 percent to 48 percent.

The loss is the first in Steve Cleveland's career against the Aztecs and is the Cougars' fifth conference road loss and eighth consecutive road loss of the season. BYU (14-8, 4-5) has yet to win a conference road game this season.

In a game eerily similar to Saturday night's loss at UNLV, BYU got down early and just didn't have enough to overcome the deficit. The Cougars tied the game 47-47 with 13:37 and appeared to have the momentum. SDSU (14-10, 4-6) answered with several runs of their own, however, to come away with the win.

"We never got over the top," said BYU head coach Steve Cleveland. "The effort was certainly more sustained, but we were just never able to get over the hump."

The Cougars found an unexpected spark from Dan Howard, who notched career highs in points (8), rebounds (7) and minutes and tied career highs in field goal attempts and field goal percentage.

"I think Dan was the critical component for us to get back into the game," Cleveland said. "He actually had energy, he gave us a lift and brought us into the game."

"It felt good to get out there and play with someone besides my teammates," added Howard, who has spent much of the season playing on the practice squad for the Cougars.

Howard ignited a comeback with his rebound and put-back followed by BYU freshman Jimmy Balderson's lay-in that tied the game for the Cougars 47-47 with 13:37 remaining.

SDSU then went on a 5-0 run before Balderson scored again to make the score 52-49 with 12 minutes remaining. A BYU free throw and a three-pointer by Daniel Bobik brought BYU within one, 54-53, as BYU hit 9 of their first 11 shots to start the second half.

The Aztecs then went on a 7-2 run capped by a Deandre Moore three-pointer, making the score 61-55. Moore finished the game shooting 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Despite Nielsen and Bobik layups, BYU still trailed 63-59 before SDSU went on another run to extend their lead, 68-59, on an Al Faux three-pointer.

Howard laid in two more points, making it 68-62, and ended the scoring for both teams for the next three minutes. SDSU made four foul shots while the Cougars hit two field goals to bring the score to 73-66 with 20 seconds left in the contest.

Both teams began the game with solid shooting, connecting on a combined 17-of-22 to start the game. The Cougars hit seven of their first 10 shots while the Aztecs made 10-of-12 from the field.

For the rest of the first half, however, the Cougars were only able to connect on four of their 16 attempts and ended the half shooting 11-for-26 (42 percent). BYU went five minutes without a field goal and fell behind 38-27, their biggest deficit of the game.

Montague made two three-pointers to tie his career best for three-pointers made in a game. He led the Cougars in scoring in the first half with eight points. Meanwhile, Aztec Holcomb led his team and all scorers with eleven first half points.

The Cougars return home to face New Mexico at the Marriott Center on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+Plus (KJZZ, channel 14) as BYU looks to extend its 32-game home winning streak.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
BRIGHAM YOUNG vs SAN DIEGO STATE
02-11-02 7:35 pm PST at Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl (San Diego, CA)
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VISITORS: BRIGHAM YOUNG 14-8/4-5 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
03 BIGELOW, Mark....... f  3-8    1-3    3-4    0  2  2   3  10  4  1  0  0  36
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... f  6-15   2-4    0-0    2  5  7   3  14  0  1  3  0  38
52 JENSEN, Jared....... c  3-4    0-0    1-2    0  0  0   2   7  0  1  2  0  15
02 HANSEN, Travis...... g  2-6    0-1    3-4    0  2  2   5   7  1  0  0  0  18
31 MONTAGUE, Matt...... g  4-7    2-2    2-3    1  1  2   3  12  5  4  0  0  37
10 NASHIF, Terry.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  1  0  0  0   4
20 BOBIK, Daniel.......    3-5    1-2    0-0    1  2  3   2   7  1  1  0  1  20
22 BALDERSON, Jimmy....    2-2    0-0    4-5    0  0  0   0   8  1  0  0  0   7
32 JEPSEN, Bart........    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   0   0  0  1  0  0   5
40 HOWARD, Dan.........    3-3    0-0    2-2    2  5  7   2   8  0  0  0  1  17
42 CARLISLE, Jon.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                            1  1
   Totals..............   26-51   6-12  15-20   7 20 27  22  73 14  9  5  2 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-26 42.3%   2nd Half: 15-25 60.0%   Game: 51.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-7  57.1%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 50.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-8  75.0%   2nd Half:  9-12 75.0%   Game: 75.0%   2,1
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HOME TEAM: SAN DIEGO STATE 14-10/3-6 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
23 HOLCOMB, Randy...... f  6-14   0-2    3-4    4  6 10   2  15  3  3  1  0  35
30 MACKELL, Mike....... c  6-14   0-0    3-3    1  2  3   4  15  3  1  0  0  30
01 MOORE, Deandre...... g  4-5    4-4    1-2    0  1  1   2  13  6  0  0  1  25
04 BLAND, Tony......... g  4-7    1-1    4-5    0  3  3   0  13  2  0  0  1  32
05 FAUX, Al............ g  3-8    1-5    6-8    0  3  3   2  13  4  1  0  2  32
00 JOHNSON, Tommy......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
02 SMITH, Brandon......    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   4   2  1  0  0  1   8
03 WALTON, Chris.......    1-2    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   2   2  0  0  0  0   8
33 EPPS, Myron.........    2-4    0-0    0-0    2  2  4   2   4  1  1  0  0  23
34 SANDERS, Aerick.....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  1  1  0   6
   TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   27-56   6-12  17-22  11 20 31  18  77 20  7  2  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-32 53.1%   2nd Half: 10-24 41.7%   Game: 48.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-7  42.9%   2nd Half:  3-5  60.0%   Game: 50.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half: 14-17 82.4%   Game: 77.3%   2,1
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Officials: Stanley Reynolds, Bob Staffen, Larry Spaulding
Technical fouls: BRIGHAM YOUNG-None. SAN DIEGO STATE-None.
Attendance: 5752
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BRIGHAM YOUNG.................   32   41  -   73
SAN DIEGO STATE...............   40   37  -   77