Cougars Claw Their Way to 60-47 Win Over UNLV

PROVO -- A stingy second half defense and some timely shooting helped the BYU Cougars knock off a feisty UNLV team 60-47. BYU has won 30 straight at home, the second longest streak in the nation, and remains perfect in Mountain West Conference play.

BYU found itself down 26-22 at the half, its largest deficit after a half this season. But the Cougars came out strong in the second half. The Cougars quickly took the lead and held off several attempted runs by UNLV. BYU outscored UNLV 38-21 in the second half to take the game from the Rebels.

"It's a good thing that we were playing at home and not in Las Vegas," head coach Steve Cleveland said. "The positive point is when you don't do your best and win it's a good thing."

Mark Bigelow led the Cougars with 16 points, 15 coming in the second half. Bigelow hit a three pointer at the beginning of the second half, setting a new BYU record with 22 consecutive games with at least one three pointer. Terrell Lyday previously held the record with 21 straight, all coming in the 2000-2001 season.

While Bigelow provided the second half scoring, the game might have been decided on the glass. BYU dominated UNLV in rebounding, holding a 39-22 edge. Freshman Jared Jensen led the team with seven rebounds, and Travis Hansen and Matt Montague each had six.

"We did a good job on the boards and played a good 20 minutes in the second half," Cleveland said.

UNLV played tough, physical defense throughout the game, forcing the Cougars out of their natural flow. Especially in the first half, BYU had trouble holding onto the ball, turning it over 13 times.

"It was obvious that UNLV came in with a great game plan," Cleveland said. "They had a great defensive plan of just pressuring us and you have to give them credit for taking us out of what we wanted to do."

UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonhour knew he had his chance with BYU not on top of its game tonight. But the Cougars played well enough to win in the second half and sent the Rebels home with a loss.

"I think if you're ever going to have a chance to beat BYU, this would be the night," Spoonhour said.

Daniel Bobik, who hit a key three pointer late in the second half, was perfect from the free throw line again, hitting two in the final minute. Bobik now has 22 straight, just 10 short of the all-time BYU record.

Dalron Johnson led UNLV with 18 points on 8-12 shooting. Johnson also blocked two shots before fouling out in the final minute.

The Cougars begin a three-game road swing at New Mexico on Saturday at 1 p.m. BYU will look to stay perfect in the Mountain West against the Lobos, and then will play Air Force and Utah on the road in the next week.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Nevada-Las Vegas vs BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars
01/15/02 7:05 at Marriott Center, Provo, UT
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VISITORS: Nevada-Las Vegas 8-7, 1-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 JOHNSON, Dalron..... f  8-12   0-0    2-2    0  4  4   5  18  0  4  2  4  37
20 RICHARDSON, Chris... f  5-9    0-2    0-0    2  2  4   4  10  0  2  1  2  25
03 BANKS, Marcus....... g  1-8    0-3    0-0    1  3  4   3   2  3  2  0  1  34
15 KELLY, Lou.......... g  2-10   1-4    1-2    1  4  5   3   6  2  4  2  0  32
24 BOOKER, Vince....... g  2-4    1-2    2-2    0  0  0   3   7  1  2  0  1  30
11 BANKS, Jevon........    0-2    0-2    0-2    0  2  2   1   0  3  0  0  2  18
12 JOHNSON, Lafonte....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
14 PEARSON, Omari......    2-5    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   3   4  1  1  0  3  19
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   20-51   2-14   5-8    5 17 22  22  47 10 15  5 13 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-26 42.3%   2nd Half:  9-25 36.0%   Game: 39.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-10 20.0%   2nd Half:  0-4   0.0%   Game: 14.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-2  100 %   2nd Half:  3-6  50.0%   Game: 62.5%    1
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HOME TEAM: BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars 12-3, 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
03 BIGELOW, Mark....... f  4-10   2-5    6-8    1  3  4   1  16  0  5  1  0  34
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... f  5-6    0-0    1-1    0  4  4   4  11  0  5  0  0  33
52 JENSEN, Jared....... c  3-7    0-0    2-2    4  3  7   1   8  1  0  1  2  21
02 HANSEN, Travis...... g  2-10   1-3    5-10   1  5  6   2  10  3  6  0  1  36
31 MONTAGUE, Matt...... g  2-2    0-0    2-3    0  6  6   0   6  5  3  0  1  39
10 NASHIF, Terry.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
20 BOBIK, Daniel.......    2-6    1-2    2-2    0  2  2   3   7  2  1  0  0  20
22 BALDERSON, Jimmy....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
32 JEPSEN, Bart........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   9
42 CARLISLE, Jon.......    0-1    0-0    2-2    1  1  2   0   2  0  0  0  0   6
   TEAM................                         4  4  8
   Totals..............   18-42   4-10  20-28  11 28 39  12  60 11 20  2  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-21 38.1%   2nd Half: 10-21 47.6%   Game: 42.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-7  14.3%   2nd Half:  3-3  100 %   Game: 40.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-8  62.5%   2nd Half: 15-20 75.0%   Game: 71.4%    4
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Officials: David Hall, Steve Welmer, Shawn Lehigh
Technical fouls: Nevada-Las Vegas-None. BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars-None.
Attendance: 8978
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Nevada-Las Vegas..............   26   21  -   47
BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars.........   22   38  -   60