Cougars Open New Year With 28-point Win

PROVO -- Senior Nathan Cooper came off the bench to spark the BYU offense as the Cougars rolled to a 75-47 victory over Idaho at the Marriott Center, Tuesday. BYU improves to 10-4 on the season, and extends its home winning streak to 12 games, dating back to last season. Idaho falls to 3-9 with the loss.

Cooper, one of four BYU players to score in double digits, had 10 points in the game and snatched four defensive rebounds. The offensive output marked a breakout from a bit of a slump for Cooper. In BYU's previous seven games, he had only scored a total of 11 points.

"It was nice to see Nate make a couple of baskets, to get a little confidence back," said BYU coach Steve Cleveland.

Terrell Lyday led all scorers with 13 points. Trent Whiting tossed in 12 points to mark his seventh straight game scoring in double figures, and Travis Hansen also added ten points.

Idaho managed to stay close in the opening minutes of the game. But a 16-4 run midway through the first half allowed BYU to open up 33-17 lead. Cooper made two free throws and hit a three-pointer to push the lead to 20 points with less than a minute to go in the half. Adam Miller made a three for the Vandals with 39 seconds left to cut the halftime advantage to 41-24.

In the second half, the Cougar defense tightened up on the Idaho shooters. The Vandals finished the game shooting just 27 percent from the field, the lowest for a BYU opponent this season.

"We had our moments defensivly," Cleveland said. "We did a nice job of taking them out of what they do best."

Not a single player scored in double figures for Idaho, as starting forward Matt Gerschefske and reserve guard Bret Wise each scored seven points to lead the Vandals. A jumper by Chris Monroe with 12:35 left to play would be the last Idaho field goal in the game. The Cougars proceeded to go on a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 64-40 with 7:12 to go. The Vandals hit just three-of-ten free throws over the final six and a half minutes of the game. BYU, meanwhile, went 4-4 from the line over the same stretch, and hit 13-15 in the second half.

The Cougars finish their non-conference season Saturday as they host Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The game will start at 7:00 p.m. in the Marriott Center.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Idaho Vandals vs Brigham Young University
01/02/01 7:05 at Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Idaho Vandals 3-9
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
30 WATSON, Nathaniel... f  1-3    1-3    1-2    1  0  1   4   4  1  1  0  0  19
44 GERSCHEFSKE, Matt... f  2-11   1-2    2-2    3  3  6   4   7  3  3  0  0  19
13 MONROE, Chris....... c  2-8    0-0    1-4    1  4  5   4   5  1  3  0  0  21
05 MILLER, Adam........ g  2-9    1-6    0-1    1  4  5   2   5  2  3  0  1  34
11 FLETCHER, Bethuel... g  1-6    0-3    1-2    1  2  3   3   3  0  5  0  2  25
04 HOLMES, Marquis.....    2-3    0-0    0-2    2  0  2   2   4  0  0  0  0   7
15 LOGAN, Justin.......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  1  0  0  0  14
20 WISE, Bret..........    2-3    1-1    2-2    1  5  6   3   7  0  0  2  2  20
24 DEAN, ED............    0-1    0-1    2-2    1  0  1   0   2  0  0  0  0   2
25 HILAIRE, Rodney.....    2-8    0-0    2-6    2  0  2   2   6  0  1  1  0  24
32 COPPAGE, Roland.....    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   0  0  0  0  0   2
35 BRAGA, Troy.........    0-0    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   0   2  0  1  0  0   2
41 COLLIER, Eric.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  1  0  0  11
   TEAM................                         4  1  5
   Totals..............   15-55   4-16  13-25  18 20 38  26  47  8 18  3  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-28  .286   2nd Half:  7-27  .259   Game:  .273  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-10  .300   2nd Half:  1-6   .167   Game:  .250  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-6   .833   2nd Half:  8-19  .421   Game:  .520    4,1
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young University 10-4
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 HANSEN, Travis...... f  3-6    0-0    4-6    2  1  3   1  10  0  1  0  1  18
15 WESLEY, Mekeli...... f  2-4    1-1    3-4    0  4  4   3   8  2  2  2  0  25
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... f  3-8    0-0    1-1    5  2  7   0   7  0  2  0  1  16
21 WHITING, Trent...... g  5-8    0-2    2-4    0  3  3   2  12  3  2  1  0  29
24 LYDAY, Terrell...... g  5-9    1-2    2-2    0  3  3   2  13  1  2  0  2  26
01 KNIGHT, Nate........    0-0    0-0    2-2    1  0  1   2   2  0  1  1  0   8
10 ARCHIBALD, Jordan...    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  1   2
20 BOBIK, Daniel.......    1-3    1-3    3-4    0  4  4   1   6  3  1  0  1  17
23 SHIPPEN, Ty.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
31 MONTAGUE,Matt.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  3  1  0  1  17
34 CHRISMAN, Jacob.....    0-1    0-0    2-2    0  3  3   3   2  0  0  0  0  11
40 HOWARD, Dan.........    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   2  0  0  0  0   2
42 COOPER, Nathan......    3-5    1-1    3-3    0  4  4   2  10  1  2  0  1  21
43 DAWES, Derek........    0-1    0-0    3-4    1  2  3   3   3  0  0  0  0   6
   TEAM................                            2  2
   Totals..............   23-48   4-9   25-32  10 30 40  20  75 13 15  4  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-26  .500   2nd Half: 10-22  .455   Game:  .479  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-6   .500   2nd Half:  1-3   .333   Game:  .444  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 12-17  .706   2nd Half: 13-15  .867   Game:  .781     1
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Officials: Mike Scyvaher,  , Larry Spaulding, Shawn Lehigh
Technical fouls: Idaho Vandals-None. Brigham Young University-None.
Attendance: 5363
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Idaho Vandals.................   24   23  -   47
Brigham Young University......   41   34  -   75