BYU Begins First of Four Straight Road Games at Air Force Thursday

PROVO -- Coming off home wins over Wyoming and Colorado State last week, BYU, 14-3 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain West Conference, begins the first of four straight conference road games this week taking on Air Force, 5-10 and 1-2, Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colo. Tip off for the game is 7 p.m. Mountain and can be heard on KSL Newsradio 1160 AM with Greg Wrubell and former Cougar Mark Durrant calling the action.

Up Next

BYU travels to Albuquerque to meet New Mexico Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by SportsWest Productions (Telstar 6, Transponder C11 / C-Band) and aired in the Salt Lake area on KSL, channel 5.

Last Time Out

Four Cougars scored in double figures and BYU held Colorado State to a season-low shooting night in a 68-47 win Saturday. It was the first time in the last four games that any BYU players other than Mekeli Wesley and Terrell Lyday have reached double-digit scoring. Eric Nielsen, who was averaging 3.9 points and had not scored in double figures in the previous 14 games, made 4-5 shots, including his first three-pointer of the year, to score 10 points. He scored five points during a 16-5 run in the first half that gave BYU a 24-11 early advantage. Wesley contributed 13 points in 21 minutes while Lyday scored a game-high 15 and Michael Vranes added 11. Ceedric Goodwyn, who scoring a team-high 14 points, helped CSU pull within five at half but Vranes scored five of his 11 points during a 12-4 BYU run to open the second half. After Goodwyn scored at the 12:42 mark, Colorado State didn't score another field goal. BYU shot 50 percent to CSU's 32.6 percent, a season low. Neither team shot well from three-point range despite coming in as two of the top three teams in the nation in three-point percentage. Lyday however, made 3-5 treys and set a new BYU record by making a three-pointer in his 17th straight game. The Cougars out boarding the Rams 40-28.

Quick Facts:

BYU (14-3, 2-1) at Air Force (5-10, 1-2)

Thursday, Jan. 27 • Clune Arena (6,002) • United States Air Force Academy, Colo• 7 p.m. Mtn

Broadcast Plans:

Radio:

Network: Cougar Sports Network

Station: KSL Newsradio 1160 AM

Air Time: 6:30 p.m. Mountain

Play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

Commentary: Mark Durrant

BYU's Probable Starters

F 25 Eric Nielsen 6-8 210 So. 4.2 3.8

F 15 Mekeli Wesley 6-9 230 Jr. 19.0 6.2

G 24 Terrell Lyday 6-3 190 Jr. 17.4 3.9

G 4 Todd Christensen 6-1 185 Jr. 6.0 0.8

G 13 Michael Vranes 6-3 190 So. 8.5 4.6

Air Force's Probable Starters

F 4 Miguel Garcia 6-6 215 Sr. 6.5 5.9

F 33 Tyron Wright 6-4 195 Sr. 15.3 4.5

F 32 Tom Bellairs 6-6 225 Fr. 7.0 8.9

G 22 Vernard Jenkins 5-9 177 Fr. 5.3 2.2

G 24 Jarvis Croff 6-4 185 Jr. 18.9 4.8

BYU Coach: Steve Cleveland

Record at BYU: 35-40 (3rd year)

Overall Div. I record: Same

AFA Coach: Reggie Minton

Record at AFA: 148-285 (16th year)

Overall record: 159-300 (17th year)

Series Record: 34-6 BYU

Game Time: 7:05 p.m. Mountain

Scouting Air Force

The Falcons are 5-10 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference. Air Force has lost four of its last five games, with its lone win in the stretch being a triple-overtime road win at San Diego State (81-77). The win ended the Falcon's 38-game conference road losing streak. Air Force's last conference road win came on Feb. 26, 1994 at Texas-El Paso (70-68). Air Force senior forward Miguel Garcia had a career night after recording his first-ever double-double with 11 points and 19 rebounds. The 19 boards is a new career- and Mtn. West-high in a single game. Jarvis Croff (Jr., G) led AFA in scoring with 25 points and Tom Bellairs (Fr., F) grabbed 17 rebounds.The Falcons lost to UNLV (98-73) and New Mexico (89-72) in its other two league games. Against New Mexico, Croff recorded his Mtn. West-high tying ninth 20-plus point game of the year with 21 points. Air Force is 3-4 at home this year with wins over Doane (86-67), Regis (74-51) and common BYU opponent South Carolina State (90-72). The Falcons other win came on the road at Dartmouth (70-62). The Falcons finished their non-conference schedule with an 84-72 home loss to common BYU opponent Denver. Three starters and eight letterwinners return from last year's 10-16 team. The Falcons are led by guard 6-4 Jarvis Croff, who has been their leading scorer in 10 games and is averaging a team-best 18.9 points per game. Tyron Wright, a 6-4 guard/forward, adds 15.3 points. Croff and Wright entered this year as the highest scoring pair of first-year varsity players in Air Force history as Wright scored 18.3 and Croff 14.2 last season. Freshman Tom Bellairs, a 6-6 forward, pulls down a team-leading 8.9 rebounds per contest and seniors Miguel Garcia (6.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Billy Humphrey (4.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and Lawrence Yazzie (8.0 ppg) add steady, experienced play. Freshman guard Vernard Jenkins, 5-9, has started in 10 games and scores 5.3 points per game.

Series Notes

This will be the 41st meeting between the two teams dating back to 1961. BYU leads the series 34-6. BYU has lost just once at AFA since 1987, a span of eight games, and has captured 20 of the last 22 meetings. BYU has won three of the last four with two wins in 1995-96 and a split season series in 1997-98. In the last meeting, BYU defeated Air Force 79-60 in Provo. Air Force won the last meeting in Colorado Springs (80-61) in the first meeting in 1997-98. Steve Cleveland is 1-1 against the Falcons.

Recent Meetings

BYU won the last meeting, 79-60, in the Marriott Center. Ron Selleaze led BYU with 25 points and Mekeli Wesley added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Brian Dignan nine assists. The Cougars shot 43 percent and held Air Force to just under 40 percent shooting. The Falcons made only 51 percent of their free throws while BYU shot 80 percent from the line. In the previous game that year, Air Force got a win at home, winning by 19 points, 80-61. Danny Bower led BYU with 16 points and Selleaze had 10 rebounds. Wesley added 13 points and four boards. Air Force shot better in its home gym, making 48 percent compared to BYU's 45 percent. The Falcons also hit 10-23 treys and connected on 74 percent of their free throws.

Cougars Surpass Last Year's Win Total, Guarantee Winning Regular Season

With BYU's win Thursday over Wyoming, the Cougars surpassed last year's win total (12-16), achieved its 13th win (in its 16th game) for the first time since another win over Wyoming (an 81-71 win at Wyoming on Feb. 10, 1996) gave the Cougars its 13th win in its 22nd game of the 1995-96 season. BYU improved to 14-3 Saturday with its 21-point win over Colorado State, guaranteeing a wining regular season record for the first time since 1995-96.

Cougar Start among Best in Past 20 Years

BYU's 14-3 start is among its best in the past 20 years and its best start since 1994-95, the last year BYU earned a post-season berth. The Cougars haven't started 15-3 since 1991-92 and have only started 15-3 four times in the last 20 years. Each of those team's went on to play in the NCAA Tournament, including the Danny Ainge-led 1980-81 squad that reached the Elite Eight. BYU's best start after 17 games was a perfect 17-0 record in 1987-88 when the Cougars achieved a No. 2 national ranking.

Lyday Sets BYU Consecutive Game Three-Point Record

Making 3-5 three-pointers against CSU Saturday, Terrell Lyday extended the number of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 17 and surpassed the previous BYU record he shared with Andy Toolson, who made a three in 16 straight games in 1990. Lyday has made 46 percent of his three-point attempts, making a team-best 41 treys. Lyday made 102 treys last year at Fresno City College.

Last Week

BYU averaged 77.5 points, while holding its two opponents to 62.5 points last week. The Cougars shot 49.5 percent from the floor and 73.7 percent from the line. After being out rebounded by Wyoming 43-32 Thursday, the Cougars pulled down 40 boards to Colorado State's 28 Saturday. BYU is 10-0 this year when out rebounding the opposition.

Streaks

BYU has a two-game win streak after wins over Wyoming and CSU last week. The Cougars had their five-game streak halted with a 56-49 loss to Utah. The loss also ended BYU's eight-game home win streak, including one win from last year. The Cougars have two five-game win streaks this year and have won 12 of their last 14. On the road, BYU has a four-game win streak. The last time BYU won four straight road games was in 1992-93, when the Cougars has a six-game road streak. BYU's three straight non-conference road wins was a first since the 1991-92 season.

Cougars Equal Home Win Total of Last Year, Four Home Games Remain

With its two wins last week, BYU improves to 9-1 at home this year, equaling its home win total of last year (9-5). The only loss was (56-49) against Utah. The Cougars are averaging 76.0 points per game at home (16.3-point margin of victory). The Cougars are making 50.2 percent of its shots, including 38.3 percent of its three-point attempts, in the Marriott Center. They are pulling down 36.5 rebounds per game to their opponents 33.5. Wesley is scoring a team-best 19.3 points, followed by Terrell Lyday at 15.2, Michael Vranes 9.3, Silester Rivers at 8.8 and Nathan Cooper at 7.9.

Numbers on the Road

BYU is 5-2 on the road this year, having more than doubled its road wins last year (2-10). The Cougars have won their last four road games and are scoring 72.1 in away games for a 3.7 scoring margin. On the road, BYU is shooting .436, including .442 on threes, and .704 from the line. BYU is being out rebounded 37.6-35.3. Terrell Lyday leads the Cougar scoring effort on the road with a 20.6 average after scoring a career-high 35 at Utah State and 30 at UNLV. Mekeli Wesley averaged 18.6 points and a team-best 5.9 rebounds.

Defense

The Cougars rank first in the MWC in both field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense. They have held their opponents to a collective 37.8 shooting percentage, including 28.2 percent on threes. The Cougars have held the opposition to below 40 percent in 11 games this year. In BYU's three losses, Arizona shot .544, South Alabama .490 and Utah .429. BYU is 13-0 when it out shoots its opponent and is holding opponents to 63.3 points. Individually BYU has had outstanding defensive efforts, including Terrell Lyday helping hold Eddie House of Arizona State (No. 3 scorer in the nation) to a 0-16 night -- the only time House has gone without a field goal in his career. Eric Nielsen helped hold CSU's Ceedric Goodwyn to 14 points and 3 rebounds, well below his averages.

On the Boards

BYU is pulling down 36 rebounds per game while its opponents are grabbing 35.2. The Cougars are 10-0 when they have out rebounded their opponents and 4-3 in games were the opposition totalled more boards. Mekeli Wesley leads BYU with 6.2 rebounds per game, including a team-best 82 defensive boards. Silester Rivers has a team-high 27 offensive rebounds.

Offense

BYU has scored more than 80 points in a five games and averages 74.4 points. BYU has shot better than 50 percent in eight games (last week 50 percent vs. CSU and 49 percent vs. Wyoming). The Cougars have shot below 40 percent twice -- 36.5 percent in a loss at No.4 Arizona and a season-low 29.6 in a win at UCSB. The Cougars are shooting 47.3 percent, including 41 percent on threes, and 70.9 percent from the line. Three regular players are shooting better than 50 percent. Silester Rivers is making a team-best 56.8 percent, Mekeli Wesley 52.1 and Eric Nielsen 50 percent. Todd Christensen (48.6) and Terrell Lyday (47.7) have the best percentages from the back court. Nathan Cooper shoots a team-best 81 percent from the line.

Three-Point Range

BYU is third in the nation in three-point percentage in the last rankings (Jan. 18). Three players are shooting 40 percent or better, led by Terrell Lyday (41-89, .461). Others are Todd Christensen (23-49, .442) and Mekeli Wesley (15-35, .429). Michael Vranes (19-49, .388) is also a strong threat. Seven players have made a three-pointer (Cooper 6, Montague 2 and Eric Nielsen made his first Saturday vs. CSU). BYU's opponents are shooting 28.2 percent from three-point range. BYU is making 6.3 threes per game and its opponents 5.0.

Coach Cleveland Shows

Radio: Coach Steve Cleveland can be heard Tuesday from 7-8 p.m. this week with host Greg Wrubell on KSL Newsradio 1160 AM.

Television: The Coach Cleveland Show can be viewed each Sunday at 5 p.m. on KSL-TV, channel 5 with host Alema Harrington.

BYU's record when . . .

BYU leads at half 12-0

Opponent leads at half 1-3

Score tied at half 1-0

BYU leads with 5 minutes left 13-1

Opponent leads with 5 min. left 0-2

BYU leads with 1 minute left 13-0

Opponent leads with 1 min. left 1-3

Score tied with 1 minute left 0-0

Game goes into overtime 1-0

BYU out rebounds opponent 10-0

Opponent out rebounds BYU 4-3

BYU and opponent tie in rebounds 0-0

BYU shoots 50 % or better 8-0

Opponent shoots 50 % or better 0-1

BYU out shoots opponent 13-0

Opponent out shoots BYU 1-3

BYU in Mountain West Conference Stats

Team (as of 1-23-00)

Scoring Offense, 3rd (74.4)

Scoring Defense, 3rd (63.3)

Scoring Margin, 2nd (11.1)

Free Throw Percentage, 2nd (70.9)

Field Goal Percentage, 3rd (.473)

Field Goal % Defense, 1st (.378)

3 pt. Percentage, 3rd (.410)

3 pt. % Defense, 1st (.282)

Rebounding Offense, 5th (35.9)

Rebounding Defense, 3rd (35.2)

Rebounding Margin, 5th (+ 0.8)

Offensive Rebounds, 8th (8.9)

Defensive Rebounds, 2nd (27.0)

Blocks, 8th (2.1)

Assists, 4th (15.5)

Steals, 4th (8.1)

TO Margin, 3rd (1.2)

Asst./TO Ratio, 4th (1.1)

Individual (as of 1-23-00)

Scoring:

Wesley, 1st, (19.0)

Lyday, 6th (17.4)

Rebounding:

Wesley, 7th (6.2)

Rivers, 18th (4.6)

Vranes, 18th (4.6)

Field Goal Percentage (min 3 per game):

Wesley, 9th (.521)

Free Throw Percentage:

Cooper, 3rd (.810)

Wesley, 9th (.761)

Lyday, 9th (.761)

3 pt. Percentage:

Lyday, 5th (.461)

Christensen, 7th (.442)

Vranes, 12th (.388)

3 pt. FG Made:

Lyday, 3rd (2.41)

Assists:

Montague, 3rd (4.18)

Vranes, 13th (2.94)

Steals:

Lyday, 3rd (2.18)

Wesley, 12th (1.35)

Asst./TO Ratio:

Montague, 5th (1.70)

Vranes, 5th (1.70)

BYU Starting Lineups

UCR Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

SUU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

Ariz. Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

Den. Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

ASU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

TSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

WSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

SCSU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

USA Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

FIU Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Rivers, Wesley

UCSB Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Rivers, Wesley

UCI Montague, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

USU Christensen, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

UNLV Christensen, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

Utah Christensen, Lyday, Vranes, Rivers, Wesley

Wyo Christensen, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

CSU Christensen, Lyday, Vranes, Nielsen, Wesley

Dan Howard to Redshirt

Center Dan Howard, a 7-0 freshman, will take a medical redshirt year this season. He had surgery on his right knee after the Denver game. He played in BYU's first four games and was 3-3 (1.5 ppg) and averaged 2 rebounds in 4.8 minutes.

Welcome Back

BYU received six votes in this week's USA Today ESPN poll (39th). The last time BYU received votes in a poll was in 1994-95 (and was ranked as high as 26th in AP). BYU hasn't been in the AP top 25 since 1992-93 when they were in the rankings for five weeks, (as high as 21).

RPI Report (as of Jan. 24, 2000)

According to CollegeRPI.com rankings computed by Jerry Palm and the Collegiate Basketball News, BYU is the highest rated team in the MWC in both the Collegerpi.com (22nd) and Collegiate Basketball News (20th) rankings. According to CBN, BYU has the toughest schedule among MWC teams at No. 42. UNM is second at 70th, followed by CSU (78), Utah (108), Wyoming (132), SDSU (142), AFA (143) and UNLV (182).

School CBN/Collegerpi.com

BYU 20/22

Utah 33/33

CSU 68/66

UNLV 75/73

UNM 108/108

Wyoming 118/115

SDSU 230/227

AFA 251/250

Mekeli Wesley

Wesley is BYU's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 19.0 ppg and 6.2 rpg. He has been BYU's top scorer in nine games this season and has scored in double figures in 15 of BYU's 17 games. He has reached double-digits in the last seven straight games. He had 13 points in 21 minutes vs. CSU and scored a career- and conference-play high 34 points vs. Wyoming (he scored 31 points twice as a freshman) and had team highs of eight rebounds and four assists. He had game highs of 21 points and seven rebounds against Utah. He scored 17 points and had four rebounds at UNLV Monday. He scored 11 points and had a team highs with eight rebounds and three assists at Utah State. He scored 18 points and pulled down six boards against UC Irvine. He had six rebounds and scored a game-high 24 points, 16 in the second half, at UCSB -- the seventh time he has scored 20 or more points. He had eight points and seven rebounds at Florida International. He had a game-high 20 points at South Alabama. He averaged 21 points and nine rebounds to earn MWC Player of the Week honors (Dec. 7-11) and was named the Cougar Classic MVP for the second time in his career (also as freshman). After averaging three rebounds per game in first three contests, he averaged 7.4 over the next eight. He recorded his first double-double of the year (fourth of career) with 24 points and 10 rebounds in win over Texas Southern. He scored a season-high 26 points in back-to-back games this year versus Denver and ASU.

Michael Vranes

Vranes is pulling down 4.6 rebounds (tied for 2nd on team) and is third on the team in scoring at 8.5 ppg. He is second on the team with 2.9 assists per game from his shooting guard spot, although he has seen some situational play at point recently. He has made a trey in 10 games and has scored in double figures in six games. After going 0-3 vs. CSU, he is 19-49 (.388) on treys. He had a team-high seven rebounds vs. CSU and added 11 points. He had eight points, five rebounds and three assists vs. Wyoming. He had four points, four rebounds and three assists vs. Utah. He had nine points and four boards at UNLV and had nine points, five rebound and two assists at Utah State. He had 11 points, five rebounds and five assists against UC Irvine. Vranes matched a career high with a team-best nine rebounds at UCSB. He also had team-high three assists despite three points on 1-9 shooting. He scored eight of his 12 points in overtime at FIU. He totalled 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high seven assists vs. South Carolina State. He had a season-high 15 points along with five rebounds vs. Weber State.

Terrell Lyday

Lyday averages 17.4 points, second on the team, and team-high 32.8 minutes. He has scored in double figures in 15 of BYU's 17 games and set a school record having made a three-pointer in all 17 games this season (16 games by Andy Toolson 1990). He has made a team-high 41 threes and makes team-best 46 percent on threes. Last year he made more than 100 treys for Fresno City College. He has excelled defensively also, guarding the other team's best perimeter player. He helped hold Arizona State's high scoring Eddie House to a five-point night on 0-16 shooting, the only time House has not scored a field goal in his career. House has the top two scoring games in the nation this year (61 and 46). Lyday is averaging 19.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 steals in four MWC games. He had game-high 15 vs. CSU and scored 22 points vs. Wyoming. He had 12 points, six rebounds, three steals and three assists vs. Utah. Lyday made 5-10 threes, scored 30 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds and tied a career-best with six steals at UNLV. It was his first double-double of the year. He was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (Jan. 3-8) after averaged 28.5 points and shooting better than 60 percent from the floor and on threes in two BYU wins. He carried BYU to a win at Utah State with a career-high 35 points, including six three pointers, and scored a game-high 22 points to lead a BYU comeback win over UC Irvine. He had career-best six steals at UCSB, despite an off night scoring (2-11 for eight points and held scoreless in the first half for the first time this year). He scored 26 points at FIU and had 15 points against South Alabama, where he was a perfect 4-4 on three-point attempts. He joined Wesley on the Cougar Classic All-Tournament team Dec. 10-11 and is showing why he was recruited by Coach Steve Cleveland out of Fresno City College to help replace production lost by the LDS Church mission departure of freshman sensation Mark Bigelow (15 ppg last year). He scored 18 points against Arizona and had 17 vs. ASU.

Eric Nielsen

A returned LDS missionary to Russia, Nielsen is averaging 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds. He has started in 14, including the first nine. After scoring 10 and 12 points in first two games, he had not reached double digits in 14 straight outings before scoring 10 with six rebounds and three steals vs. CSU. He didn't score for the second time this year vs. Wyoming. He fouled out, playing 14 minutes, scoring two points on one attempt and had one rebound vs. Utah. In foul trouble, he played only 10 minutes at UNLV (2 pts, 4 rebounds). At Utah State he was held scoreless and had four rebounds. He had four points, three rebounds and a season-high three assists vs. UC Irvine. At UCSB, he equaled a career-best seven rebounds. He was married to BYU All-American volleyball player Anna-Lena Smith Dec. 30 in Mesa, Ariz. He had eight points at South Alabama and at Denver. He scored a season-high 12 points versus Southern Utah and had 10 against UC Riverside.

Todd Christensen

Regarded as the best shooter on the team, Christensen has made 34-70 (.486), including 23-52 (.442) from behind the arc. He averages 6.0 ppg in 18 minutes. He is sharing point guard duties after playing shooting guard most of last year. He has started the last five games. He did not score (0-3 -- all treys) and had three assists vs. CSU) He had seven points, three assists vs. Wyoming. He did not score, taking only one shot, vs. Utah. At UNLV, he had eight points, including a clutch three-pointer to put the Cougars up four late in the game. At Utah State he scored seven early points to help BYU shot 57 percent in the first half. Christensen scored 13 points, including a four-point play at UCSB. Against UCSB and FIU he was 9-16 (.562) from the floor, 6-11 (.545) on treys, and 3-3 from the line while averaging 13.5 ppg. He scored all of his 14 points in the first half at FIU (4-5 treys in 11 minutes). He had three assists at S. Alabama in 12 minutes. He had a season-high 16 points, including 5-8 threes, vs. South Carolina State (10 at Denver).

Silester Rivers

Rivers averages 7.9 points (4th on team) and 4.6 rebounds (tied for 2nd on team). He has a team-high 27 offensive boards and is shooting a team-best 56.8 percent (FG). He has scored in double figures six times this year and has led the team in rebounds three times (6 vs. UC Riverside, 9 at Denver, 11 at FIU). He scored nine points vs. CSU and eight points vs. Wyoming. He started his third game of the year vs. Utah and had five points, four rebounds while guarding the much larger Ute post players. Rivers had three points (3-4 FTs) and five rebounds at UNLV. He had a strong outing Saturday at Utah State, scoring 15 points with some nice post play and pulling down seven rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Rivers came off the bench against UC Irvine after starting the two previous games. Despite being weakened by the flu, he contributed five points and six rebounds in 11 minutes. He started his second straight game against UCSB but was 0-2 with four rebounds in 17 minutes. He played a season-high 31 minutes in his first start at Florida International and had double-double 10 points and season-high 11 rebounds. He scored eight points in 12 minutes at South Alabama. He scored game- and season-high 17 points against South Carolina State. Coming off the bench in the first nine games he averaged 8.8 ppg and is 4.3 rebounds, including 10 points versus Arizona State and 14 points in back-to-back games to open the year against UC Riverside and Southern Utah.

Nathan Cooper

He is coming off the bench this year after starting 23 of BYU's 28 games last year. He is averaging 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 20.4 minutes. He has made a team-best 34 of 42 free throws (.810). He has four double-figures scoring games and has made a trey in five games. He had four points, five boards and two assist vs. CSU after scoring one point vs. Wyoming. He had five points and three rebounds vs. Utah. He was forced to play the 4 position at UNLV with foul trouble to Eric Nielsen and Silester Rivers. He played 22 minutes and had two points and one rebound. He played 15 minutes at Utah State, scoring one point and adding two boards and two assists. He and Michael Vranes received the coaches game ball for their effort against UC Irvine. Cooper had 14 points and four rebounds in a season-high 31 minutes. He scored BYU's first basket at UCSB five minutes into the contest and sparked an 8-0 run with a steal, forcing a turnover and handing out an assist. He finished with three points and three boards. He had five points, six rebound effort at FIU. He set a career high with seven assists at South Alabama. He scored a season- and team-high 15 points against Weber State.

Matt Montague

The only true point guard on the BYU roster, he has team-leading 71 assists (4.2 apg). He is averaging 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. He has been plagued by a achilles injury all year but it has started to feel better of late. After starting the first 12 games, he has come off the bench in the last five games. He had five assists, five boards and two points vs. CSU and had a season-high seven points vs. Wyoming. He played a season-low seven minutes vs. Utah (1 assist, 3 TO, 1 rebound). He scored six points and had seven assists at UNLV. At Utah State he played 25 minutes off the bench and had four points and two assists. He was limited to 10 minutes (achilles) against UC Irvine and did not record an assist for the first time this year. Montague did not take a shot but made three clutch free throws down the stretch at UCSB. He had two points, four rebounds and eight assists in team- and personal career-high 41 minutes at FIU. He shared team-high five rebounds with Wesley at South Alabama while handing out four assists. He matched his season high with five points vs. South Carolina State and made his second three-pointer of the year (2-6 on the season). After receiving stitches to repair a cut above his eye against ASU, Montague returned and led BYU on a 14-1 run. He dished out a season-high nine assists vs. Weber State and helped hold Wildcat guard Eddie Gill to 2-14 shooting.

Comparing Statistics
                        BYU    AFA
SCORING
Points per game       .74.4   72.4
Scoring margin       + 11.1  - 2.5
SHOOTING PERCENTAGES
Field goals           .473    .401
3-pointers            .410    .320
Free throws           .709    .605
REBOUNDING
Rebounds per game     36.0    38.7
Rebounding margin    + 0.8   - 0.1
ASSISTS
Assists per game      15.5    12.5
TURNOVERS
Turnovers per game    14.6    14.9
Turnover margin      + 1.2   + 2.8
BLOCKS
Blocks per game        2.1     2.3
STEALS
Steals per game        8.1     9.7
BYU Combined Team Statistics (Through games of Jan 25, 2000)
All games
  DATE            OPPONENT             W/L    SCORE  ATTEND
  ------------    -------------------- ---    -----  ------
  11/20/99        CALIFORNIA-RIVERSIDE W      91-62    7546
  11/24/99        SOUTHERN UTAH        W      92-64    4518
  12-1-99      at Arizona                L    62-86   14345
  12/4/99      at Denver               W      81-58    1507
  12/7/99         ARIZONA STATE        W      78-67    5867
  Dec 10, 1999    TEXAS SOUTHERN       W      76-61    6541
  12/11/99        WEBER STATE          W      66-53    9862
  12/18/99        SOUTH CAROLINA STATE W      76-43    7584
  12-21-99     at South Alabama          L    63-64    1785
  12/21/99     at Fla International    W  OT  83-75     953
  12-29-99     at UC Santa Barbara     W      57-48    2891
  1/5/00          UC IRVINE            W      77-66    9574
  Jan 08, 2000 at Utah State           W      82-73   10270
 *01/10/00     at UNLV                 W      77-75   12597
 *1/15/00         UTAH                   L    49-56   22580
 *Jan 20, 2000    WYOMING              W      87-78   10347
 *1/22/00         COLORADO STATE       W      68-47   13182
 * denotes conference game
     RECORD:                OVERALL      HOME        AWAY       NEUTRAL
     ALL GAMES...........   (14-3)      (9-1)       (5-2)       (0-0)
     CONFERENCE..........   (3-1)       (2-1)       (1-0)       (0-0)
     NON-CONFERENCE......   (11-2)      (7-0)       (4-2)       (0-0)
## SUMMARY              GP-GS   Min   FG%  3PT%   FT%  R/G  A/G STL BLK PTS/G
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 WESLEY, Mekeli...... 17-17  30.5  .521  .429  .761  6.2  1.7  23  10  19.0
24 LYDAY, Terrell...... 17-17  32.8  .477  .461  .761  3.9  1.6  37   6  17.4
13 VRANES, Michael..... 17-17  26.2  .398  .388  .548  4.6  2.9  19   1   8.5
02 RIVERS, Silester.... 17-2   18.2  .568  .000  .600  4.6  0.6  11   8   7.9
42 COOPER, Nathan...... 17-0   20.4  .407  .261  .810  3.3  2.1   9   1   6.2
04 CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 17-5   18.1  .486  .442  .733  0.8  1.2  10   1   6.0
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... 17-15  22.2  .500  .333  .625  3.8  0.8  11   7   4.2
31 MONTAGUE, Matt...... 17-12  25.1  .382  .286  .704  3.1  4.2  14   0   2.8
05 ROBERTS, Marc.......  9-0    4.0  .500  .000  .833  0.7  0.3   0   1   1.2
50 NIELSEN, David......  7-0    3.3  .200  .000  .889  0.6  0.1   1   0   1.4
10 ALLEN, John.........  7-0    3.4  .400  .000  .667  0.9  0.1   1   0   0.9
40 HOWARD, Dan.........  4-0    4.8 1.000  .000  .000  2.0  0.0   0   0   1.5
33 SMITH, Morgan.......  5-0    2.6  .125  .000 1.000  0.6  0.2   0   0   1.2
34 ELLSWORTH, Joe......  4-0    2.0  .333  .000  .000  0.8  0.0   1   1   0.5
20 TAGGART, Nick.......  4-0    1.5  .000  .000  .000  0.0  0.0   0   0   0.0
   Total............... 17           .473  .410  .709 35.9 15.5 137  36  74.4
   Opponents........... 17           .378  .282  .696 35.2 12.2 117  37  63.3
SCORING              GP   FG-FGA   FG%  3FG-FGA  3PT%   FT-FTA   FT%   PTS PTS/G
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 17  111-213  .521   15-35   .429   86-113  .761   323 19.0
LYDAY, Terrell...... 17   94-197  .477   41-89   .461   67-88   .761   296 17.4
VRANES, Michael..... 17   51-128  .398   19-49   .388   23-42   .548   144  8.5
RIVERS, Silester.... 17   46-81   .568    0-1    .000   42-70   .600   134  7.9
COOPER, Nathan...... 17   33-81   .407    6-23   .261   34-42   .810   106  6.2
CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 17   34-70   .486   23-52   .442   11-15   .733   102  6.0
NIELSEN, Eric....... 17   28-56   .500    1-3    .333   15-24   .625    72  4.2
MONTAGUE, Matt...... 17   13-34   .382    2-7    .286   19-27   .704    47  2.8
ROBERTS, Marc.......  9    3-6    .500    0-0    .000    5-6    .833    11  1.2
NIELSEN, David......  7    1-5    .200    0-0    .000    8-9    .889    10  1.4
ALLEN, John.........  7    2-5    .400    0-1    .000    2-3    .667     6  0.9
HOWARD, Dan.........  4    3-3   1.000    0-0    .000    0-2    .000     6  1.5
SMITH, Morgan.......  5    1-8    .125    0-1    .000    4-4   1.000     6  1.2
ELLSWORTH, Joe......  4    1-3    .333    0-0    .000    0-1    .000     2  0.5
TAGGART, Nick.......  4    0-0    .000    0-0    .000    0-0    .000     0  0.0
Total............... 17  421-890  .473  107-261  .410  316-446  .709  1265 74.4
Opponents........... 17  373-988  .378   85-301  .282  245-352  .696  1076 63.3
                                  REBOUNDS
TOTALS               GP   MIN  OFF  DEF  TOT   PF  FO    A   TO  A/TO  HI
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
WESLEY, Mekeli...... 17   519   24   82  106   54   0   29   33   0.9  34
LYDAY, Terrell...... 17   558    4   63   67   26   0   27   43   0.6  35
VRANES, Michael..... 17   446   21   57   78   36   1   50   31   1.6  15
RIVERS, Silester.... 17   309   27   52   79   52   0   10   31   0.3  17
COOPER, Nathan...... 17   346   16   40   56   37   1   35   16   2.2  15
CHRISTENSEN, Todd... 17   307    0   13   13   35   0   21   18   1.2  16
NIELSEN, Eric....... 17   378   23   41   64   50   2   14   19   0.7  12
MONTAGUE, Matt...... 17   427    4   49   53   20   0   71   41   1.7   7
ROBERTS, Marc.......  9    36    1    5    6    4   0    3    6   0.5   4
NIELSEN, David......  7    23    2    2    4    4   0    1    3   0.3   6
ALLEN, John.........  7    24    0    6    6    3   0    1    2   0.5   2
HOWARD, Dan.........  4    19    3    5    8    4   0    0    2   0.0   6
SMITH, Morgan.......  5    13    1    2    3    0   0    1    2   0.5   2
ELLSWORTH, Joe......  4     8    0    3    3    0   0    0    0   0.0   2
TAGGART, Nick.......  4     6    0    0    0    0   0    0    0   0.0   0
Total............... 17  3419  152  459  611  325   4  263  249   1.1  92
Opponents........... 17  3427  218  380  598  356   -  208  269   0.8  86
   TEAM STATISTICS                          BY          OPP
   --------------------------------------------------------
   SCORING.......................         1265         1076
     Points per game.............         74.4         63.3
     Scoring margin..............        +11.1            -
   FIELD GOALS-ATT...............      421-890      373-988
     Field goal pct..............         .473         .378
   3 POINT FG-ATT................      107-261       85-301
     3-point FG pct..............         .410         .282
     3-pt FG made per game.......          6.3          5.0
   FREE THROWS-ATT...............      316-446      245-352
     Free throw pct..............         .709         .696
   REBOUNDS......................          611          598
     Rebounds per game...........         35.9         35.2
     Rebounding margin...........         +0.8            -
   ASSISTS.......................          263          208
     Assists per game............         15.5         12.2
   TURNOVERS.....................          249          269
     Turnovers per game..........         14.6         15.8
     Turnover margin.............         +1.2            -
     Assist/turnover ratio.......          1.1          0.8
   STEALS........................          137          117
     Steals per game.............          8.1          6.9
   BLOCKS........................           36           37
     Blocks per game.............          2.1          2.2
   WINNING STREAK................            2            -
     Home win streak.............            2            -
   ATTENDANCE....................        97601        44348
     Home games-Avg/Game.........      10-9760       7-6335
     Neutral site-Avg/Game.......            -          0-0
   BY PERIOD     1st  2nd  OT     Total
   ------------ ---- ---- ----     ----
   Team........  594  657   14  -  1265
   Opponents...  504  566    6  -  1076