Meads, Bigelow Set Career Marks in Win over Wyoming

PROVO -- Monday night's game at the Marriott Center saw both freshman Garner Meads and senior Mark Bigelow set career marks as the BYU men's basketball team (12-4, 2-1) defeated Wyoming (8-8, 1-2) 78-64.

Meads became the first Cougar besides senior Rafael Araujo to record a double-double this season as he recorded his first career double-double, posting 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in 26 minutes, career highs in both categories for the forward.

Bigelow contributed 10 points on the night, which were good enough to move him past Kresimir Cosic for No. 9 on the all-time BYU scoring list. He also set a career high in assists with nine dishes on the night.

"Offensively they did exactly what I wanted them to do," said BYU head coach Steve Cleveland. "Hopefully we will continue that kind of offense throughout the season."

In all, four of the five Cougar starters scored in double figures led by senior Rafael Araujo who was active in every part of the game with 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

Senior guard Luiz Lemes contributed 17 points on 6-10 shooting and was 2-4 from behind the three-point line.

Midway through the second half Cougar junior Jared Jensen went down with an injury as he fell to the floor trying to get a rebound and Araujo fell on top of him. Early reports indicate a sprained back and it is uncertain how long he will be out.

In the first half, Wyoming jumped out to the early lead in the game after a three-point shot by Jay Straight that put the Cowboys up 2-5. The lead didn't last long as the Cougars used an 18-2 run to take a commanding lead in the first period.

After the run the Cougars struggled to hold the lead as the Cowboys battled their way back into the ball game and closed the gap with another three-pointer this time by David Adams that tied the game up at 29-29 with 2:30 left in the half.

The Cougars responded by outscoring the Cowboys 8-2 in the final minutes of the half, capping it off with a block by Araujo that sent the ball out to Bigelow. Bigelow raced down the court and found Michael Hall for an alley-oop dunk that brought the Marriott Center to its feet with 16 second left in the half.

Meads came out strong for the Cougars in the second half, scoring the team's first six points of the half to put BYU up 43-34.

With 11:53 left in the game, Bigelow hit a three pointer to put the Cougars up 50-43 and lifted him past Cosic on the career-scoring list.

Wyoming made several attempts to get back in the game and take the lead, but the Cougars continued to pull away from the Cowboys, largely behind the team's free throw shooting, as BYU preserved its perfect 8-0 record at home this season and won the game 78-64.

Araujo set a career-high in free throw attempts and free throws made as he went 12-17 from the line.

Cleveland knows the margin of victory could have been greater had the team shot better than 66 percent on 27-57 shooting from the stripe.

"We did miss some free throws," said Cleveland, "But other than that we played well."

The Cougars next travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., to face the Air Force Academy (11-2, 2-0) on Saturday at 4 p.m. (MST).The game will be broadcast locally on KSL-TV and KSL Newsradio 1160.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Univ of Wyoming vs Brigham Young University
1/19/04 8:37 pm at Brigham Young University
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VISITORS: Univ of Wyoming 8-8, 1-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
25 RIES, Joe........... f  1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  0  2  0  0  11
31 CORREA, Mory........ f  2-6    0-0    2-4    3  2  5   3   6  2  3  1  1  33
03 STRAIGHT, Jay....... g  7-13   2-6    4-4    0  5  5   4  20  3  6  0  1  31
05 HENRY, Tim.......... g  2-6    0-1    1-2    1  0  1   2   5  2  3  0  0  31
23 ADAMS, David........ g  6-9    4-6    3-5    4  4  8   5  19  2  0  0  0  31
00 MAKUN, Omoniyi......    0-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  0  1  0   7
04 SHERRELL, Dion......    0-2    0-0    2-2    0  1  1   1   2  0  0  0  0   9
13 DUNN, Alex..........    5-6    0-0    0-0    0  4  4   4  10  0  2  0  0  20
20 ROTTINGHAUS, David..    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  1  0  0  0   9
24 WATSON, Mikel.......    0-2    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   9
32 WILDENBORG, Ryan....    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   4   0  0  0  0  1   9
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   23-50   6-14  12-17   9 19 28  26  64 10 17  2  3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-25 44.0%   2nd Half: 12-25 48.0%   Game: 46.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-6  66.7%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 42.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-7  71.4%   2nd Half:  7-10 70.0%   Game: 70.6%    1
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young University 12-4, 2-1
                          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  2-6    2-5    4-4    0  4  4   2  10  9  1  0  0  31
41 MEADS, Garner....... f  6-9    0-0    1-3    4  6 10   4  13  1  0  0  0  26
55 ARAUJO, Rafael...... c  6-17   0-0   12-17   4  5  9   3  24  3  5  3  3  35
01 HALL, Mike.......... g  3-8    0-2    0-0    2  0  2   1   6  4  1  2  2  34
04 LEMES, Luiz......... g  6-10   2-4    3-4    0  4  4   1  17  0  2  0  2  32
00 WOODBERRY, Kevin....    0-1    0-1    0-0    1  0  1   2   0  0  0  0  0   9
02 ROSE, Mike..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  0  0  0   4
05 SHOFF, Jake.........    2-3    0-0    0-2    1  1  2   4   4  0  0  0  0  10
10 NASHIF, Terry.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  1  0  0  0   8
13 AINGE, Austin.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0   1
15 DRESSER, Mike.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
52 JENSEN, Jared.......    2-3    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   4  0  0  0  0   9
   TEAM................                         2     2
   Totals..............   27-57   4-12  20-30  15 22 37  20  78 19  9  5  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-31 48.4%   2nd Half: 12-26 46.2%   Game: 47.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-8  37.5%   2nd Half:  1-4  25.0%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-6  66.7%   2nd Half: 16-24 66.7%   Game: 66.7%    6
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Officials: David Hall, Kelly Self, Bob Staffen
Technical fouls: Univ of Wyoming-None. Brigham Young University-None.
Attendance: 14229
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Univ of Wyoming...............   31   33  -   64
Brigham Young University......   37   41  -   78
Points in the paint-WY 20,BY 38. Points off turnovers-WY 11,BY 20.
2nd chance points-WY 4,BY 16. Fast break points-WY 4,BY 6.
Bench points-WY 12,BY 8. Score tied-2 times. Lead changes-1 time.