Lobos Shoot By Cougars

ALBUQUERQUE -- It was a tough night for the Cougars in New Mexico as sharp shooting and phenomenal play by Danny Granger gave the Lobos a 91-72 victory in the Pit to avoid a Cougar season sweep. Granger led the Lobos with 20 points, three rebounds and five assists, as New Mexico connected on 31-of-50 shots to shoot 62 percent from the field.

"New Mexico played and shot the ball very well tonight," said Steve Cleveland. "We couldn't have beaten them no matter how well we shot."

Despite the loss, the Cougars shot an outstanding 55 percent from the field, with center Jared Jensen scoring on nine of his 10 shots to finish the game with 20 points and five rebounds.

It was all Lobos in the first half with Danny Granger leading the way. The first basket came from a deep three-pointer by Granger to begin a 7-0 run as New Mexico never trailed. Jensen carried the Cougars as long as he could, scoring 10 points on 4-4 shooting, but foul trouble took Jensen out of the game. Without Cougar forwards Garner Meads and Keena Young, who were both out due to injury, BYU had no answer for Granger. The senior forward finished the half with 12 points, including a 2-point basket at the buzzer.

New Mexico went into halftime with a 54-35 advantage and the largest lead of the half at 19 points. The Cougars finished the half shooting 48 percent from the field, while the Lobos shot an astonishing 76 percent from the floor.

The hot shooting continued for the Lobos in the second half, never allowing the Cougars to crawl their way back into the game. Cougar guard Brock Reichner got his first start of a half this season and delivered for the Cougars during his 17 minutes of play, hitting a deep three-pointer to give BYU its first points of the second half. Jensen continued to battle in the post, adding another 10 points.

With the loss against the Lobos, the Cougars have now dropped their eighth league game and are currently in seventh place, one game ahead of the Colorado State Rams, with a 3-8 record.

With a 0-1 start to their three-game road swing, the Cougars will play the second game of the trip Monday night at Air Force. The 7 p.m. start will be televised by SportsWest (UPN Z-24 in Utah).

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
BYU vs New Mexico
02/19/05 7:05 PM MST at The Pit - Albuquerque, NM
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VISITORS: BYU 9-17, 3-8 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
54 MILES, Chris........ f  2-2    0-0    1-2    1  1  2   4   5  3  1  1  0  23
43 DAWES, Derek........ c  3-7    0-0    0-0    2  4  6   3   6  1  2  0  1  19
01 HALL, Mike.......... g  6-12   2-5    5-7    1  1  2   2  19  2  1  1  3  33
13 AINGE, Austin....... g  3-9    2-5    1-2    0  0  0   2   9  4  3  0  1  34
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... g  0-2    0-2    1-2    0  2  2   2   1  0  4  0  0  13
02 ROSE, Mike..........    1-2    1-2    0-0    0  2  2   1   3  4  0  0  0  20
04 BURGESS, Joshua.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
10 NASHIF, Terry.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  2  0  0  0   3
12 REICHNER, Brock.....    1-2    1-2    1-2    0  1  1   0   4  1  2  0  1  17
20 BURGESS, Sam........    2-3    0-0    1-2    2  0  2   3   5  0  2  0  2  15
52 JENSEN, Jared.......    9-10   0-0    2-2    2  3  5   4  20  0  2  1  1  21
   TEAM................                         3     3
   Totals..............   27-49   6-16  12-19  11 14 25  21  72 17 17  3  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-25 48.0%   2nd Half: 15-24 62.5%   Game: 55.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-8  37.5%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 37.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-6  83.3%   2nd Half:  7-13 53.8%   Game: 63.2%   4,1
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HOME TEAM: New Mexico 19-6, 6-4 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
13 CHIOTTI, David...... f  6-13   0-0    4-6    3  2  5   2  16  2  1  0  1  26
21 NEALE, Alfred....... f  4-5    3-4    4-4    1  4  5   0  15  0  0  0  0  29
33 GRANGER, Danny...... f  7-9    2-3    4-4    2  1  3   1  20  5  1  0  2  25
02 DEVRIES, Troy....... g  5-9    5-6    0-2    0  4  4   2  15  5  3  0  1  33
05 WALTERS, Mark....... g  3-3    1-1    0-0    1  1  2   3   7  3  1  1  1  31
00 OSBY, Bambale.......    0-0    0-0    1-4    0  0  0   3   1  0  1  0  2   8
01 WALTER, Kellen......    2-4    2-4    2-2    0  0  0   1   8  1  0  0  0   7
20 WALL, Ryan..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  2  0  0  0  12
22 HART, Jeff..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  2  0  0  1   3
24 PRENTICE, Darren....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  1  0  2   5
25 HARDEN, Blake.......    2-3    0-0    1-1    1  0  1   0   5  1  3  0  0  11
32 DANRIDGE, Tony......    2-3    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   4  0  1  0  0  10
   TEAM................                            2  2
   Totals..............   31-50  13-19  16-23   8 14 22  14  91 22 12  1 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 19-25 76.0%   2nd Half: 12-25 48.0%   Game: 62.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  7-9  77.8%   2nd Half:  6-10 60.0%   Game: 68.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-11 54.5%   2nd Half: 10-12 83.3%   Game: 69.6%    3
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Officials: Verne Harris, Randy McCall, Mark Reischling
Technical fouls: BYU-None. New Mexico-GRANGER, Danny.
Attendance: 16087
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BYU...........................   32   40  -   72
New Mexico....................   51   40  -   91
Points in the paint-BY 34,NM 32. Points off turnovers-BY 10,NM 19.
2nd chance points-BY 15,NM 11. Fast break points-BY 6,NM 4.
Bench points-BY 32,NM 18. Score tied-0 times. Lead changes-0 times.