Comeback Falls Short

LOS -- The red-hot shooting for BYU over the past three games turned ice cold as the Cougars dropped a heart-breaker on the road to USC, 74-68.

The loss drops BYU's record to 3-2 on the season while the Trojans improve to 4-2. The Cougars coach Dave Rose said despite the loss he is happy with the way his team fought back.

"I was proud of the way we fought back," he said. "But, we got ourselves in too big of a hole."

Despite getting 20 points and nine rebounds from Trent Plaisted, BYU only shot 37 percent from the field, 26 percent from three-point range and 64 percent from the foul line.

Plaisted started the scoring for the Cougars scoring four quick points and an assist as BYU picked up an early 6-2 lead in the first four minutes.

"Trent played good tonight," Rose said. "He got himself into foul trouble and we couldn't play him as much as we wanted."

The Cougars played tough defensively in the early going of the game, holding the Trojans to seven points on 3-of-11 shooting in the first nine minutes of the game. With BYU up 16-9, USC went on a 10-1 run taking the lead at 17-16 with 6:50 left in the first half. The Cougars' Mike Rose answered with a three pointer of his own to stop the run.

BYU went cold late in the first half. After making six of their first 10 shots, the Cougars only made two of their next 12. Meanwhile, the Trojans didn't shoot the ball well from field either. The first half difference was foul shooting and turnovers. USC got 11 points off 13 foul shots while BYU only got 6-of-8. The Cougars also had 11 first-half giveaways.

BYU only scored two field goals over the last 10:40 of the first half putting the Cougars down 34-26 and the break. The Cougars were led in the first half by Plaisted who scored eight points early before having to sit with two fouls.

Plaisted started the second half where he left off in the first, scoring seven early points. However, he was the only player on BYU to score in the first four minutes as the Cougars remained down by 10 at 43-33.

USC built an 18-point lead at 58-40 before BYU came fighting back with a 17-4 run to cut the Trojans lead to 62-57 with 3:56 remaining in the game. The Cougars got a spark from freshman Jackson Emery, whose defense and energy helped their run.

Down the stretch BYU had to play without Plaisted, who fouled out. Plaisted's final two fouls were offensive.

The Cougars' comeback continued without Plaisted. Emery and Fernando Malaman hit back-to-back threes to cut the USC lead to 65-64 with 1:41 remaining. BYU wouldn't get any closer as the Trojans made free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

"The game was a learning experience for our team," said Rose.

USC was led in points and rebounds by Gabe Pruitt who got 17 and 10, respectively.

Next up for the Cougars is a three-game homestand starting Wednesday when BYU welcomes Boise State to the Marriott Center at 7 p.m. (MST)

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
BY vs USC
12/03/05 7:30 p.m. at Los Angeles, Calif. (Sports Arena)
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VISITORS: BY 3-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 MALAMAN, Fernando... f  1-2    1-1    4-4    0  4  4   2   7  0  1  1  1  17
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... f  8-13   0-0    4-9    6  3  9   5  20  1  2  1  0  27
01 BROADUS, Rashaun.... g  1-8    1-5    0-0    1  7  8   1   3  5  4  0  0  34
11 REICHNER, Brock..... g  1-4    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   3   2  1  1  0  1  13
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... g  4-12   1-6    4-6    2  4  6   4  13  1  2  0  0  32
02 ROSE, Mike..........    1-6    1-5    0-0    0  0  0   2   3  0  1  0  1  13
03 YOUNG, Keena........    1-4    0-0    1-2    2  4  6   2   3  1  1  1  1  26
04 EMERY, Jackson......    3-6    1-3    2-2    1  0  1   2   9  0  2  0  1   9
13 AINGE, Austin.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  2  1  0  0   7
30 CUMMARD, Lee........    2-4    1-2    0-1    1  1  2   4   5  1  1  0  0  11
43 DAWES, Derek........    0-0    0-0    3-4    1  1  2   1   3  0  1  0  1  11
   TEAM................                         2     2
   Totals..............   22-59   6-23  18-28  16 25 41  26  68 12 17  3  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-23 39.1%   2nd Half: 13-36 36.1%   Game: 37.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-10 20.0%   2nd Half:  4-13 30.8%   Game: 26.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-8  75.0%   2nd Half: 12-20 60.0%   Game: 64.3%   5,2
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HOME TEAM: USC 4-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 Young, Nick......... f  6-15   1-1    1-2    2  0  2   2  14  0  2  0  0  32
42 Cromwell, RouSean... f  1-3    0-0    4-4    3  5  8   5   6  1  3  0  3  19
03 Stewart, Lodrick.... g  5-11   2-4    0-0    2  3  5   4  12  4  5  0  0  33
12 Francis, Ryan....... g  0-5    0-4    9-10   0  1  1   0   9  2  3  0  1  33
34 Pruitt, Gabe........ g  4-9    1-3    8-9    1  9 10   3  17  3  2  0  3  34
21 N'diaye, Abdoulaye..    2-3    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   3   4  0  0  1  0  20
25 Odzic, Sead.........    2-3    2-3    1-2    0  1  1   2   7  2  0  0  1  14
41 Barr, Jeremy........    2-5    0-0    1-2    1  1  2   3   5  0  1  0  0  15
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   22-54   6-15  24-29  10 22 32  22  74 12 16  1  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5%   2nd Half: 12-25 48.0%   Game: 40.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-11 27.3%   2nd Half:  3-4  75.0%   Game: 40.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-13 84.6%   2nd Half: 13-16 81.3%   Game: 82.8%   0,4
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Officials: Bruce Hicks, Michael Eggers, Tony Padilla
Technical fouls: BY-None. USC-None.
Attendance: 2007
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BY............................   26   42  -   68
USC...........................   34   40  -   74
ID-348615
Points in the paint-BY 22,USC 22. Points off turnovers-BY 13,USC 15.
2nd chance points-BY 18,USC 11. Fast break points-BY 2,USC 0.
Bench points-BY 23,USC 16. Score tied-1 time. Lead changes-3 times.