Game 6 - BYU Hosts Boise State Wednesday

GAME #6 FAST FACTS

BYU COUGARS (3-2, 0-0 MWC)

vs.

BOISE STATE BRONCOS (3-2, 0-0 WAC)

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005

Marriott Center (22,700)

Provo, Utah

7:05 p.m. MST

Coaches:

BYU, Dave Rose (3-2 in first year; same overall)

BSU, Greg Graham (55-46 in fourth season; 73-51 in fifth year overall)

Series:

BYU leads, 7-2, including last year's 90-77 win in Provo on Dec. 8, 2004

TV: None

Radio:

KSL Newsradio, BYU Sports Network (Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web:

Live audio and live stats broadcasts are available at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

BYU HOSTS BOISE STATE WEDNESDAY AT 7 P.M.

BYU (3-2, 0-0 MWC) hosts Boise State (3-2, 0-0 WAC) Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The game will be broadcast live on KSL Newsradio, which can be heard on 102.7 FM or 1160 AM. Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant will call the game, which is also available online at KSL.com. The game is not being televised.

UP NEXT

BYU stays at home to host Northern Kentucky (5-0, 2-0 Great Lakes Valley Conference) Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The Division II Norse will play three road games this week, with Saturday's game against BYU being the team's first Division I opponent since the 1994-95 season.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

-- Coming off a disappointing 9-21 season after five straight postseason appearances, BYU looks to return to the ranks of conference contenders and postseason invitees under the direction of new head coach Dave Rose.

-- Rose enters his first year leading the Cougars after serving the past eight seasons as Steve Cleveland's lead assistant, including five years as associate head coach. After Cleveland announced his resignation to take the Fresno State job, BYU moved quickly to promote Rose to BYU's head position.

-- This year Coach Rose has five juniors with starting experience from last season and several talented newcomers with the ability to make an impact in their first seasons on the court.

-- Among BYU's returning players, honorable mention All-MWC guard Austin Ainge was the team's second-leading scorer and top assist man last year, and junior forward Keena Young was BYU's leading rebounder. Other returners with starting experience include junior swingman Jimmy Balderson, who represented Canada at the World University Games this summer; junior center Derek Dawes, who made 13 starts in the middle last year; and junior guard Mike Rose, who made seven starts last year and averaged 7.7 points while making a team-leading 56 treys. Lone senior Brock Reichner has earned three starts this season after mostly limited action last year.

-- Several players who did not take the court for BYU last year could be key contributors in 2005-06. Among those players are redshirt freshmen Trent Plaisted (6-11, F/C) and David Burgess (6-10, C), freshmen Lee Cummard (6-6, G) and Jackson Emery (6-3, G) and JC transfers Rashaun Broadus (6-0, G) and Fernando Malaman (6-9, F).

-- Trent Plaisted leads BYU in scoring (15.2), followed by Jimmy Balderson (13.4). Keena Young is the top Cougar rebounder (5.2), followed by Plaisted (5.0). Rashaun Broadus is the top assist maker (5.0), followed by Austin Ainge (4.0). The Cougars average 79.6 points and shoot .495 as a team, .449 from long range and .714 from the line. Cougar opponents average 72 points on .427 shooting, .341 from three and .740 from the line.

LOOKING AT BOISE STATE

Boise State is 3-2 so far this season and is playing the finale of a three-game road trip against the Cougars, having gone 1-1 in its last two games on the road. The Broncos have scored victories this year over Montana, Montana State-Northern and BYU-opponent Weber State while also losing to the Wildcats in their most recent game on Saturday. BSU's other loss came at Idaho State. Junior point guard Coby Karl leads BSU all around, averaging 16.4 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game while dishing out a team-high 4.2 assists per contest. The preseason second-team All-WAC selection is shooting 46.3 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent from three-point range as 13 of his 25 made buckets have come from downtown. Sophomore guard Matt Bauscher is second on the team in both scoring with 14.4 ppg and rebounding with 6.4 rpg while shooting 49 percent from the floor in his first season playing for the Broncos. Senior Tezerray Banks and sophomore Tyler Tiedeman, both forwards, are third on the team in rebounds as they each pull down 5.2 boards per game while Tiedeman contributes 9.6 ppg and Banks adds 7.2. Boise State's fifth starter, junior Eric Lane, plays a team-leading 32.8 minutes per game and has come away with 11 steals while scoring 8.6 points per contest. Off the bench, junior guard Kenny Wilson leads the team in field goal percentage as he has made 59.1 percent of his shots from the floor and 68.4 percent from three-point range, making 13 of his 19 long-range attempts. As a team, the Broncos are scoring 77.2 ppg on 45.1 percent shooting from the floor, including a 38.3 percentage from beyond the arc. The Broncos are allowing opponents to score 67.0 ppg on 39.3 percent shooting from the field. Boise State holds a slight 38.6-37.4 rebounding edge. Bronco head coach Greg Graham is in his fourth year at Boise State with a 55-46 record.

BSU's LAST OUTING -- Bronco Men Pick Up Nonconference Win at Weber State

OGDEN -- Boise State's Kenny Wilson came off the bench to score 19 points to lead the Broncos to a 74-66 victory over Weber State Saturday. Wilson went six of nine from beyond the 3-point line, as the Broncos shot 43 percent from beyond the arc for the game. Coby Karl and Seth Robinson each scored 12 points and Matt Bauscher added 10 for the Broncos (3-2). Nick Covington scored 18 points for the Wildcats (3-3) and Coric Riggs had 10 points and eight rebounds. The Broncos led 7-1 early in the game, but a 10-0 Weber State run gave the Wildcats a 15-12 lead. Boise State answered with a 12-2 run at the end of the half and led 36-32 at halftime. The Broncos made six of seven 3-point shots in the first 5:08 of the second half to extend their lead to 54-40. Weber State cut the Broncos lead to five, 59-54, with 7:12 remaining, but never got any closer. After winning its first three games, Weber State has now dropped its last three. The game was the second meeting between the two teams this season. Weber State beat the Broncos in Boise, Idaho 66-61 on Nov. 21.

BSU's PROBABLE STARTERS

No Name Pos Ht Wt Cl Hometown PPG RPG

3 Eric Lane G 6-1 194 Jr. Los Angeles, CA 8.6 2.2

5 Coby Karl G 6-4 204 Jr. Mequon, WI 16.4 6.6

15 Matt Bauscher G 6-2 197 So. Caldwell, ID 14.4 6.4

20 Tyler Tiedeman G/F 6-7 210 So. Santa Rosa, CA 9.6 5.2

25 Tezarray Banks F 6-9 231 Sr. Paramount, CA 7.2 5.2

SERIES NOTES

The Cougars and Broncos have met nine times in the history of the two programs with BYU owning a 7-2 advantage overall and a 5-1 series lead in Provo. The Cougars have also won the last three contests between the two teams, including victories in each of the past two seasons. BYU has a chance to match its series-best four-game winning streak with a victory Wednesday. Boise State's last win was in Boise during the 1997-98 season. BSU's victory over BYU in the Marriott Center was the prior season at the Cougar Classic. BSU earned a 65-58 victory over the Roger Reid-coached Cougars on Dec. 13, 1996, in what ended up being a program-worst 1-25 season for BYU.

BYU SERIES RECORD VS. BOISE STATE

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 7-2

BYU Record in Provo: 5-1

BYU Record in Boise: 2-1

BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 0-0

BYU Record under Dave Rose: 0-0

BYU Record in Overtime Games: 1-1 both in Tempe

Longest BYU Win Streak: 4 (1976-95)

Longest Boise State Win Streak: 2 (1996-97)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 16, 83-67 in 2000

Largest Boise State Margin of Victory: 16, 83-67 in1997

Most Points Scored by BYU: 90 in 2004-05

Most Points Scored by Boise State: 83 in 1997

12-01-76 Boise State 76-75 W

12-18-82 at Boise State 68-67 W

12-23-83 Boise State 66-54 W

11-25-95 Boise State 86-71 W

12-13-96 Boise State* 58-65 L

12-06-97 at Boise State 67-83 L

12-21-00 vs. Boise State 83-67 W

12-2-03 at Boise State 75-69 W

12-8-04 Boise State 90-77 W

*Cougar Classic

RECENT SERIES RECAPS

LAST SEASON IN PROVO -- Cougars Buck the Broncos

PROVO -- A combo attack by shooting guards Mike Hall and Mike Rose delivered for the Cougars their first Division I win this year with a 90-77 victory over the Boise State Broncos, improving BYU's record to 2-5 for the year. Hall finished with 21 points to lead all Cougar scorers. Hall also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and dished out five assists. Rose's stifling shooting performance closely followed with 19 points, 18 of which were from beyond the arc. "This was a big win for this team," Cleveland said. "Mike Hall played a complete game that gave us a great spark." Three other Cougars scored in double figures with Austin Ainge scoring 14 points and adding five assists while Jared Jensen scored 13 points. Keena Young added 11 points and 8 rebounds on continual hustle plays that ignited the Cougars throughout the game. Early in the first half, the Broncos came out on fire against the Cougars, shooting over 80 percent from the field to keep the score close. The Broncos would soon cool down while the Cougars heated up mid-way through the first period. Ainge, who connected on two long three-pointers followed by a Hall trey, sparked the Cougars on a 13-0 run, giving them a 35-19 lead. The Broncos refused to give up as they fought back to only trail 31-39 at the half. Boise State came out hot in the second half, led by Franco Harris who hit three consecutive shots from beyond the arc to bring Boise State to within one. Rose would match Harris' hot hand by connecting on four of his own long bombs from beyond the arc to help the Cougars pull away. The Cougars connected on 11-21 (52.4 percent) three-point attempts to give BYU over 50 percent efficiency from beyond the arc in back-to-back games. On the defensive end, Hall shut down the Broncos leading scorer, Jermaine Blackburn, who was held to nine points. "I think Mike Hall did a wonderful job defending Blackburn," Cleveland said. "Because of the way they run, it's tough for our post players to keep up which puts a lot of pressure on our guards." The Broncos were carried by McNeal Thompson who had a game-high 22 points, shooting 5-10 from the three.

2003-04 IN BOISE -- Araujo Carries Cougars to Victory at Boise State

BOISE -- Rafael Araujo carried the load and Mark Bigelow delivered in the clutch as BYU downed Boise State 75-69 Tuesday to earn its first road victory of the season. The Cougars overcame a lead the Broncos held for much of the game to improve their record to 3-1 while previously unbeaten Boise State fell to 3-1 with the loss. The Broncos had no answer to Araujo. The 6-foot-11, 280-pound Cougar center was nearly unstoppable inside while equaling a career-high 31 points and pulling down a season-best 14 rebounds. Araujo made 10-of-13 attempts from the floor and earned 14 trips to the free throw line, knocking down 11 shots from the charity stripe. "Rafael was a man among boys tonight," Bigelow said. "He was getting good position and every time we got the ball to him he did something with it." When Araujo wasn't getting good position inside he was showing his finesse and athletic ability on the perimeter. The biggest player on the court took one of his game-high three steals coast-to-coast and drove through the BSU defense from 20 feet out to score another goal. Araujo's performance was his second consecutive double-double effort after 24 points and 12 rebounds against UVSC. "We did a good job of getting the ball into the post consistently," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. "I really like the way Rafael kept himself composed. He also made some good passes out of the post, which allowed us to establish the inside first and then go outside." On the outside was Bigelow, who like Araujo is a preseason All-MWC pick. After a poor-shooting first half had compounded his slow start over the first three games, the Cougar captain and four-year starter scored 10 points in the final seven minutes to allow BYU to take control of a tight game. After an Araujo bucket gave BYU the lead at 57-55 -- the Cougars' first advantage since 6-5 -- Bigelow made two key plays to help BYU take a 68-60 lead with less than five minutes remaining. On the first, Bigelow got BSU's Coby Karl in the air with a pump fake and then hit a leaner while drawing the foul. After converting at the free throw line, Bigelow followed two Mike Hall free throws with a 22-foot bomb to give BYU its biggest lead of the game. He totaled 15 points on the night, moving past Marty Haws into 13th place on BYU's all-time scoring list. "Mark had a focus. He really stepped up and hit big buckets that helped us win the game," Cleveland said. "We also did a better job of guarding in the second half." Boise State controlled most of the first half. After a Bryan Defares trey gave Boise a game-high nine-point lead at 31-22, Araujo took over inside with six straight points in what proved to be a 13-4 Cougar run to even the score at 35 with 1:53 to go in the half. Two more Bronco treys by Jermaine Blackburn and Defares gave Boise State momentum to claim a 43-39 lead at the half. Boise State shot 43 percent for the game compared to the Cougars' 51 percent clip. BSU shot 44 percent on threes while BYU connected on 4-of-10 attempts. BYU put the game away with free throws, making 21-of-27 for the game. Boise State went 12-for-17 from the line. The Cougars' Kevin Woodberry came off the bench for the first time this year and contibuted eight points, along with Jared Jensen. Hall added seven points, Luiz Lemes four and Garner Meads two to round out BYU's scoring. Lemes had a team-best three assists along with four rebounds. Blackburn led four Boise State players in double figures with 20 points. Defares and Jason Ellis added 13 points each and Karl totaled 12. Defares led BSU with eight rebounds.

BYU NOTES

BYU's LAST OUTING -- Comeback Falls Short at USC

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

WHAT WAS SAID AFTER THE GAME ...

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose:

-- "I was proud of the way we fought back, but we got ourselves in too big of a hole. We really didn't play like we needed to play in order to win the game. In the second half, we started to play like we know we can, and I'm proud of them for that."

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

-- "USC did a good job of transition defense, especially in the first half. The pressure they put on us caused us problems. We were slow to everything and were timid."

-- "The game was a learning experience for our team."

USC Head Coach Tim Floyd:

-- "I'm really happy with the win. BYU had a win at Washington State and they have four good shooters. For the first time this year, we stayed with our game plan. I think we are gaining more confidence."

-- "BYU is a solid team. That was a quality win for us at this time of the year. We made some big free throws late, both by Ryan Francis and Gabe Pruitt."

BYU NOTES FROM LAST OUTING

-- BYU has used the same starting lineup (Broadus, Reichner, Balderson, Malaman and Plaisted) in its last four games, going 3-1 in those contests.

-- This year's game at USC was familiar territory for the Cougars as they battled back from an 18-point deficit in the second half to come within one point of the lead at 65-64. Last year, BYU trailed by 17 in the second half and came back to tie the game before eventually falling 87-82.

-- Trent Plaisted had a career night in the loss as he scored 20 points and added 9 rebounds before fouling out. He also set career bests in field goals attempted (13) and made (8).

-- Rashaun Broadus had a career-high 8 rebounds.

-- Lee Cummard has hit a three-point shot in all five games this season, hitting from beyond the arc at the 13:08 mark in the second half against USC.

-- After shooting over 55 percent from the floor in the previous three games, BYU had its worst offensive night of the year as the Cougars set season-low marks in points (68), field goal percentage (.373) and three-point percentage (.261).

-- The loss marked the first time this season BYU has outrebounded its opponent and still come up short on the scoreboard. The Cougars pulled down 41 boards compared to USC's 32. Prior to the loss, BYU was 2-0 when winning the rebounding battle.

-- The Cougars allowed just one Trojan basket in the first six minutes of play while building an early 8-2 lead.

-- BYU's free throw streak came to an end at the 9:11 mark in the first half when Keena Young missed the second of his two attempts. The Cougars had made 20 consecutive shots from the charity stripe prior to the miss, including their last 19 against Lamar.

-- USC took its first lead of the game at 17-16 with 6:45 left to play in the first half after an 8-0 run that spanned just under three minutes.

-- After jumping out to a 15-7 lead, the Cougars went cold, making only two field goals in the final 10:36 of the half and allowing USC to lead by as many as 12 points.

-- The Cougars' 26 first-half points mark their lowest first-half output of the season (BYU trailed 34-26).

-- Trent Plaisted single-handedly kept the Cougars in the game to start the second half as he scored BYU's first eight points until a three-pointer from Lee Cummard found the hoop at the 13:08 mark.

-- After trailing by 18 in the second half, the Cougars put together a 15-2 run to cut the lead to five points. BYU held USC scoreless for 4:36 during the run.

-- Limited by sickness, Austin Ainge played only seven minutes at USC, dishing out 2 assists without attempting a shot.

SCORING FOR THE COUGARS

BYU is averaging an MWC-leading 79.6 points, led by redshirt freshman Trent Plaisted's 15.2 points per game. The 6-foot-11 forward/center has reached double figures in each game. Junior Jimmy Balderson adds 13.4 points per game as the second Cougar to average double figures. Three different Cougars have led the team in scoring in BYU's first five games (Plaisted twice, 20 at USC and 13 vs. Southern Utah; Balderson twice, 18 vs. Loyola Marymount and 21 vs. Lamar; and senior Brock Reichner, 18 at Wash. State).

THREE-POINT ACCURACY AMONG NATION'S BEST

BYU ranks 14th in the country from behind the arc (.449) after falling from its No. 8 ranking prior to Saturday's game at USC. At that time, BYU was one of only nine teams shooting 50 percent or better from long range. Now only four teams are making 50 percent or better on threes. BYU made a season-low 26.1 percent at USC on treys after making 50 percent or better from three-point range in the prior three games -- all victories. Individually, four Cougars are making 50 percent or more of their three-point attempts and eight Cougars have made a trey this year. Six Cougars are averaging one trey a game. Senior Brock Reichner has made a team-best seven triples this year. Ironically, BYU's lowest three-point percentage comes from last year's team leader in that category. Junior Jimmy Balderson, who made 42 percent of his treys last year, is currently 5-for-18 on threes (.278) after a 1-for-6 night at USC, where last year he went 5-for-8 against the Trojans. This year, every other Cougar, except Mike Rose, is making 40 percent or better on three-point attempts. Rose, last year's team leader with 56 treys, is making 35.7 percent on 5-for-14 shooting from long range.

POINT PLAY ASSISTING IN VICTORY

BYU's Rashaun Broadus (5.0 apg) and Austin Ainge (4.0 apg) rank first and third, respectively, among Mountain West Conference players in assists per game average this season. BYU's point guards have played well in the Cougars' three victories. In BYU's season-opening loss to Loyola Marymount the two guards combined for six assists and five turnovers, and in the loss at USC on Saturday they totaled seven assists and five turnovers. The assists-to-turnovers ratio has been significantly better in BYU's three wins. Broadus and Ainge showed marked improvement in the Cougars' win at Washington State, where the two combined to dish out 10 assists while committing only two turnovers, as each posted a line of a game-high 5 assists with only one turnover. In BYU's victory over Southern Utah, they combined for 13 assists with only one turnover, as Ainge tied a career high with 8 assists without a turnover and Broadus had 3 assists and one turnover while scoring a season-best 11 points. Against Lamar, Broadus dished out a career-best 9 assists, including an assist on BYU's first six baskets, while Ainge added two assists to help BYU record a season-high 22 assists for the second straight game.

EMERY EFFORT

True freshman guard Jackson Emery has provided valuable production in his minutes this season. He scored nine points in nine minutes at USC, all in the second half, to help fuel BYU's comeback attempt. He is shooting 53.3 percent from the floor, 40 percent from long range, and is perfect from the line while averaging 4.8 points in 9.2 minutes. He has also been a solid defender for the Cougars, often helping guard the opponent's top perimeter player.

FORMER COUGAR DANNY AINGE TO BE HONORED WITH PRESTIGIOUS 2006 NCAA SILVER ANNIVERSARY AWARD

Former BYU basketball great Danny Ainge has been selected as one of six recipients of the 2006 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. The award recognizes former student-athletes who completed successful collegiate careers in various sports 25 years ago and went on to excel in their chosen professions. Silver Award winners are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which comprises eight athletics administrators at member institutions and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes. Joining Ainge as 2006 recipients are Valerie B. Ackerman (University of Virginia, women's basketball); Charles E. Davis (Vanderbilt University, men's basketball); Dr. Terry Schroeder (Pepperdine University, men's water polo); Michael Singletary (Baylor University, football); and Susan D. Wellington (Yale University, women's swimming and softball). The awards will be presented at the NCAA Honors Celebration on Saturday, January 7, during the annual NCAA Convention in Indianapolis. The Convention will serve as the kick-off to the NCAA's Centennial with the theme, Celebrating the Student-Athlete. Ainge becomes the third former BYU student-athlete to receive the prestigious award, joining current BYU Faculty Representative Larry Echohawk (Football, 1970), who was honored in 1995, and former Cougar All-American quarterback Gifford Nielsen (Football, 1978), who received the award in 2003.