Defensive Effort Leads to Big Win

PROVO -- Defense was the name of the game in BYU's 80-54 win over Weber State as the Cougars limited the Wildcats to 28.8 percent shooting and Fernando Malaman had a career-high six of BYU's season-high 11 blocks, the most by a BYU player since Shawn Bradley.

BYU improved to 16-0 against the Wildcats in the Marriott Center and is now 6-2 on the season while Weber State fell to 3-6.

"It was a great team win," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "Overall, I was pretty pleased with the win. We came out with a pretty good mindset and actually executed well offensively."

The defense was especially effective in the first half, limiting the Wildcats to 25.8 percent shooting and 22 points, the least point scored by a BYU opponent in a half this season. Malaman tied his previous career high with four blocks in the half and Jackson Emery added one of his own, blocking Coric Riggs from behind on a layup attempt. Lee Cummard and Derek Dawes had two blocks each for the game, marking a career high for Cummard.

The Cougars were efficient on the offensive end, hitting 44.3 percent (27-61) of their shots and recording 17 assists compared to 11 turnovers. Trent Plaisted paced BYU with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Brock Reichner was almost perfect from the floor, hitting 5-of-6 shots for 13 points. Keena Young was BYU's other player in double figures, tying a season high with 12 points.

Derek Dawes led the team with a season-high seven rebounds and Malaman added six boards, a career high. Austin Ainge led BYU with four assists.

Riggs scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and David Patten had 12 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

BYU jumped out to an early lead as Brock Reichner hit a baseline fadeaway jumper for the first bucket of the game. After a three by Brian Cox of Weber State, the Cougars scored seven straight points, capped by a trey by Rashaun Broadus.

Weber State quickly got back into the game, as Riggs scored the next five points to cut BYU's lead to one at 9-8. Reichner ended the run with a three but Weber went on an 8-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 16-14 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half. BYU hit just 1-of-8 shots during the Wildcat run.

A Dawes free throw gave the Cougars the lead, which they held for the rest of the half. BYU extended the lead to nine at 29-20 by making 5-of-6 shots, including three consecutive fast-break layups, one by Reichner and two by Plaisted. Plaisted's were both assisted by Ainge. Reichner and Plaisted each scored nine points in the first period to lead BYU.

"Austin came out and did a pretty good job pushing the ball," Rose said.

The Cougars outscored the Wildcats 7-2 the rest of the half to lead 36-22. The last bucket came on an off-balance three by Mike Rose at the buzzer that hit the front of the rim and bounced in.

Weber turned the tables to start the second half, scoring the first five points and holding the Cougars scoreless for three minutes, cutting the lead to seven at 36-29. Rose got BYU back on track, hitting three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. Broadus followed Rose's effort with a three, pushing the lead back to 13 at 42-29.

BYU maintained a double-digit lead before going on an 8-2 run when leading 52-38, extending the advantage to 20 at 60-40. Cummard and Malaman both hit threes during the run.

Coach Rose started the same five players for the seventh straight game. BYU is 6-1 in those games. The Cougars will be back in action Thursday, Dec. 22 when they play in-state rival Utah State in Logan. BYU is 2-0 against in-state teams so far this season, having defeated Southern Utah and Weber State.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Weber State vs BYU Cougars
12-17-05 6:06 p.m. at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Weber State 3-6, 0-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 PAJEVIC, Nedim...... f  2-7    0-0    4-4    1  2  3   5   8  1  0  0  0  27
22 HENRY, Dan.......... f  2-9    0-1    0-1    0  1  1   3   4  2  1  0  1  21
33 PATTEN, David....... c  4-17   1-1    3-6    2  5  7   1  12  0  1  2  2  29
01 RIGGS, Coric........ g  8-15   0-1    3-3    2  2  4   1  19  0  1  1  0  29
10 COX, Brett.......... g  1-1    1-1    0-0    0  2  2   4   3  1  0  0  0  19
00 SHELTON, Chauncey...    1-5    0-0    0-2    2  2  4   2   2  0  1  0  0  17
02 COVINGTON, Nick.....    0-7    0-4    4-4    2  3  5   1   4  2  3  0  0  27
03 EMADI, Matt.........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   0  1  0  0  0   9
12 SPARROW, Ty.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   1
14 BARISIC, Danko......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  0  2  0  0   3
31 THOMAS, Chris.......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  1   1
40 BURRIS, Clint.......    0-2    0-1    0-0    2  2  4   3   0  0  3  0  0  17
   TEAM................                         4  4  8
   Totals..............   19-66   2-10  14-20  15 26 41  22  54  7 13  3  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-31 25.8%   2nd Half: 11-35 31.4%   Game: 28.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-4  25.0%   2nd Half:  1-6  16.7%   Game: 20.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-9  55.6%   2nd Half:  9-11 81.8%   Game: 70.0%    3
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 6-2, 0-0
                          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  2-5    1-1    0-0    0  6  6   3   5  0  2  6  0  23
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... f  1-3    0-2    1-2    1  4  5   2   3  2  0  0  0  17
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... c  5-8    0-0    5-8    3  2  5   3  15  1  2  0  0  24
01 BROADUS, Rashaun.... g  2-6    2-3    0-0    0  2  2   1   6  3  2  0  0  23
11 REICHNER, Brock..... g  5-6    1-2    2-2    0  0  0   3  13  1  0  0  0  24
02 ROSE, Mike..........    2-5    1-4    3-3    0  1  1   1   8  1  0  0  0   8
03 YOUNG, Keena........    4-8    0-0    4-6    1  3  4   3  12  2  1  0  0  20
04 EMERY, Jackson......    1-4    0-3    0-0    2  2  4   0   2  1  1  1  0  16
13 AINGE, Austin.......    1-5    0-4    0-0    0  4  4   1   2  4  0  0  0  17
30 CUMMARD, Lee........    3-6    1-3    2-4    2  1  3   2   9  2  1  2  3  14
41 ODJEGBA, Jermaine...    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  1   1
43 DAWES, Derek........    1-4    0-0    3-3    0  7  7   0   5  0  1  2  0  13
   TEAM................                         2  3  5
   Totals..............   27-61   6-23  20-28  11 35 46  19  80 17 11 11  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-30 43.3%   2nd Half: 14-31 45.2%   Game: 44.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-10 30.0%   2nd Half:  3-13 23.1%   Game: 26.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-12 58.3%   2nd Half: 13-16 81.3%   Game: 71.4%    5
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Officials: Eric Curry, Ruben Ramos, Chris Rastatter
Technical fouls: Weber State-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 8524
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Weber State...................   22   32  -   54
BYU Cougars...................   36   44  -   80
Points in the paint-WEBER 22,BY 28. Points off turnovers-WEBER 8,BY 14.
2nd chance points-WEBER 4,BY 9. Fast break points-WEBER 2,BY 12.
Bench points-WEBER 8,BY 38. Score tied-2 times. Lead changes-4 times.