BYU Defeats Jackson State in Vegas Invite Opening Round

PROVO -- In the first round of the Las Vegas Invitational, junior Trent Plaisted and the BYU Cougars won easily over the Jackson State Tigers, 100-61, as Plaisted contributed a game-high 21 points. The Cougars improved to 3-0 in this young season, and the Tigers fell to 0-3.

Plaisted was not alone in BYU's offensive effort as a total of five Cougars scored in double digits. Two of those five came off the bench as Michael Loyd Jr. finished with 15, and Vuk Ivanovic tied his career high with 10.

"For the most part, we did a good job competing on every play tonight," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "Jackson State came out strong, and their quickness and ability to make plays surprised us. But we did a good job limiting their defensive boards."

The game did not start the way the Cougars wanted, though, as Jackson State scored the first eight points. That 8-0 start by the Tigers was not only the first time all year that BYU has trailed its opponent, but it is also the largest run that the Cougars have allowed this season.

At the 17:49 mark, Cougar Lee Cummard helped BYU break onto the scoreboard for the first time as he made a three-pointer. Cummard went on to finish the game with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Both teams started the game applying pressure defensively, leading to multiple fast break opportunities. The Cougars had eight fast break points in the first period while the Tigers converted four fast break points of their own.

The first half also saw major contributions by three BYU freshmen. Chris Collinsworth played 11 minutes, and both Loyd and Jimmer Fredette saw six minutes of action.

In the last minutes of the half, BYU slowly opened a 12-point lead, with the halftime score at 41-29. The Cougars shot 55 percent from the field and went 7-for-9 from the free-throw line in the first stanza.

The second half saw a much different start than the first half did as BYU went on a 23-4 run in the first six minutes of the half. The Cougars never looked back as they cruised to win by 39 points.

BYU senior guard Ben Murdock recorded a new personal best with eight total assists in the game. Collinsworth also had a notable performance with a game-high and career-high 10 rebounds in the Cougars' winning effort.

Freshman guard Chris Hyche led Jackson State with 14 points. The Cougars' defense held the Tigers to 33 percent shooting on the game.

BYU's next action will be Tuesday as Hartford comes to the Marriott Center with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be aired live on BYUTV.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Jackson State vs BYU Cougars
11/16/07 7:06 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, UT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Jackson State 0-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
32 MAXEY,Grant......... f  4-11   1-1    0-1    1  2  3   4   9  1  1  0  1  17
33 JOHNSON,Garrison.... f  0-2    0-1    2-4    1  0  1   1   2  0  2  0  0  18
44 CALDWELL,Jeremy..... f  4-9    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   1   8  1  2  0  1  17
03 GIVENS,Catraiva..... g  1-7    0-2    5-7    0  2  2   2   7  4  4  0  2  27
12 GRIFFIN,Darrion..... g  2-6    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   2   4  0  2  0  0  13
00 JONES,Marcus........    0-2    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   2   0  1  0  0  0   8
01 LOCKHART,Phillip....    1-2    1-1    0-0    0  2  2   0   3  0  0  0  0   7
04 WHITE,Kevin.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  2  0  0  0   9
10 HUGGINS,Daniel......    0-4    0-2    0-0    2  2  4   0   0  0  0  0  0   8
20 DAVIS, Jerome.......    1-2    1-2    1-2    1  0  1   0   4  0  0  0  1   5
22 JARROW,Edwin........    0-1    0-1    0-0    1  0  1   3   0  2  0  0  1  21
24 HYCHE,Chris.........    5-11   2-5    0-0    2  1  3   2  12  0  4  0  0  17
25 ADAMS,Eric..........    3-5    2-4    0-0    0  0  0   0   8  2  1  0  0   9
34 DIXON,De'Suan.......    0-2    0-1    0-0    1  1  2   1   0  0  1  0  0   6
40 TURNER,Stanley......    2-5    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   0   4  0  1  0  0  10
42 BAKER,Brandon.......    0-0    0-0    0-2    0  2  2   2   0  0  0  0  0   8
   TEAM................                         3  4  7
   Totals..............   23-69   7-21   8-16  16 18 34  20  61 13 18  0  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-35 34.3%   2nd Half: 11-34 32.4%   Game: 33.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-8  25.0%   2nd Half:  5-13 38.5%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half:  5-11 45.5%   Game: 50.0%    3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 3-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ f  5-6    2-2    2-2    1  3  4   0  14  3  2  1  4  22
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  5-9    2-3    1-2    1  3  4   3  13  1  1  1  1  20
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... c  8-11   0-0    5-6    2  5  7   0  21  2  0  1  1  19
20 BURGESS, Sam........ g  3-6    1-3    0-0    0  5  5   4   7  1  2  0  0  15
24 MURDOCK, Ben........ g  1-2    0-1    0-0    0  3  3   0   2  8  1  0  1  22
01 LOYD, JR., Michael..    6-9    1-3    2-2    1  3  4   1  15  3  2  0  2  20
10 IVANOVIC, Vuk.......    4-8    0-0    2-2    2  0  2   4  10  0  1  1  1  12
14 MARTINEAU, Nick.....    1-2    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   3   2  2  0  0  0  13
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer....    1-5    0-2    5-6    0  2  2   1   7  4  1  0  4  23
41 COLLINSWORTH, Chris.    0-3    0-1    1-4    3  7 10   3   1  1  1  1  0  25
54 MILES, Chris........    2-4    0-0    4-4    1  2  3   2   8  0  2  2  0   9
   TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   36-65   6-15  22-28  14 35 49  21 100 25 13  7 14 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-29 55.2%   2nd Half: 20-36 55.6%   Game: 55.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-8  25.0%   2nd Half:  4-7  57.1%   Game: 40.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-9  77.8%   2nd Half: 15-19 78.9%   Game: 78.6%    3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Mark Schnur, Charles Robinson, Nathan Quick
Technical fouls: Jackson State-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 8643
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Jackson State.................   29   32  -   61
BYU Cougars...................   41   59  -  100
Points in the paint-JSUM 16,BY 54. Points off turnovers-JSUM 9,BY 25.
2nd chance points-JSUM 11,BY 12. Fast break points-JSUM 4,BY 20.
Bench points-JSUM 31,BY 43. Score tied-4 times. Lead changed-1 time.
Last FG-JSUM 2nd-00:51, BY 2nd-01:08.
Largest lead-JSUM by 8 1st-18:24, BY by 44 2nd-01:50.