Tavernari and Plaisted Lead BYU to Victory

PROVO -- The BYU men's basketball team began defending its Mountain West Conference title Saturday, defeating Colorado State, 92-73, to extend the nation's second-longest active home win streak to 40 games. The Cougars' win improves their record to 12-4 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West Conference.

"This win was a good way to start league play," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "We did a great job tonight sharing the ball, moving it around and getting in position to make good shots."

Trent Plaisted scored a season-high 25 points to propel the Cougars to victory. Jonathan Tavernari also tallied 25 points, leading the Cougars from outside with five threes. The last time BYU had two players score 25 or more points in a game was March 1, 2001 when Terrell Lyday totaled 26 and Mekeli Wesley added 25 at New Mexico.

The Cougars have made at least six threes in 15 of 16 games played this year. With 140 makes from long range already and at least 16 games remaining, BYU is on track to break the single-season three-point record set last year with 256.

"I think BYU knows how to taken open shots," CSU head coach Tim Miles said. "They know how to move the ball around well. Trent's one heck of a player. He had a great game."

The Cougars capitalized early with a 6-0 lead, keeping CSU scoreless during the first three minutes of the game.

Tavernari led the Cougars in the first half, coming off the bench and claiming 12 points. Plaisted followed Tavernari with 11 points, beginning the game 5-for-5 from the floor despite running into early foul trouble.

The Cougars scored the last seven points of the first half and came out strong in the second half, scoring 12 unanswered points. The 19-point run marks their longest run of the season.

The run was highlighted with a dunk from Plaisted and a pair of threes from Sam Burgess and Ben Murdock.

The Rams fought to close in on BYU's commanding lead but were unable to capitalize on enough scoring opportunities, only shortening the Cougar lead to 82-66. Despite the pressure and 24 points from the Ram's Marcus Walker, BYU continued to dominate to the 92-73 win.

BYU next travels to Las Vegas on Jan. 15 to continue conference play against UNLV. The Cougars and Rebels (12-4, 1-1 MWC) will tipoff at 8 p.m. PT (9 p.m. MT) on The Mtn.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Colorado State vs BYU Cougars
01/12/08 4:05 p.m. at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Colorado State 6-10, 0-2 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 McFARLAND, Andre.... f  1-5    0-2    2-2    0  4  4   5   4  2  2  0  0  22
04 WALKER, Marcus...... g  8-15   4-8    4-5    0  2  2   2  24  3  2  0  1  35
12 NIGON, Adam......... g  0-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   4   0  1  2  0  0  18
21 SIMMONS, Josh....... g  0-5    0-1    0-0    1  1  2   4   0  1  2  0  1  23
43 GARDNER, Willis..... g  5-8    2-4    2-2    0  3  3   4  14  0  3  0  0  25
03 CLAYMAN, Flynn......    2-9    2-2    3-4    1  1  2   3   9  2  0  0  1  22
11 COHEN, David........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  2  0  0  0   9
22 WOODARD, Jesse......    3-7    1-4    3-4    1  2  3   2  10  1  1  0  2  19
23 AGUILAR, Ronnie.....    4-8    0-0    4-4    1  7  8   5  12  0  2  2  0  25
40 McGINLEY, Joshua....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
   TEAM................                         2  4  6
   Totals..............   23-58   9-21  18-21   6 26 32  29  73 12 14  2  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  7-23 30.4%   2nd Half: 16-35 45.7%   Game: 39.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-8  37.5%   2nd Half:  6-13 46.2%   Game: 42.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-11 90.9%   2nd Half:  8-10 80.0%   Game: 85.7%    2
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 12-4, 1-0 MWC
                          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  4-8    2-3    0-0    2  7  9   3  10  7  2  1  0  30
41 COLLINSWORTH, Chris. f  3-7    0-1    3-7    6  3  9   0   9  0  3  0  0  14
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... c 11-15   0-0    3-7    2  3  5   2  25  2  0  0  0  21
20 BURGESS, Sam........ g  3-7    1-5    2-2    0  3  3   4   9  1  0  1  2  27
24 MURDOCK, Ben........ g  1-2    1-2    3-4    0  2  2   1   6  6  1  0  0  29
01 LOYD, JR., Michael..    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0  10
05 ROSE, Archie........    0-2    0-2    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  1  0  0   5
14 MARTINEAU, Nick.....    0-2    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  1   4
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer....    1-5    1-3    0-0    0  0  0   2   3  4  0  1  0  15
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan.    9-17   5-9    2-2    1  5  6   1  25  1  3  0  0  27
54 MILES, Chris........    1-2    0-0    3-9    3  3  6   2   5  1  0  0  0  18
   TEAM................                         2  4  6
   Totals..............   33-67  10-26  16-31  16 30 46  17  92 23 11  3  3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-35 40.0%   2nd Half: 19-32 59.4%   Game: 49.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-13 23.1%   2nd Half:  7-13 53.8%   Game: 38.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-14 50.0%   2nd Half:  9-17 52.9%   Game: 51.6%    7
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Officials: Ronnie Hernandez, Chris Rastatter, Darron George
Technical fouls: Colorado State-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 13135
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Colorado State................   27   46  -   73
BYU Cougars...................   38   54  -   92
Points in the paint-CS 10,BY 39. Points off turnovers-CS 10,BY 15.
2nd chance points-CS 2,BY 11. Fast break points-CS 2,BY 13.
Bench points-CS 31,BY 33. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-CS 2nd-01:24, BY 2nd-01:01.
Largest lead-CS None, BY by 27 2nd-10:02.