Cougars Hang On Against Aztecs

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PROVO -- BYU held off a strong charge from San Diego State in the waning minutes of the game to survive with a 77-71 win Saturday in the Marriott Center.

“We played a full game,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “We played consistently throughout the 40 minutes. We played as a team, and we competed.”

Hot shooting helped the Cougars control the first half. BYU shot 59 percent (16-of-27) compared to 41 percent for SDSU. The team out-rebounded the Aztecs 19-11 in the first twenty minutes. The Cougars took a 41-32 lead into the locker room at half time.

BYU’s strong shooting continued through the second half, but San Diego State heated up as well, and closed to within four, 70-66, on a dunk and free-throw by SDSU’s Medhi Cheriet.

Jonathan Tavernari hit a three-pointer with 1:30 left in the game to put BYU up by seven, 73-66. The Atzecs kept the pressure on, but were not able to close the gap.

San Diego State’s Lorrenzo Wade had 18 points to lead all scorers, and Lee Cummard had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his 16 points, tied for a Cougar team high with Tavernari. The double-double was Cummard’s second of the season. Lamont Morgan, Jr., tied a career-high with 12 points.

As a team, the Cougars shot 28-of-50 (56 percent). They turned nine Aztec turnovers into 12 points. BYU shot 11-of-21 (52 percent) from behind the three-point line. The Cougars finished the game 10-of-12 on free throws (83 percent).

In the winning effort BYU’s record improves to 15-4 (3-2, MWC) while San Diego State drops to 13-5 (3-2, MWC).

BYU next heads up on the hill to face off against in-state rival Utah on Tues., Jan. 27 at 8 p.m in the first Deseret Duel game for the men this season. The game will be broadcast live on The Mtn. and KSL Radio.

The Cougars then return home to the Marriott Center and host the Wyoming Cowboys on Sat., Jan. 31 at 4:00 p.m. The Mtn. and KSL will broadcast the game.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
San Diego State vs BYU Cougars
1/24/09 7:05 at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: San Diego State 13-5, 3-2 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
03 WILLIAMS, Richie.... *  3-8    2-2    1-2    1  5  6   1   9  6  3  0  5  34
15 SPAIN, Kyle......... *  2-5    1-3    0-0    1  1  2   3   5  1  1  0  0  16
31 WADE, Lorrenzo...... *  7-18   2-3    2-2    0  2  2   3  18  1  2  0  1  34
32 WHITE, Billy........ *  2-2    0-0    1-2    1  1  2   1   5  2  0  1  0  22
43 AMOROSO, Ryan....... *  1-4    0-0    2-4    1  0  1   0   4  0  0  0  0  16
21 THOMAS, Matt........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2   0  1  0  0  0   7
23 GAY, D.J............    1-5    1-3    2-2    0  0  0   3   5  2  0  0  2  29
24 SHELTON, Tim........    4-9    0-0    3-4    1  1  2   2  11  1  2  0  0  23
42 CHERIET, Mehdi......    6-8    1-3    1-1    1  2  3   0  14  0  1  0  0  19
   TEAM................                         2  3  5
   Totals..............   26-59   7-14  12-17   8 16 24  15  71 14  9  1  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4%   2nd Half: 14-30 46.7%   Game: 44.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-7  42.9%   2nd Half:  4-7  57.1%   Game: 50.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-8  62.5%   2nd Half:  7-9  77.8%   Game: 70.6%    2
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 15-4, 3-2 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ f  6-11   3-4    1-2    1  9 10   2  16  6  4  1  0  38
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  5-10   4-7    2-2    0  4  4   2  16  3  1  1  1  36
54 MILES, Chris........ c  3-3    0-0    2-3    1  0  1   4   8  1  1  0  0  24
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  3-9    2-5    1-1    0  5  5   1   9  2  1  0  1  27
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  3-6    0-3    2-2    1  5  6   0   8  4  4  0  1  27
01 ABOUO, Charles......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  1  0  0   2
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    4-5    2-2    2-2    0  0  0   1  12  5  3  0  0  28
15 ANDERSON, James.....    2-3    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   3   4  0  1  2  0   7
34 HARTSOCK, Noah......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  1  0  0  1   4
53 MACGREGOR, Gavin....    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   3   2  0  1  0  0   7
   TEAM................                         1  4  5
   Totals..............   28-50  11-21  10-12   6 29 35  16  77 22 17  4  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-27 59.3%   2nd Half: 12-23 52.2%   Game: 56.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half:  7-12 58.3%   Game: 52.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-5  100 %   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 83.3%    1
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Officials: Mike Reed, Shawn Lehigh, Bobby McRoy
Technical fouls: San Diego State-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 13871
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
San Diego State...............   32   39  -   71
BYU Cougars...................   41   36  -   77
Points in the paint-SDSU 22,BY 24. Points off turnovers-SDSU 20,BY 12.
2nd chance points-SDSU 9,BY 11. Fast break points-SDSU 6,BY 2.
Bench points-SDSU 30,BY 20. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-2 times.
Last FG-SDSU 2nd-00:18, BY 2nd-01:30.
Largest lead-SDSU by 1 1st-17:32, BY by 12 1st-07:16.