Fredette Leads BYU to Win Over Wyoming

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PROVO -- The BYU men’s basketball team ran to an 84-60 win against the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday in the Marriott Center. With the win the Cougars improve to 16-5 on the season and 4-3 in Mountain West Conference play.

Sophomore Jimmer Fredette led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, while Lee Cummard, Chris Miles and Noah Hartsock also scored in double-figures, with 17, 12 and 11 points, respectively.

“Sometimes your confidence can get shaken when you lose a game or two, but our team is really focused,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “We really needed this win, so I give credit to these guys.”

The Cougars quickly jumped out to an 8-2 lead to begin the game after Fredette’s second three-pointer in the first two minutes. BYU steadily increased its lead with makes by Miles and Charles Abouo, who recorded his first career start as a Cougar.

Fredette continued to dominate offensively, as he scored a total of 19 points in the first half—also a career high. His steal and fast-break layup gave BYU a 32-12 lead. With 5:28 remaining in the half, the sophomore took advantage of a Wyoming turnover and recorded his fourth dunk of the season.

“Jimmer was playing really well to start the game,” said Rose. “He has a couple different gears that he plays in, which is what I think makes him successful. He did a good job of focusing, guarding his man, and then later in the game made some good shots.”

As the first half wound down Jonathan Tavernari scored his first points of the game off a three-point make. Hartsock’s layin with 1:13 remaining until the break sent the Cougars into the lockerroom with a 43-27 halftime lead.

Coming out of the break the Cowboys scored off three makes from beyond-the-arc to attempt an early comeback, but the Cougars continued putting points on the board. After a 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line, Hartsock connected on a 10-foot jumper. The freshman also saved a ball from rolling out-of-bound, passing to Cummard who laid it in for two points.

With just under eight minutes remaining in the game, a steal by Cummard set up a fast-break opportunity as Tavernari scored to give BYU the 70-49 lead. Multiple trips to the free-throw line for Wyoming could not make up for the hot shooting by BYU as it went on a 12-0 run late in the game. The Cowboys’ Brandon Ewing made four free throws to end the game.

Up next the Cougars travel to take on Air Force on Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. MT. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Wyoming vs BYU Cougars
1/31/09 4:05 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Wyoming 14-7, 3-4 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
00 OGIRRI, Sean........ *  3-10   2-8    1-2    0  0  0   4   9  1  5  0  1  38
11 MUOJEKE, Afam....... *  6-13   3-6    2-2    2  5  7   1  17  0  5  0  0  37
15 WADDELL, Adam....... *  1-3    0-0    0-2    2  2  4   2   2  0  0  0  0  18
21 JOHNSON, Tyson...... *  4-12   0-0    5-7    1  2  3   2  13  2  3  0  0  27
23 EWING, Brandon...... *  3-10   1-5    8-10   0  6  6   2  15  8  3  0  0  40
13 LINSKENS, Mikhail...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   8
25 THIAM, Djibril......    1-3    0-0    2-2    3  2  5   2   4  0  1  0  0  25
32 DIAKITE, Mahamoud...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
51 DAVIS, A.J..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         1  5  6
   Totals..............   18-51   6-19  18-25   9 22 31  14  60 11 17  0  1 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-28 32.1%   2nd Half:  9-23 39.1%   Game: 35.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-10 20.0%   2nd Half:  4-9  44.4%   Game: 31.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-12 58.3%   2nd Half: 11-13 84.6%   Game: 72.0%    2
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 16-5, 4-3 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  7-12   1-4    2-2    1  8  9   0  17  4  0  2  0  35
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  2-8    1-5    0-0    1  4  5   4   5  2  1  0  2  23
54 MILES, Chris........ c  5-8    0-0    2-4    0  4  4   3  12  3  1  1  2  30
01 ABOUO, Charles...... g  1-4    0-1    0-0    0  3  3   2   2  0  1  0  0  15
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 11-13   4-6    2-2    0  2  2   2  28  4  2  0  2  31
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    2-4    0-0    1-2    0  3  3   2   5  4  0  0  1  26
04 EMERY, Jackson......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  2  0  0  0   6
05 ROSE, Archie........    0-2    0-1    0-0    1  0  1   2   0  0  2  0  0   6
15 ANDERSON, James.....    2-3    0-0    0-2    1  0  1   3   4  0  0  0  0   7
34 HARTSOCK, Noah......    4-5    0-0    3-5    3  1  4   4  11  1  0  1  1  21
   TEAM................                            3  3
   Totals..............   34-60   6-17  10-17   7 29 36  22  84 20  7  4  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-34 52.9%   2nd Half: 16-26 61.5%   Game: 56.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-12 33.3%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 35.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-4  75.0%   2nd Half:  7-13 53.8%   Game: 58.8%    4
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Officials: Scott Thornley, Larry Spaulding, Martin Cota
Technical fouls: Wyoming-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 16347
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Wyoming.......................   27   33  -   60
BYU Cougars...................   43   41  -   84
Points in the paint-WY 12,BY 38. Points off turnovers-WY 13,BY 25.
2nd chance points-WY 2,BY 9. Fast break points-WY 4,BY 8.
Bench points-WY 4,BY 20. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-WY 2nd-01:45, BY 2nd-02:04.
Largest lead-WY None, BY by 30 2nd-03:38.