Second-half Surge Provides Crucial Victory Over SDSU

SAN -- A strong offensive surge led by guard Jimmer Fredette allowed the BYU men’s basketball team to overcome a 14-point second-half deficit en route to a 69-59 road victory over San Diego State.

The Cougars won in San Diego for the first time in five years and ended the Aztecs' 10-game home win streak as Fredette tied a career high with 28 points, going 10-of-19 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line on top of two three-pointers. Fredette also had a career-best five steals.

“Jimmer was terrific for us tonight,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “This was a big win for us. I’m glad we came together to win on the road and I thought we played terrific in the final minutes.”

BYU outscored the Aztecs 49-26 in the latter half as San Diego State had just four points in the final seven minutes and went 2-of-17 from 3-point range in the game. The Cougars shot 41 percent in the game and 14-of-17 from the stripe. Jackson Emery had 12 points and went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line while Jonathan Tavernari and Lee Cummard contributed 11 and nine points, respectively.

The Cougars hit a plateau midway through the first half, scoring just two points in the final 10 minutes before halftime. The team managed just 20 points in the half as they shot just 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) in the opening half and went 2-of-9 from 3-point range. Fredette led the Cougars with eight points before intermission.

“We didn’t shoot particularly well in the first half,” Rose said. “We were having a hard time matching up with them. Luckily we made adjustments to slow the game down and play our game.”

BYU’s struggles continued early in the second half as San Diego State jumped up to a 45-31 lead after a Ryan Amoroso three-pointer and Lorrenzo Wade alley-oop conversion.

Fredette and Noah Hartsock then combined for eight points and Tavernari scored a three-pointer to cut the gap to 47-42 midway through the second half. The Cougars got to within two points following a Hartsock free throw and pulled ahead after a Fredette layup on a break-away. Fredette then hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to 59-55 with 3:30 remaining to swing momentum in favor of BYU.

Hartsock came up with a huge offensive rebound following a missed Fredette jumper to allow Fredette a second opportunity, who got to the free-throw line and hit both shots. Hartsock provided BYU with seven points, going 3-for-4 from the field, and a career-high seven rebounds.

“Noah provided us with a lift off the bench and did a great job for us,” Rose said. “He’s getting better for us every game.”

The Cougars will next play on Saturday at home against Utah. Game time is set for 3 p.m. and will be televised on CBS College Sports. The radio broadcast will be provided on KSL 1160 AM and 102.7 FM.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
BRIGHAM YOUNG vs SAN DIEGO STATE
02-24-09 7:35 pm PST at Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl
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VISITORS: BRIGHAM YOUNG 21-6 (9-4 MWC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  4-10   2-5    1-2    2  4  6   2  11  0  0  1  1  38
54 MILES, Chris........ f  1-3    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   2   2  0  1  1  0  18
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  3-7    2-5    4-4    1  5  6   3  12  4  2  0  2  38
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ g  3-12   1-3    2-2    1  4  5   4   9  1  1  1  2  30
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 10-19   2-6    6-6    2  3  5   0  28  4  4  0  5  36
01 ABOUO, Charles......    0-2    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   6
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  1  1  0   4
15 ANDERSON, James.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
34 HARTSOCK, Noah......    3-4    0-0    1-3    4  3  7   2   7  0  1  1  2  25
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   24-58   7-20  14-17  13 21 34  14  69  9 10  5 12 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-31 25.8%   2nd Half: 16-27 59.3%   Game: 41.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-9  22.2%   2nd Half:  5-11 45.5%   Game: 35.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-2  100 %   2nd Half: 12-15 80.0%   Game: 82.4%    2
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HOME TEAM: SAN DIEGO STATE 18-8 (8-5 MWC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 SPAIN, Kyle......... f  5-11   1-5    2-2    4  3  7   2  13  1  1  0  3  27
24 SHELTON, Tim........ f  5-10   0-1    3-5    1  1  2   0  13  2  1  0  1  32
31 WADE, Lorrenzo...... f  9-16   0-2    1-1    2  4  6   2  19  2  5  1  0  36
43 AMOROSO, Ryan....... f  2-6    1-1    5-6    1  6  7   3  10  0  2  0  0  30
03 WILLIAMS, Richie.... g  1-4    0-3    0-0    1  6  7   5   2  3  4  1  2  32
21 THOMAS, Matt........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
23 GAY, D.J............    0-5    0-4    0-0    1  1  2   2   0  0  0  0  0  23
42 CHERIET, Mehdi......    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  2  1  0  0  16
   TEAM................                            1  1
   Totals..............   23-54   2-17  11-14  10 22 32  14  59 10 14  2  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9%   2nd Half: 10-23 43.5%   Game: 42.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-9  11.1%   2nd Half:  1-8  12.5%   Game: 11.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-7  85.7%   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 78.6%    3
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Officials: Dick Cartmell, Mark Whitehead, Mike Scyphers
Technical fouls: BRIGHAM YOUNG-None. SAN DIEGO STATE-None.
Attendance: 9631
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BRIGHAM YOUNG.................   20   49  -   69
SAN DIEGO STATE...............   33   26  -   59
ID-700101
Points in the paint-BY 22,SDSU 34. Points off turnovers-BY 14,SDSU 9.
2nd chance points-BY 11,SDSU 18. Fast break points-BY 6,SDSU 2.
Bench points-BY 7,SDSU 2. Score tied-6 times. Lead changed-5 times.
Last FG-BY 2nd-00:50, SDSU 2nd-00:21.
Largest lead-BY by 11 2nd-00:27, SDSU by 14 2nd-18:04.