Backcourt Play Leads to Defeat of Idaho State

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PROVO -- Strong guard play by Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery led the BYU men’s basketball team in their 87-53 victory over Idaho State Tuesday night in the Marriott Center.

Fredette scored a game-high 22 points, followed closely by Emery with 19 points. Emery had an all-around strong performance as he also led the Cougars in rebounds (7), assists (3) in addition to tying Fredette with a team-high three steals.

“I was really pleased with the depth of our group tonight,” said Rose. “I thought we defended really well and we made it difficult for them to get the shots they wanted.”

BYU came out strong in the first half as their aggressive defensive efforts led to two fast break opportunities for Fredette and Emery.

“We have really improved defensively recently which I think is going to be key in our success because we are so talented offensively,” Emery said following the game. “But we have to realize that sometimes our shots are not going to fall and defense is something you can come out and do every night.”

Idaho State’s offense began strong as the Bengals shot particularly well from the charity stripe, going 5-of-5 from the line in the first half.

Coming off the bench early in the game freshman Tyler Haws scored his first career field goal and then followed it up with a trey. Idaho State’s Morgan answered with a three-pointer of his own to put the Bengals ahead 12-10.

Emery went on a run all his own early in the game and led the Cougars in scoring in the first half with 10 points. Emery’s three-point basket helped BYU take a 16-14 lead with 11:55 to play in the first half. He proceeded to make two free throws and another three-pointer within a minute and a half, putting the Cougars ahead 21-14. The Bengals’ Donnie Carson ended the run, hitting a jumper to bring Idaho State within five.

“It was a good sign to see Jackson shoot with confidence,” Rose said. “I think he struggled in the last game but he has a great shot and tonight he broke out which I was pleased with.”

Unselfish play paid off for BYU as Michael Loyd, Jr., and Haws connected on a layup and three-pointer to put the Cougars ahead 26-19. Crowd favorite Lamont Morgan, Jr., came into the game and immediately made it into the scoreboard converting a fast break layup off an assist from Loyd to give BYU a 28-19 lead.

Idaho State continued their consistency from the line, making two free throws to bring them within seven points. BYU center Chris Miles responded with four consecutive points of his own, extending the Cougar’s lead to 32-21. This began a 15-0 BYU run that would last for nearly six minutes.

The crowd pleasing play of the half came with 1:43 to play when Fredette tipped a Bengal pass to Noah Hartsock who threw an outlet pass to Loyd. Loyd quickly found Haws on the fast break for the layup and the foul. Haws proceeded to make the free throw to give BYU a 39-21 lead.

Davies, Fredette and Hartsock would make two free throws each for the Cougars before the half. Idaho State would make one final trey before the half with two seconds on the clock to make the score 43-24.

Fredette, Haws and Emery led BYU early in the second half. Fredette had the hot hand after the break, making a three-point basket and a jumper in the first minute of the second half to put the Cougars ahead 48-26.

Strong post play by Idaho State’s big men, Little and Monroe, brought the Bengals back within 14 points with 11:08 to play.

Both teams were successful offensively in the second half of play but Idaho State was unable to overcome the deficit developed in the first half. Emery extinguished the Bengals hopes of a comeback by hitting two consecutive treys to give the Cougars a 20-point lead. Fredette followed this with a three-point play of his own to extend the lead to 65-42.

In the last minutes of the game, sophomore Charles Abouo went on a six-point run, making three consecutive jumpers in the paint and then had a dish to Logan Magnusson for his first points as a Cougar. James Anderson also made his first field goal of the season before the final horn sounded.

The Cougars will return to action on Friday, Nov. 20 when they travel to Hawaii to take on the University of Hawaii at 7 p.m. Hawaii time. The game will be broadcast live on KFVE-TV.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Idaho State vs BYU COUGARS
11/17/09 7:35 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Idaho State 0-3, 0-0 Big Sky
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 MONROE, Demetrius... f  3-11   0-0    1-1    6  5 11   1   7  1  3  0  1  30
33 BUSMA, Deividas..... c  3-7    0-0    5-6    0  0  0   3  11  0  1  0  0  25
01 MORGAN, Amorrow..... g  3-13   1-3    6-7    0  3  3   1  13  2  4  0  2  37
02 GILCHREST, Broderick g  0-6    0-1    3-4    1  4  5   2   3  3  3  0  2  33
20 CARSON, Donnie...... g  3-8    1-1    0-0    2  2  4   1   7  1  0  1  0  24
04 LITTLE, Rolando.....    4-5    0-0    1-4    0  2  2   3   9  0  0  0  0  16
05 LACEY, Mike.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  2  0  1   6
12 BALDWIN, Sherrod....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  2  0  1   9
23 KILPATRICK, Austin..    1-4    1-4    0-0    0  1  1   1   3  1  1  0  0  12
25 TATUM, Chron........    0-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   3   0  0  0  0  0   8
   TEAM................                         3  2  5
   Totals..............   17-56   3-9   16-22  12 21 33  18  53  8 16  1  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-30 26.7%   2nd Half:  9-26 34.6%   Game: 30.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-4  75.0%   2nd Half:  0-5   0.0%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-5  100 %   2nd Half: 11-17 64.7%   Game: 72.7%    1
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HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 2-0, 0-0 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 ABOUO, Charles...... f  3-4    0-0    2-2    2  4  6   1   8  1  1  1  1  10
24 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  2-12   0-6    0-0    2  4  6   2   4  2  0  0  1  21
54 MILES, Chris........ c  1-4    0-0    2-2    2  2  4   1   4  0  0  1  0  15
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  6-9    5-8    2-2    3  4  7   4  19  3  2  0  3  26
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  7-13   2-3    6-7    2  1  3   0  22  2  3  0  3  30
00 DAVIES, Brandon.....    0-1    0-0    2-2    1  3  4   2   2  1  0  1  0  14
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0  10
10 LOYD, JR., Michael..    2-6    1-4    1-2    0  2  2   0   6  2  3  0  0  17
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan....    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   0   2  0  0  0  0   6
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   2
15 ANDERSON, James.....    1-1    0-0    1-2    1  1  2   0   3  0  0  0  0   4
23 HAWS, Tyler.........    4-7    0-3    1-1    0  5  5   4   9  6  0  2  1  24
34 HARTSOCK, Noah......    2-3    0-0    2-2    2  3  5   0   6  2  0  2  1  21
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   30-64   8-24  19-22  15 32 47  15  87 19  9  7 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-30 43.3%   2nd Half: 17-34 50.0%   Game: 46.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-11 27.3%   2nd Half:  5-13 38.5%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 14-15 93.3%   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 86.4%    1
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Officials: Rueben Ramos, Mike Irving, Jimmy Casas
Technical fouls: Idaho State-None. BYU COUGARS-None.
Attendance: 8637
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Idaho State...................   24   29  -   53
BYU COUGARS...................   43   44  -   87
Points in the paint-ISU 16,BY 36. Points off turnovers-ISU 4,BY 25.
2nd chance points-ISU 12,BY 19. Fast break points-ISU 0,BY 10.
Bench points-ISU 12,BY 30. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-6 times.
Last FG-ISU 2nd-04:13, BY 2nd-00:16.
Largest lead-ISU by 3 1st-16:37, BY by 35 2nd-00:16.