Second Half Shooting Keeps Cougars Perfect

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PROVO -- A three-pointer barrage by Jackson Emery and Jimmer Fredette blew open a close game in the second half as BYU stayed perfect on the season with an 87-70 win over the Wildcats at the Marriott Center on Friday.

In the 35th meeting of the two schools, BYU improves to a 25-10 overall series record, staying perfect at home against the Wildcats with an 18-0 margin all-time.

With four players in double figures, junior Jimmer Fredette led the Cougars with 23 total points on the night, going 10-of-10 from the foul stripe and 3-of-5 from the three-point arc. He also led the team in assists with seven.

Junior Jackson Emery added 15 points, shooting 4-of-6 from the three-point line. Senior Jonathan Tavernari had 14 points while freshman Brandon Davies added 10 points, the latter only playing in the first half of the game.

After exchanging baskets early, the Cougars went on an 11-0 run to lead the Wildcats 18-4. Tavernari hit a jumper and a three, both assisted by Fredette, during the run.

A Weber State dunk at the 14:09 mark rekindled the Wildcat offense, although the Cougars maintained the lead throughout the first half. Off of a screen from Davies, Haws drove the ball to the hole at the 9:46 mark to put BYU up 25-11.

The Wildcats gradually chipped away at the score, coming within four points at 32-28, causing the Cougars to call a timeout to regroup. Coming out of the timeout to end the half both teams scored six points to send them into the locker rooms at 38-34.

Coming off the bench to lead the Cougars at the half in points was freshman Davies with 10 points. Emery tallied six points and two steals while Tavernari had eight points and Fredette had six.

To start the second half, the Wildcats were on fire with a 9-2 run that was stopped short after a Cougar timeout at 18:14 when Weber State led for the first time in the game at 43-40.

With the score knotted at 46, 48, 51 and 53, the Cougars called a timeout after Weber State gained the lead again at 54-53 off of 1-of-2 free throws. Coming out of the timeout BYU gained a 10-point lead on the Wildcats, posting a 14-3 run, Emery and Fredette both posting back-to-back three pointers to bring the score to 72-59.

After Abouo made one-of-two from the foul stripe, Fredette gained control of the ball, taking his defender with him to leave Noah Hartsock open for the three, draining it at the 4:51 mark to give the Cougars a 76-60 lead.

The Cougars and the Wildcats continued to score at each end with Abouo, Fredette and Haws each making 2-of-2 free throws to end the game with a score of 87-70.

The Cougars will next travel to Utah State to take on the Aggies at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Weber State vs BYU COUGARS
11/27/09 7:32 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Weber State 1-4
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 LILLARD, Damian..... *  8-16   4-8    3-3    1  3  4   4  23  3  4  0  3  31
03 BULLINGER, Kyle..... *  3-10   1-4    2-2    2  7  9   1   9  1  1  0  1  35
12 HANSEN, Nick........ *  0-3    0-3    0-0    0  2  2   2   0  0  1  0  1  19
15 HUGHEY, Lindsey..... *  6-9    4-5    0-0    0  2  2   2  16  1  5  0  1  32
45 PANOS, Steve........ *  0-5    0-0    2-2    0  1  1   4   2  0  0  0  0   9
21 NOBLE, Josh.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
23 SESSION, Franklin...    2-6    0-1    3-6    3  1  4   4   7  4  4  0  2  31
33 WASHINGTON, Matt....    2-2    0-0    2-2    2  2  4   2   6  0  2  1  0  10
55 MORRIS,Trevor.......    3-9    0-0    1-4    4  3  7   3   7  1  1  2  0  32
   TEAM................                         4     4
   Totals..............   24-60   9-21  13-19  16 21 37  22  70 10 18  3  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9%   2nd Half: 11-29 37.9%   Game: 40.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-9  22.2%   2nd Half:  7-12 58.3%   Game: 42.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-8  75.0%   2nd Half:  7-11 63.6%   Game: 68.4%    3
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HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 5-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
24 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  5-10   1-2    3-4    0  7  7   4  14  1  1  0  2  32
54 MILES, Chris........ c  2-3    0-0    1-2    1  2  3   2   5  0  1  0  0  14
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  5-8    4-6    1-2    0  3  3   4  15  1  1  0  2  22
23 HAWS, Tyler......... g  1-5    0-0    3-4    2  1  3   0   5  1  2  0  2  23
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  5-13   3-5   10-10   0  2  2   1  23  7  2  1  1  32
00 DAVIES, Brandon.....    3-3    0-0    4-4    2  2  4   1  10  0  0  0  1  11
01 ABOUO, Charles......    0-4    0-2    5-6    2  1  3   1   5  1  0  1  1  13
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  1  0  0  11
10 LOYD, JR., Michael..    2-2    0-0    1-1    0  0  0   1   5  1  3  0  1  19
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
15 ANDERSON, James.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
34 HARTSOCK, Noah......    2-3    1-1    0-0    0  3  3   0   5  0  0  1  1  19
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   25-51   9-16  28-33   8 23 31  16  87 12 11  3 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-29 37.9%   2nd Half: 14-22 63.6%   Game: 49.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-6  33.3%   2nd Half:  7-10 70.0%   Game: 56.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 14-18 77.8%   2nd Half: 14-15 93.3%   Game: 84.8%    2
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Officials: Chris Rastatter, Kevin Cutler, Jim Casas
Technical fouls: Weber State-None. BYU COUGARS-None.
Attendance: 11892
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Weber State...................   34   36  -   70
BYU COUGARS...................   38   49  -   87
Points in the paint-WSU 26,BY 24. Points off turnovers-WSU 18,BY 16.
2nd chance points-WSU 7,BY 14. Fast break points-WSU 8,BY 8.
Bench points-WSU 20,BY 25. Score tied-6 times. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-WSU 2nd-01:56, BY 2nd-02:18.
Largest lead-WSU by 3 2nd-18:18, BY by 18 2nd-02:18.