Game Notes and Quotes: BYU vs. Eastern New Mexico

BYU vs. Eastern New Mexico

Jan. 2, 2010

Marriott Center (Provo, Utah)

Player Notes

— Noah Hartsock went 6-for-6 for 12 points, one shy of his career high. Hartsock did set a new career best with 6 assists, 100.0 percent shooting while adding 8 rebounds and 1 block in 21 minutes.

— Michael Loyd, Jr. scored a career-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-11 while also tying a career high with 2 steals. In the first half, Loyd hit all six shots he took, including three treys (also a career-high), to match his previous career high of 15 points.

-— Jonathan Tavernari made his first six shots, finishing with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a block. Tavernari shot 5-of-5 in the first half, including two treys, for 12 points.

— Lamont Morgan, Jr., tied his career high with 7 assists.

— Charles Abouo had a career-high 8 rebounds.

— Logan Magnusson had career-highs of 6 points, 14 minutes, 2 field goals made and 2 field goals attempted.

— Brock Zylstra had career-highs of 15 minutes, 5 points, and 5 rebounds in addition to getting the first steal and assist of his BYU career.

— Haws missed a free throw, ending his streak from the charity stripe at 20 in a row.

Team Notes

— The Cougars shot a season-best .733 (22-of-30) from the field in the first half. That’s the best percentage for a half since BYU shot .739 (17-of-23) in the second half against Colorado State in the 2008 MWC Tournament.

— Four Cougars, including Loyd (6-of-6), Tavernari (5-of-5), Hartsock (4-of-4) and Haws (2-of-2), combined to shoot 17-of-17 from the field in the first period.

— BYU tied a season-high for most points in a half, scoring 57 in the first. It’s the fourth first half and sixth half overall the Cougars have scored 50 or more points.

— BYU is now 14-1 on the year and have won nine-straight. The last time the Cougars had a better record through their first 15 games was the 1987-88 season when BYU began its season 17-0. It is the team’s longest winning streak since opening 10-0 last season.

— BYU shot .500 or better in nine-consecutive halves of play after shooting .733 in the first half against the Greyhounds. The Cougars ended the streak by shooting below 50.0 percent in the second half.

-— BYU has eight games shooting .500 or better, including the last five games in a row. BYU has shot over .600 in four games.

— The Cougars have scored 90 or more points in four of the last five games and five games total this year.

— Holding Eastern New Mexico to 49 points, BYU has now allowed less than 50 points in three games this season.

— All 11 active players for BYU scored at least two points

— All but one player had a rebound and all but one had at least one assist.

— Six different Cougars had at least one block.

— BYU’s home win streak is now at 14-straight games dating back to last season. — The Cougars are 8-0 at home this year.

Record Watch

— With 15 points versus Arizona, Jonathan Tavernari passed Alan Taylor for 19th on the BYU all-time scoring list. Tavernari has 1,297 career points and is 3 points from passing Dick Nemelka (1962-66) for 18th all-time.

— With the win, this is the fourth season in BYU history the Cougars have won 14 or more nonconference games: 1929-30 (17-1), 1965-66 (14-1), 1928-29 (14-4). At 14-1 this season, the 2009-10 team has one more nonconference game against UTEP on Saturday.

Game Trends

— BYU went on a 12-2 run, breaking open an 11-8 lead into a 23-10 margin in just over two minutes.

— The Cougars ended the half on a 14-0 run that including back-to-back Loyd threes, going from a 41-25 lead to a 55-25 lead.

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose

“I was pleased with the way these guys stepped up and played without Jackson and Jimmer. I thought Mike, Noah and Jonathan played well and got some good shots. We managed the game really well. It was nice to see the boys play well to get ready for next week.”

“I think the last three or four weeks, we’ve given Jonathan some minutes at the three spot; it’s nice to have him rebound the ball and get some good match-ups. He took seven really good shots and made six of them tonight.”

“This is a great time of the year, you see all the preseason games and see what all your league opponents have. What comes next is even better, so we’re excited.”

“I think one of our problems is that when we don’t lock in and get the rebound, we have a hard time controlling it. In a game where we play so many different guys in so many different positions it’s hard to get them dialed in.”

“Mike’s only issue is to play with consistency. He is a real weapon, our third or fourth scorer that can really shoot. He has a tendency to always be on attack and that’s what I really like about him.”

Eastern New Mexico Head Coach Andrew Helton

“They were really, really good. I think we got a little tired at the end and missed our shots. They’re very well coached and very good.”

“It was a good trip for us to come here. It’s a nice place to go and it helps us to see what we need to work on. It’s a chance for us to work on things.”

“I think we’re pretty good for our level but I don’t think we defended as well as we could, and that’s what I told them at halftime.”

“Their bigs are better than we thought. I knew they were good on tape and now I know they’re good in person too.”

“We’ve struggled shooting the ball lately but against their size tonight it was especially tough. We play again on Monday but we’ll definitely want to look at this tape and learn from it.”

BYU forward Jonathan Tavernari

“I just try to do whatever coach asks me to do, but it just felt good to get out there and sweat and work hard. I still feel like I’m not in the groove like I have been in the past, but it’s been kind of a blessing so all our guards can get a chance to score well.”

“The most important thing for us is to keep playing like we’ve been playing to take on UNLV next week. Jimmer has just been amazing this year, and we need to be ready if something happens to him. Coach told us that come Wednesday it’s a whole different season and we need to be ready for a whole new season of new teams.”