Game Notes and Quotes: BYU vs. UNLV

BYU vs. UNLV

January 6, 2010

Marriott Center (Provo, Utah)

Player Notes

— Jonathan Tavernari hit a season-high 4 three-pointers, scoring 17 points with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal in 30 minutes.

— Noah Hartsock scored a career-high 17 points, shooting 6-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line while adding 6 rebounds. Hartsock matched his career high in the first half alone, scoring 13 points (4-of-9 FG, 5-of-5 FT) to lead all scorers through the first period.

— Tyler Haws was the third Cougar in double-figures with 12 points. Haws had 6 rebounds (4 offensive), 3 assists and 2 steals in 30 minutes of action.

— With 2 free throws tonight, Jackson Emery has made 14 in a row over three games.

Team Notes

— Tonight’s win against UNLV is BYU’s 100th victory in Mountain West Conference play. Coach Dave Rose has won 52 of those games as he begins his fifth season in the MWC. Rose is 52-13 (.800) in regular season MWC play.

— Rose is now 4-1 in conference openers (won the last four) and 5-0 in conference home openers

— BYU is now 15-1 on the year and taken ten straight. The last time the Cougars had a better record through their first 16 games was the 1987-88 season when BYU began its season 17-0. It is the team’s longest winning streak since the 2008-09 team started its season 10-0.

— BYU had 14 offensive rebounds (13 defensive) in the first half, 19 overall (25 defensive for 44 total in the game).

— As a team, the Cougars shot 19-of-24 (.792) from the free-throw line. BYU was 9-of-9 in the first half and made its first 11 of the game.

— BYU’s home win streak is now at 15-straight games dating back to last season. The Cougars are 9-0 at home this year.

Record Watch

— With 17 points versus UNLV, Jonathan Tavernari passed Dick Nemelka for 18th on the BYU all-time scoring list. Tavernari has 1,314 career points and is 4 points from passing Joe Nelson for 17th all-time.

— With 7 points, Jimmer Fredette passed Mel Hutchins and Bruce Burton for 35th on the BYU all-time scoring list. Fredette has 1,090 career points and is 10 points from passing Mark Handy for 34th all-time.

— With 1 steal tonight, Jonathan Tavernari tied Russell Larson for 5th on the BYU all-time steals list. Tavernari has 131 career steals and is 8 steals from passing Nate Call for 4th all-time.

Game Trends

— UNLV went the last 5:55 without a field goal. BYU went on a 15-5 run over that time, turning a 68-62 deficit to a77-73 win.

— Closing out the first half, Noah Hartsock went on a 9-3 run by himself, putting the Cougars ahead, 33-30 after being down 27-24. Hartsock hit a layup, made four free throws, made a short jumper, then added one more free throw.

Postgame Quotes

BYU vs. UNLV Jan. 6, 2009

Marriott Center Provo, Utah

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose

“This was an exciting game between two great teams. What more could you ask for”

“We struggled with some of our starters, but others stepped up and we really pulled together as a team.”

“Jonathan Tavernari, Michael Lloyd and Noah Hartsock really pulled through for tonight and made some big plays.”

“Jonathan has really been practicing well lately. He is definitely committed to helping this team win however he can. Tonight, he came off the bench and really contributed and help lead this team to a victory.”

“This team did what they do best — compete hard and make big plays.”

BYU forward Noah Hartsock

“Tonight was a good example of how deep we are and how people stepped up when they need to. It just goes to show that we are a team that is going to come out and play hard every night.”

BYU guard Michael Lloyd, Jr.

“This is a great atmosphere to play in with great fans. We fed off their energy tonight to pull off this big win.”

“Coach Rose has real confidence in our bench, and once we settled down, we were able to feed off his confidence and really work well together as a team.”

UNLV Head Coach Lon Kruger

“It was a tough ball game. We out ourselves in position to do what we needed to do to close the game the right way, but just didn’t do it. But we do need to give BYU credit for playing a good game and finishing with a good win.”

“I’m disappointed for sure. We have got to be strong on the road, and tonight we just lost control at the end. We just didn’t do what we needed to do for the win, while BYU did.”

“We gave them too many second chances. We just need to lock in there, use our size, and block out. Overall, we just really need to get more defensive rebounds and limit second and third opportunities.”