Strong First Half Ignites Win Over Air Force

Click to watch the video.

PROVO -- A big first half helped the No. 17 BYU men’s basketball team secure a 91-48 victory over Air Force at the Marriott Center on Saturday. With the win the Cougars improve to 23-3 overall and 8-2 in Mountain West Conference play.

“I was really pleased with how we started the game and how we kept the momentum going in the first half,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “We shared the ball well, played on attack and took good shots. Defensively we did really well. This was a good game for our team, especially after sitting out this week.”

Senior Jonathan Tavernari led all scorers with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Other Cougars scoring in double figures included Jackson Emery with 18 and Tyler Haws with 16. It is BYU’s second game this season with three players scoring 15 points or more.

Emery made two quick three-pointers to open the game, but the Falcons scored the next seven points to gain their only lead of the game. Coming out of a timeout, the Cougars went on a 12-0 run, which included an Emery steal and fast-break layup with 14:26 to play in the first half. Tavernari capped the run with his first of four consecutive treys in two minutes. His quick 12 points gave BYU a 27-12 lead.

“Jonathan’s been terrific the last month,” said Rose. “He’s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence. If we get him playing with that look in his eye, knowing his shot will go in, it will be a real bonus for this group.”

A strong defensive effort by the Cougars kept the Falcons from scoring back-to-back baskets for the final 15 minutes of the half.

“Defensively we were really engaged,” said Rose. “We had a good game plan going in, but our guys executed it well. We challenged shots, were able to run and we shared the ball really well. It was good to see extra passes.”

Emery made two additional three-pointers during a 13-0 BYU run. A three-point play converted by senior Chris Miles extended the BYU lead to 30 points with 1:44 to play in the first half.

The half ended with a jumper by Haws, sending the Cougars into the locker room with a 53-20 lead. BYU shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half and outrebounded Air Force 19-to-7.

Jimmer Fredette opened the second half scoring a jumper for BYU. Haws soon followed with a make from behind the arc, bringing the score to 58-22. The freshman went 5-of-6 on three trips to the free throw line, accounting for nine of the Cougars’ next 14 points.

Tavernari and Michael Loyd, Jr. were perfect on two trips to the charity stripe with eight minutes to play in the game. A three-pointer by Charles Abouo extended the BYU lead to 80-42. Playing in his first game since an appendectomy last week, freshman Brandon Davies made two free throws with just over six minutes to play. He and James Anderson converted late free throws as time ran off the clock.

The Cougars return to action on Feb. 17 as they travel to Colorado State. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT and the game will be televised live on The Mtn.

CLICK HERE for game notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Air Force vs BYU COUGARS
02/13/10 4:02 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Air Force 9-15, 1-10 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 FLETCHER, Todd...... *  1-5    1-5    0-0    0  5  5   2   3  2  1  0  1  22
14 LYONS, Michael...... *  3-7    2-4    2-2    1  2  3   2  10  2  5  0  1  31
33 McLAIN, Mike........ *  2-3    2-2    0-1    0  2  2   2   6  1  2  0  0  23
35 WASHINGTON, Evan.... *  1-4    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   2   2  3  1  0  0  26
50 PARKER, Grant....... *  2-7    0-2    1-2    0  2  2   3   5  2  5  0  0  22
05 FITZGERALD, Mike....    4-8    4-7    1-2    2  0  2   1  13  0  3  0  0  19
13 BOHANNON, Zach......    2-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2   4  1  1  0  1  18
20 FOW, Tom............    1-3    1-3    0-0    0  0  0   1   3  0  0  0  0   2
22 MERRIEX, Avery......    0-3    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  1  2  0  0  14
24 BROOKS, Derek.......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   2  0  0  0  0   3
32 HEMPSEY, Shawn......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  1  0  0   8
34 BROEKHUIS, Taylor...    0-1    0-0    0-1    0  1  1   3   0  0  1  0  0  12
   TEAM................                         1     1
   Totals..............   17-45  10-26   4-8    4 15 19  22  48 12 22  0  3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-24 33.3%   2nd Half:  9-21 42.9%   Game: 37.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-12 33.3%   2nd Half:  6-14 42.9%   Game: 38.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  4-8  50.0%   Game: 50.0%    3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 23-3, 8-2 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
04 EMERY, Jackson...... *  7-9    4-6    0-0    1  4  5   0  18  3  1  0  1  26
23 HAWS, Tyler......... *  5-8    1-2    5-6    1  1  2   2  16  2  3  0  4  25
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... *  3-6    1-3    2-2    1  0  1   1   9  6  1  0  0  27
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... *  4-7    0-0    0-0    2  4  6   2   8  2  1  0  0  25
54 MILES, Chris........ *  1-2    0-0    1-1    0  3  3   2   3  0  0  1  0  10
00 DAVIES, Brandon.....    0-2    0-0    3-7    0  2  2   2   3  0  2  0  2  12
01 ABOUO, Charles......    1-2    1-1    0-0    4  0  4   1   3  1  2  0  1  14
10 LOYD, JR., Michael..    2-4    0-1    3-4    0  3  3   0   7  3  1  0  1  16
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   0   0  1  0  0  1   9
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock......    0-1    0-0    1-2    0  0  0   1   1  0  1  0  0   8
15 ANDERSON, James.....    1-2    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   1   4  0  0  0  0   4
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan.    6-10   5-7    2-2    1  4  5   1  19  2  0  0  3  24
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   30-53  12-20  19-26  11 25 36  13  91 20 12  1 13 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 20-30 66.7%   2nd Half: 10-23 43.5%   Game: 56.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 10-14 71.4%   2nd Half:  2-6  33.3%   Game: 60.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-3  100 %   2nd Half: 16-23 69.6%   Game: 73.1%    4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Bruce Hicks, Shawn Lehigh, Chris Rastatter
Technical fouls: Air Force-None. BYU COUGARS-None.
Attendance: 15647
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Air Force.....................   20   28  -   48
BYU COUGARS...................   53   38  -   91
Points in the paint-AF 12,BY 24. Points off turnovers-AF 11,BY 30.
2nd chance points-AF 6,BY 14. Fast break points-AF 0,BY 4.
Bench points-AF 22,BY 37. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-2 times.
Last FG-AF 2nd-00:40, BY 2nd-01:23.
Largest lead-AF by 1 1st-16:00, BY by 46 2nd-01:23.