BYU vs. New Mexico: Game Notes and Quotes

BYU vs. New Mexico

February 27, 2010

Marriott Center (Provo, Utah)

Player Notes

— Michael Loyd, Jr. led the Cougars with 19 points, a new career high. All of those points were scored in the second half. He previously scored 17 points against Eastern New Mexico on Jan. 2 and now has three double-figure scoring games this season.

— Jackson Emery scored 11 points with 7 rebounds and 5 steals.

— Emery finished with 5 steals, his 21st multi-steal game, 8th game with 4 steals or more and 4th with five steals or more on the season.

— Tyler Haws has converted 28 free throws in a row, following a 10-of-10 mark at Wyoming with an 8-of-8 performance against SDSU and a 5-of-5 start to the New Mexico game. Haws also had a previous streak of 20 earlier in the season.

— Haws is currently 7th on BYU’s all-time freshman scoring list with 357 points. He needs 14 to pass Devin Durrant’s 370 points scored in 1978.

Team Notes

— Today’s game between No. 13/11 BYU and No. 10/12 New Mexico marks the lowest combined ranking (23) by any two teams to ever play in the Marriott Center.

— BYU entered the halftime break trailing 43-35, marking the first time the Cougars have been down at the half while home this season. They have trailed at the break only four times this season.

— The 43 points scored by New Mexico in the first half are the most allowed by the Cougar defense in a home game this season, and third-most overall (including road and neutral games). BYU is now 1-3 in games when it trails at the half.

— BYU’s loss today snapped a 21-game home win streak, previously the fourth-best in the country.

— BYU owns a 149-61 (.710) record as a ranked team. The Cougars are 21-9 (.700) under Coach Rose when ranked, including 12-3 (.800) this season.

Record Watch

— BYU’s record of 26-4 is the best mark through 30 games in program history.

— Through 30 games, BYU is 241-of-582 (.410) from the three-point line, just trailing the 2007-08 team which converted a record 285-of-764 (.373) on the season and was 246-of-664 (.370) through 30 games.

— With 8 points versus SDSU, Jonathan Tavernari has 1,470 career points, currently 12th all-time. Tavernari needs 43 points to pass Kresimir Cosic for 11th all-time.

Game Trends

— Tyler Haws started the game a perfect 3-for-3 from the three-point line.

— The Cougars outscored UNM 12-3 to start the second half with Noah Hartsock’s lay-in giving BYU a 47-46 lead with 15:23 to play in the game.

— Michael Loyd, Jr. scored five consecutive points to put BYU up 55-51, its largest lead since the 18:01 mark in the first half.

— Loyd scored back-to-back baskets late in the game to tie the score 80-80. The second make was set up by Emery’s fifth steal of the game.

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose

— "It was a great college game; two teams competing well, playing hard and it came right down to the wire. We had a chance to win it but we were unable to do so."

— "Jimmer was fine earlier today in our shoot around but somewhere he picked up a stomach virus so his energy level was really low. We needed more energy at that position and Mike did a great job. Mike's a very talented player who will continue to get better. He only needs to become more consistent but we knew he was that good. He has shown that several times and we're glad he was there when we needed him tonight."

New Mexico Head Coach Steve Alford

— "This was a great team we beat tonight. Although we missed 9-of-20 free throws, we found a way to win. We are going to enjoy this win for the next 48 hours before we win the Mountain West Conference Championship outright."

— "It would've been a very hard loss on both sides. Both teams battled, but my boys found ways to win. We were very confident when it came down to the two-minute mark. We did a good job stopping them on defense."

— "It was very rewarding to get a win in the Marriott Center. We know we're conference champions now, and we're happy about that."