Cougar Run Falls Short in MWC Tournament

Click to watch the video.

LAS VEGAS -- Junior Jimmer Fredette again made Mountain West Conference tournament history but the Cougars fell 70-66 in the semifinals of the 2010 MWC Tournament against UNLV in the Thomas & Mack Center.

"Well, I'm really proud of our team," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "I thought we played a really competitive game, played a really good team. You know, I think our players, as far as our coaches are concerned, executed our game plan and did everything that we wanted them to do tonight."

Fredette’s 30 points against the Rebels led all scorers. Combined with his 45 points in Thursday’s contest against TCU, the junior’s two-game total is the most points in an MWC tournament, surpassing New Mexico Danny Granger's record set over three games in 2005.

Fredette also went a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line in the semifinal matchup against the Rebels after making 21 in a row against TCU while also sinking four attempts from behind the arch.

Down 57-47 with 7:30 left in the game, BYU went on a 14-2 run jumpstarted by Noah Hartsock. Fredette followed with eight consecutive points for the Cougars.

Fredette controlled the ball at the top of the arch, and with the shot clock winding down, stroked a three to bring the Cougars within three. After a missed layup on UNLV’s end, Fredette drew a foul on a 3-point attempt, sending him to the charity stripe where he’d tally another three points for BYU and tie the game at 59 with 3:15 to play.

The Rebels were able to take and hold the lead in the last 1:35 of the game after Brice Massamba converted two free throws.

"For a team to have 29 wins, you can't help but really feel for those guys in that locker room," Rose said. "They played their hearts out tonight and we played well enough to win, and it didn't happen. The best feeling that I guess you can have is the fact that this team has been really good for four months and they deserve to keep playing."

Michael Loyd, Jr., replacing Tyler Haws in the starting lineup after Haws suffered an eye injury against TCU in the quarterfinals, recorded 11 points against the Rebels to go with two rebounds and two assists.

The Cougars put the first points on the board, a three-pointer from Jackson Emery, followed by six back-and-forth treys from both teams. Emery finished the game with eights points, three rebounds, two steals and 2-of-5 from the behind the arch.

Both teams took a combined 43 attempts from the 3-point line with the Rebels shooting 42.1 percent on the game to BYU’s 37.5 percent. UNLV shot just 11 percent from the behind the arch in the second half compared to BYU’s 30 percent.

Fredette reached double figures after just seven minutes of play with a fastbreak layup assisted by Emery.

Shooting troubles would hinder the Cougars after their initial hot hands, but a quick trey from Jonathan Tavernari and a jumper from Loyd sparked the Cougars to bring the score back within two with four minutes to play before the half.

The Cougars now await an invitation to the 2010 NCAA tournament. The field of 65 will be announced Sunday on CBS.

CLICK HERE for game notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
#3 UNLV vs #2 BYU
03/12/10 8:30 pm at Las Vegas, Nev. (Thomas & Mack Center)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: #3 UNLV 25-7
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
22 STANBACK, Chace..... f  6-11   3-8    2-2    0  6  6   2  17  1  4  1  1  33
44 SANTEE, Darris...... f  2-4    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   2   4  0  1  0  1   9
00 BELLFIELD, Oscar.... g  2-8    1-3    0-0    0  2  2   0   5  9  2  0  1  36
03 MARSHALL, Anthony... g  2-3    0-0    0-2    0  5  5   2   4  3  3  1  0  30
33 WILLIS, Tre'Von..... g  5-9    2-5    6-6    0  2  2   3  18  1  2  0  1  36
02 WALLACE, Kendall....    2-3    2-3    0-0    0  2  2   2   6  0  0  0  0  16
12 MASSAMBA, Brice.....    5-6    0-0    3-5    0  6  6   4  13  1  1  0  1  24
20 JONES, Steve........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  1  0  0  0   7
31 HAWKINS, Justin.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   2
34 SHAW, Matt..........    1-1    0-0    1-1    0  0  0   0   3  0  0  0  0   7
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   25-45   8-19  12-16   2 25 27  16  70 16 14  2  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-26 61.5%   2nd Half:  9-19 47.4%   Game: 55.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  7-10 70.0%   2nd Half:  1-9  11.1%   Game: 42.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-3  66.7%   2nd Half: 10-13 76.9%   Game: 75.0%   2,1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: #2 BYU 29-5
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
00 DAVIES, Brandon..... f  1-3    0-0    1-2    1  5  6   1   3  0  1  0  0  29
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... f  1-4    0-0    0-0    1  5  6   2   2  1  1  1  1  34
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  3-7    2-5    0-0    1  2  3   5   8  2  0  0  2  23
10 LOYD, JR., Michael.. g  5-8    1-2    0-0    0  2  2   2  11  2  2  0  0  30
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  7-20   4-11  12-12   1  2  3   1  30  4  4  0  1  36
01 ABOUO, Charles......    3-6    1-2    1-1    2  3  5   5   8  1  2  0  0  26
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan.    1-5    1-4    1-2    0  0  0   0   4  1  2  0  2  17
54 MILES, Chris........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  1  0  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   21-53   9-24  15-17   7 20 27  18  66 12 12  1  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-26 46.2%   2nd Half:  9-27 33.3%   Game: 39.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  6-14 42.9%   2nd Half:  3-10 30.0%   Game: 37.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-5  80.0%   2nd Half: 11-12 91.7%   Game: 88.2%    1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Scott Thornley, Eric Curry, Shawn Lehigh
Technical fouls: #3 UNLV-None. #2 BYU-None.
Attendance: 18500
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
#3 UNLV.......................   41   29  -   70
#2 BYU........................   34   32  -   66
2010 Mountain West Conference
Semifinal #2 - UNLV Advances
BYU is ranked No. 14 in AP poll, No. 15 in USA Today poll
Points in the paint-LV 26,BY 20. Points off turnovers-LV 17,BY 12.
2nd chance points-LV 4,BY 0. Fast break points-LV 2,BY 10.
Bench points-LV 22,BY 12. Score tied-6 times. Lead changed-5 times.
Last FG-LV 2nd-01:00, BY 2nd-02:51.
Largest lead-LV by 11 2nd-16:49, BY by 5 1st-13:53.