BYU vs. Fresno State: Game Notes & Quotes

Game Notes

Player Notes

-Noah Hartsock eclipsed his previous career high of 17 by scoring 21 points in the victory.

-By making his first two free throws, Noah Hartsock extended his free throw streak to 19. However, he missed his third to end the team-leading streak.

-Kyle Collinsworth’s first career points came from the free throw line with 11:43 remaining in the first half.

-By scoring 24 points on the night, Fredette recorded his 70th career double-digit output and 31st career 20-point game.

-With 21 points, Hartsock recorded the 11th double-digit game of his career.

-Fredette led the Cougars in assists for the 50th time of his career. BYU is 41-9 during those games.

-With 7 rebounds, Chris Collinsworth led the Cougars in rebounds for the 8th time of his career. The Cougars are 6-2 during those games.

Team Notes

-In attendance for the season opener was Cougar great Danny Ainge. The last time Ainge suited up as a Cougar was for the 1980-81 season, which was also the last time the Cougars were ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. BYU is No. 24 to start the 2010-11 season.

-With the win, the Cougars improved to 85-24 all time in home openers, including a 29-11 mark in the Marriott Center.

-Coach Dave Rose win total to 128 as BYU’s head coach. He is 24 wins behind Roger Reid for second all-time at BYU.

-The victory gave the Cougars their 10th straight win over a non-conference team at the Marriott Center.

-The Cougar bench recorded 30 points, exceeding last year’s season average of 25.8.

-The 27-point margin of victory was the second most ever against Fresno State. The Cougars won a 1935 matchup 72-41.

Record Watch

-Emery was 2-for-6 from beyond the arc, recording his 351st career three-point attempt and moving him into 7th place all-time behind Randy Reid and Lee Cummard.

-Fredette was 5-for-5 from the line, giving him 380 career free throws and moving him within one of Kresimir Cosic for ninth all-time. He has made 11 straight free throws dating back to last years NCAA tournament game against Kansas State.

-Game one’s 22,700 attendance mark was the first sellout season-opener since 1982 and ranks third all-time on the BYU top home opener attendance list.

Top Home Opener Attendance Marks

Nov. 30, 1979 - Illinois - L, 76-86 - 23,042

Nov. 26, 1982 - UCLA - L, 82-85 - 23,023

Nov. 12, 2010 - Fresno State - W, 83-56 - 22,700

Dec. 3, 1971 - Kansas State - W, 78-72 - 22,652

Game Trends

-The Cougars scored first and jumped out to an early 4-1 lead but the Bulldogs charged back to take a 6-4 lead with 14:48 to play in the first half.

-The Cougars were trailing 17-18 with 9:20 remaining in the first half before going on a 28-8 run to take a commanding 45-26 lead into halftime.

-The Cougars held the Bulldogs to a 35% field goal percentage, including 9.5% from three-point range.

Quotes

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose

“I was a little frustrated early in the game. I thought they did a really good job of taking us out of what we like to do and it took us a little longer than I would’ve like to get started as far as playing on attack. I thought the first six minutes of the game were really tough for us because we didn’t rebound like we would like to and we let them get five offensive rebounds during that time but in the last 14 minutes they didn’t get any.”

“I was really pleased with the second half. There were a lot of guys who came in for us and got comfortable and were able to play at the pace that we wanted to play. Obviously our returners were great. Noah was great, Jimmer was terrific and Charles had an exceptional game.”

On the crowd: “I think that it was great because part of the process is to get all the adrenaline running and I don’t know anything scientific but we always say you have to have energy to win. That was easy tonight because the guys were pumped, the crowd was great and they didn’t have to create their own energy.”

Fresno State Head Coach Steve Cleveland

“Obviously BYU is an outstanding team. You know Jimmer (Fredette) is going to do what Jimmer does. But I thought offensively Hartsock was the difference maker.”

“We shot the ball very poorly. I think when we go back and watch that film you are going to see about 10 to 12 wide open threes and we just couldn’t make a basket. We are certainly not that poor of a shooting team, but we were tonight.”

“You have to make those shots, not just to beat BYU but to beat anyone.”

On his return to the Marriott Center:

“It did make me feel good. I have special memories of being here.”

BYU Guard Jimmer Fredette

“We just didn’t play as hard as we should’ve in the first four or five minutes but after that we got going a little bit and I think a lot of that had to do with the crowd we had. It was a sellout and since I’ve been here we haven’t had a sellout like that in the first game. We usually have a really good crowd but this was a complete sellout and we had looked forward to it. Finally the energy caught up to us and we were able to get out and run, get stops and play the way we play so it was good.”

On his decision to come back for his senior season: “I feel great. No matter what would have happened tonight I still would’ve felt great. We have great fans and I have great teammates. I love playing basketball here at BYU and the coaching staff and everyone that surrounds us. That was a great decision and I’m moving forward and worrying about the season.”