BYU vs. Utah State: Game Notes and Quotes

Player Notes

-Transfer Stephen Rogers proved to be a difference-maker for BYU, recording 5 boards, a charge and a block in just five minutes of play early in the game. With four boards in just over two minutes of action, Rogers surpassed his previous career-high of 3 rebounds. Rogers finished the first half with six rebounds to lead the Cougars.

-After playing limited minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Jackson Emery came out shooting 3-3 from the field in the second half.

-Jimmer Fredette’s 26 points gave him his 32nd 20+ point performance over the course of his career. BYU is 26-6 in games when Fredette has scored over 20 points.

-For the second consecutive game, Chris Collinsworth led BYU in rebounds with 8.

-Noah Hartsock has now scored double-digits in two consecutive games for the second time in his career, after scoring a career-high 24 against Fresno State.

-Newly returned missionary Chris Collinsworth has never lost in the Marriott Center. The Cougars were 16-0 during his freshman season in 2007-08.

Team Notes

-Dave Rose and staff started a new starting lineup of Fredette, Emery, Charles Abouo, Chris Collinsworth and Hartsock.

-BYU leads the all-time series over Utah State 136-91. The Cougars lost to the Aggies in Logan last season.

-The victory increases Dave Rose’s win total to 129 as BYU’s head coach. He is 23 wins behind Roger Reid for second all-time at BYU.

-The victory gave the Cougars their 11th straight win over a non-conference team at the Marriott Center.

-The Cougars forced 13 turnovers on the night and capitalized by turning those turnovers into 21 BYU points.

-BYU had four players in double figures on the night. Fredette led the Cougars with 26 points followed by Hartsock with 13, Abouo with 11 and Emery with 10.

Record Watch

-On Fredette’s first trip to the charity stripe, the senior guard moved into 9th all-time in career free throws made at BYU with 382. Making both shots from the line moved him ahead of Kresimir Cosic, who recorded 381 made free throws over the course of his career.

-A three-pointer with 7:15 remaining in the first half placed Fredette in the top ten scorers ever in BYU history with 1,571 career points. Tenth-place on the all-time scoring list was previously held by Lee Cummard who scored 1,569 points during his time as a Cougar.

-With 5 three-point attempts, Jackson Emery has now attempted 357 three-point baskets over the course of his career, which gives Emery the 5th most three-point attempts in BYU history.

Game Trends

-After falling behind 2-0 to start the game, Fredette took over for the Cougars, scoring 12 of BYU’s first 15 points and led a 13-5 run to give the Cougars a 15-7 lead.

-Following a timeout the Aggies went on a 9-2 run of their own to come within one of BYU with the score 17-16.

-At the half, the game was knotted at 33-33.

-The Cougars found themselves down 37-36 in the second half, but a 10-2 run gave BYU a 46-39 lead. Senior Jackson Emery scored 8 of BYU’s 10 points during that run.

-After being held scoreless through the first five minutes of the second half, Fredette hit a trey with 14:17 remaining to tie BYU’s largest lead of the night with a 8-point advantage over USU.

-A 9-0 run by the Aggies gave Utah State a 53-52 lead with 11:50 remaining.

-Hartsock who was perfect from the free throw line, shooting 5-for-5, made two free throws with 25.1 seconds remaining. Two free throws by Fredette followed by a Hartsock block sealed the deal for BYU and gave the Cougars a 78-72 victory.

Quotes

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose

"I thought it was a really hard fought game. I thought both teams competed really well and it was a great game for an early season matchup between two pretty good teams. I give Utah State a lot of credit for being able to force the offensive tempo. They were able to get open shots and they were really good down in the post. They knew where they wanted to go when we got a little run on them but I was really pleased with how our players competed. We have a lot of work to do to become the team we want to become but I really thought we competed well and that's a good start."

"It was full of emotion. Both teams got players in foul trouble early and had to deal with those issues. It was a great game with great fans and a great crowd. I think we can really build from this. It's good to have to go to the free throw line late in games, make free throws, get offensive and defensive rebounds late, get a stop here and there when there's a lot of pressure and a lot on the line."

Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill

"It was a good basketball game. Free throws really made a big difference down the stretch. We played physical and the atmosphere made it seem like a midseason game, not the second game of the season. We gave ourselves a chance to win and that makes this a really tough game to lose."

"We had to trap Jimmer (Fredette) and that got us strung out on defense because we were putting two guys on one player. It was a gamble we were willing to take. BYU is a big, strong team and I also think they are underrated defensively. They played a good game."

"I knew our guys would come out and compete. When you are on the road against a top-25 team you always worry that the game will get away from you. We played tough and were within three there near the end, and I would have liked to see what would have happened if Tai (Wesley) doesn't get that intentional foul."