Cougars Outlast Aggies

CLICK TO VIEW GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

Click to watch the video.

PROVO -- In a game that went back and forth all night, BYU defeated Utah State 78-72 in front of 17,303 in attendance on Wednesday at the Marriott Center.

BYU hit 8-of-8 free throws and held Utah State to no field goals in the final four minutes, outscoring Utah State 10-3 to pull away.

“I thought both teams competed really well and it was a great game for an early season matchup between two pretty good teams," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "I give Utah State a lot of credit for being able to force the offensive tempo."

Up 70-69, BYU guard Jimmer Fredette hit a driving layup to send the Cougars up three. After stopping Utah State on its next possession, the Cougars missed on their end, but Utah State senior Tai Wesley was called for his fifth foul for swinging his elbows after getting the rebound.

Forward Chris Collinsworth converted the resulting free throws before BYU forced another miss by the Aggies. On the ensuing Cougar possession, forward Noah Hartsock drew a foul after rebounding a Cougar miss. The junior’s two resulting free throws iced the game for BYU, and gave the Cougars a 76-71 lead with 25 seconds left.

Collinsworth finished with seven points and a team-high eight rebounds while Hartsock scored 15 points with five rebounds, four blocks, an assist and a steal.

“Both teams got players in foul trouble early and had to deal with those issues," Rose said. "It was a great game with great fans and a great crowd. I think we can really build from this.”

Senior Jimmer Fredette led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 8-of-21 from the field including 5-of-14 from three, adding five assists and three steals in 38 minutes. The guard also moved into 10th place all-time on the BYU scoring list after hitting a three in the first half for his 15th point of the night, passing Lee Cummard.

In a rough first half, BYU was forced to play without senior guard Jackson Emery who was saddled with three fouls. Fredette, his partner in the backcourt, scored 12 of BYU’s first 15 points. The preseason All-American hit a long three to give the Cougars their first lead of the game at 8-6. After converting two free throws, Fredette nailed another trey to give BYU an eight-point lead, 15-7, with 12:55 left in the first period.

With Emery forced to sit for all but six minutes of the first half, junior Stephen Rogers came off the bench, contributing six rebounds, one assist, one block and a drawn charge in just six minutes of play, helping the Cougars go into halftime tied with the Aggies, 33-33.

The Cougars extended their lead to six, 45-39 with 15:55 to play following a 10-2 run capped by hustle plays from Emery. After converting a putback of his own miss, Emery then knocked an Aggie pass to Fredette who hit Emery down the court for the hoop, hitting an extra free throw after drawing a foul on the play.

But after Utah State climbed back, neither team would gain a larger lead the rest of the contest. Wesley hit all six shots he attempted in the second half to keep the Aggies close, finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort.

BYU finished with four players in double figures, with Charles Abouo’s 13 points and Emery’s 10 joining Fredette and Hartsock.

The Cougars host Chicago State in the first game of the South Padre Island Invitational on Saturday at 8 p.m. MT in the Marriott Center. The game will be televised live on BYUtv and broadcast live by KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM or online at KSL.com.

Official Basketball Box Score
Utah State vs BYU Cougars
11/17/10 7:02 pm at Provo, Utah, Marriott Center
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Utah State 1-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
22 Jardine, Brady...... f  4-9    0-0    2-3    4  8 12   4  10  0  1  3  0  28
42 Wesley, Tai......... f  9-11   0-0    1-6    1  7  8   5  19  3  4  0  0  25
03 Pane, Brockeith..... g  2-11   0-1    4-6    1  2  3   3   8  3  4  0  0  26
05 Williams, Pooh...... g  2-4    2-3    4-4    0  0  0   3  10  3  0  0  0  26
24 Newbold, Tyler...... g  0-2    0-1    2-2    0  0  0   4   2  1  1  0  1  29
15 Walker III, James...    0-1    0-0    1-2    0  2  2   1   1  2  2  1  1  12
21 Grim, Morgan........    2-6    0-0    1-3    2  4  6   2   5  0  1  2  0  24
23 Green, Brian........    6-7    5-6    0-0    0  0  0   1  17  0  1  0  0  26
44 Formisano, Matt.....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
   TEAM................                         2  3  5
   Totals..............   25-52   7-11  15-26  10 27 37  23  72 12 14  6  2 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-23 47.8%   2nd Half: 14-29 48.3%   Game: 48.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-6  50.0%   2nd Half:  4-5  80.0%   Game: 63.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  8-13 61.5%   2nd Half:  7-13 53.8%   Game: 57.7%    2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 2-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... f  5-12   0-0    5-5    4  1  5   3  15  1  2  4  1  35
41 COLLINSWORTH, Chris. f  1-2    0-0    5-6    1  7  8   5   7  1  2  0  0  17
01 ABOUO, Charles...... g  3-8    1-6    6-6    1  3  4   3  13  0  0  1  0  30
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  4-11   1-5    1-1    1  2  3   4  10  0  0  0  1  24
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  8-21   5-14   5-6    0  1  1   0  26  5  3  0  3  39
00 DAVIES, Brandon.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  1  0  0   1
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan....    0-1    0-0    1-2    1  2  3   0   1  1  0  0  0   6
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
14 MARTINEAU, Nick.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   1
15 ANDERSON, James.....    1-2    0-0    0-2    0  1  1   1   2  1  0  0  0  14
21 ROGERS, Stephen.....    0-1    0-1    0-0    2  4  6   0   0  1  0  1  0   8
31 COLLINSWORTH, Kyle..    2-4    0-0    0-2    2  0  2   4   4  2  1  0  2  21
   TEAM................                         2  3  5
   Totals..............   24-62   7-26  23-30  14 26 40  22  78 12  9  6  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-28 35.7%   2nd Half: 14-34 41.2%   Game: 38.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-13 23.1%   2nd Half:  4-13 30.8%   Game: 26.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-15 66.7%   2nd Half: 13-15 86.7%   Game: 76.7%    4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Randy McCall, Verne Harris, Tom O'Neill
Technical fouls: Utah State-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 17303
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Utah State....................   33   39  -   72
BYU Cougars...................   33   45  -   78
Points in the paint-USU 34,BY 28. Points off turnovers-USU 7,BY 21.
2nd chance points-USU 8,BY 12. Fast break points-USU 2,BY 4.
Bench points-USU 23,BY 7. Score tied-7 times. Lead changed-9 times.
Last FG-USU 2nd-04:22, BY 2nd-02:50.
Largest lead-USU by 3 2nd-19:45, BY by 8 1st-12:53.