Tough Defense Leads to Win

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PROVO -- In the second game of the South Padre Island Invitational BYU (4-0) defeated the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (0-4) 86-36 on Tuesday in the Marriott Center.

“I thought defensively it was about as good a performance as we’ve have had in a long time," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "I thought we were consistently challenging shots to make it difficult for them and when they drove I thought our posts were very active. On their attack penetration we made it really hard for them to get a good look at the basket. We rebounded very well and I was really pleased with our defense.”

Sophomore Brandon Davies recorded his second career double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Jimmer Fredette contributed 16 points and six assists while fellow senior Jackson Emery added 15 points and five steals.

Both teams struggled offensively to start the game, going a collective 1-15 from the field. BYU started the game 1-8 shooting and led 3-0 after four minutes of play. The score remained close until the 8:48 mark, when the Cougars led 8-5.

Fredette had a hand in all five of the opening BYU baskets, scoring two and assisting the other three. Fredette also helped spark the Cougars with a three-point basket that was followed by a Noah Hartsock three-point play that extended the BYU lead to double digits, 18-7.

“It took us a little while to get going," senior Jackson Emery said. "But I thought defensively we were terrific. If at times we aren’t hitting shots, we’re a little flat, and we depend on hitting shots because it creates a lot of intensity and emotion for us. Unfortunately, at the beginning we weren’t hitting shots but we were able to get the ball into the post and our big guys made some big plays to get us going.”

Emery built on the momentum by nailing three consecutive three pointers. Nick Martineau also hit a trey that continued the Cougar run.

After the slow start, BYU finished the half on a 25-3 run, with the three points from the Delta Devils not coming until the final minute of the half.

The highlight of the first half was the Cougar defense that held Mississippi Valley State to 10 points, tied for the lowest point total in a half by an opponent in BYU's modern-era history.

A fast start to the second half prevented any comeback by the Delta Devils. The Cougars took off on an 18-2 run to quickly extend the lead to 43 at 55-12.

Mississippi Valley State saw their biggest offensive output in the game partway through the second half when they went on a 10-4 run that included two three pointers.

Strong play off the bench helped the Cougars close the game. James Anderson finished with nine points while Martineau and Brock Zylstra both chipped in five points apiece.

BYU will be back in action later this week in South Padre Island, Texas. The Cougars will face off against South Florida on Nov. 26 at 5 p.m. CT. Fox College Sports will broadcast the game.

Official Basketball Box Score
Mississippi Valley vs BYU Cougars
11/23/10 7:06 pm at Provo, Utah, Marriott Center
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VISITORS: Mississippi Valley 0-4
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
22 SMITH,Orlando....... f  1-2    0-0    0-0    2  3  5   3   2  0  5  0  0  26
23 JONES,Falando....... f  1-7    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   1   2  0  3  1  0  25
42 HOLMES,Jason........ f  6-15   0-1    3-6    0  6  6   5  15  1  2  5  0  28
03 JOYNER,Terrence..... g  2-13   1-6    0-0    1  5  6   1   5  1  6  0  4  25
11 JACKSON,D'Angelo.... g  0-5    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   3   0  0  4  0  2  23
01 DONALD,Darian.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   6
05 HARRIS,Jerome.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0   3
10 LAMB,Ricky..........    1-3    1-3    0-0    0  0  0   0   3  1  2  0  0  15
12 STUDIVANT,Amos......    2-5    0-0    0-2    1  2  3   3   4  0  0  0  0  15
21 COX,Cor-J...........    1-3    0-0    0-1    1  0  1   2   2  0  1  0  0  11
25 BURWELL,Kevin.......    1-3    1-2    0-0    0  3  3   3   3  0  2  0  1  12
30 HOLMES,Mark.........    0-3    0-1    0-2    0  3  3   1   0  1  0  0  0  11
   TEAM................                         6  2  8
   Totals..............   15-60   3-15   3-11  12 28 40  22  36  5 25  6  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  3-25 12.0%   2nd Half: 12-35 34.3%   Game: 25.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-6  16.7%   2nd Half:  2-9  22.2%   Game: 20.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-9  33.3%   2nd Half:  0-2   0.0%   Game: 27.3%    3
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 4-0
                          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  4-6    0-0    4-5    3  3  6   0  12  0  2  1  0  25
41 COLLINSWORTH, Chris. f  0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   6
01 ABOUO, Charles...... g  2-8    1-2    0-0    3  7 10   0   5  0  4  0  1  16
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  4-12   3-10   4-5    2  4  6   2  15  2  2  0  5  26
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  7-16   2-8    0-0    2  1  3   1  16  6  0  0  1  25
00 DAVIES, Brandon.....    4-10   0-0    5-5    3  7 10   3  13  0  2  3  0  17
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan....    0-3    0-1    2-2    1  4  5   1   2  1  0  0  0  11
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock......    2-5    1-3    0-0    0  3  3   2   5  2  1  0  2  17
14 MARTINEAU, Nick.....    2-3    1-2    0-0    0  2  2   0   5  3  0  0  0  15
15 ANDERSON, James.....    2-4    0-0    5-8    0  5  5   2   9  0  0  1  1  12
21 ROGERS, Stephen.....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  1   9
31 COLLINSWORTH, Kyle..    1-3    0-0    2-3    1  2  3   0   4  3  0  0  2  21
   TEAM................                         4     4
   Totals..............   28-72   8-27  22-28  19 38 57  11  86 17 13  5 13 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-32 37.5%   2nd Half: 16-40 40.0%   Game: 38.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-15 33.3%   2nd Half:  3-12 25.0%   Game: 29.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  8-10 80.0%   2nd Half: 14-18 77.8%   Game: 78.6%    3
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Officials: Steve Welmer, Duane Allen, Brad Ferrie
Technical fouls: Mississippi Valley-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 9207
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Mississippi Valley............   10   26  -   36
BYU Cougars...................   37   49  -   86
OFFICIAL FINAL
Points in the paint-MVSM 22,BY 30. Points off turnovers-MVSM 7,BY 26.
2nd chance points-MVSM 6,BY 16. Fast break points-MVSM 0,BY 6.
Bench points-MVSM 12,BY 38. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-MVSM 2nd-00:54, BY 2nd-01:01.
Largest lead-MVSM None, BY by 51 2nd-01:01.