BYU vs. UCLA Game Notes & Quotes

Player Notes

-Jimmer Fredette scored 10 points in the opening 12 minutes of play. Fredette has scored in double digits every game this season. Fredette finished with 25 points on the day giving the senior guard his seventh 20-plus point performance this season and the 37th of his career. BYU has lost just 7 games when Fredette has scored 20 or more points.

-Chris Collinsworth returned to action for BYU after missing six-straight games due to an ankle injury. Collinsworth, Jackson Emery and Brandon Davies led the Cougar in rebounds with 5 boards each in the game.

-Brandon Davies scored 16 points in the second half to lead the Cougar comeback efforts. The sophomore finished with 18 points while also posting 5 boards and an assist. Davies has scored in double-digits six times this season.

Team Notes

-BYU trailed at the half for just the second time this season. The last time being in the South Padre Invitational against South Florida.

-The 86-79 loss is the Cougar’s first loss of the 2010-2011 season. Their last loss coming against Kansas State in last year’s NCAA tournament.

Record Watch

-Jackson Emery’s 2 steals gave the guard 179 career steals, bringing him within three steals of tying Marty Haws to take over the second place spot in all-time BYU steals while the senior is just 16 steals behind Danny Ainge who holds the all-time steals record with 195 during his time as a Cougar.

-Emery is also just two treys away from tying Mike Rose in all-time three-point field goals at BYU. With 161 career threes, three more three-pointers would bring the senior guard into fourth place all time in treys made at BYU, right behind teammate Jimmer Fredette who has made 198 career three-pointers.

Game Trends

-Jimmer Fredette came out scoring 8 points in the opening four and a half minutes of the game to give the Cougars a 14-6 lead.

-With BYU ahead 16-6, the Bruins would go on a 18-2 run to take a 24-18 lead with 9:26. Despite the quick 16-6 start, the Cougars would score just 14 points in the following 13 minutes. Fredette scored 6 points in the final 1:30 seconds to bring BYU within 6 points of UCLA at the half.

-The Bruins extended their lead in the opening minutes of the second half, taking their first double-digit lead of the game with the score 51-41.

-BYU cut the UCLA lead to five in the second half with 1:32 remaining. The Bruins largest lead of the game was 13. UCLA did not trail in the second half, winning 86-79.

Quotes

BYU Coach Dave Rose

"It was a very entertaining game and our guys played really hard. I give a lot of credit to UCLA. They were physical, strong and played well. We didn't really have an answer for their size. I was really proud of how hard our team played. We played really hard and competed until the end. We needed to make a few more plays."

"We turned the ball over 12 times in the first half. That is more than we turn the ball over on average for a game. We didn’t do a very good job in the first half. In the second half, we adjusted to that pretty well. UCLA had an answer for every run we made."

"They did a really good job of making it hard for our half-court offense, as far as sets we run. Most of the baskets that we scored tonight, guys had to make plays. But that is what good defensive teams do to you. We knew that going in. Jimmer was really good for us offensively in the first half. Jackson and Brandon adjusted in the second half and helped us."

UCLA Coach Ben Howland

"This was a great win for us against an outstanding BYU team. They were high in the RPI and were undefeated coming in. We had a good week of practice leading up to today’s game. We really executed at both ends of the floor. We did a much better job of attacking the zone. Malcolm’s defense was a key today on Fredette. He still had his average, but he really had to work for every point. Our front line had 55 points and 20 rebounds. When we get that kind of productivity out of our front line, it really helps."

"I thought we did a good job of getting out in transition. We scored 86 points. We did a good job of sharing the basketball. We only had 10 turnovers and 17 assists. It was a great overall team effort. We were down 16-6. That showed a lot of toughness to fight right back and get back in the game. It was a great win and I’m very excited for our team."

"I'm really happy to win this game, being it the first time we have had this with Coach not here with us. That was really important to our players. They really carried his memory. We played for Coach today. We really talked about that a lot. We wanted him to be proud of this team and I know he is."