BYU Vs. Wyoming: Game Notes and Quotes

Player Notes

-In the first half, Stephen Rogers came off the bench to provide a spark for BYU with 4 points and a steal in his first two minutes of play.

-Jackson Emery was able to heat up in the second half, making two treys to finish with 12 points and 3 steals.

-Brandon Davies provided a solid post presence for the Cougars scoring 20 points and recording 9 rebounds on the night.

-Despite an uncharacteristically poor scoring night, Jimmer Fredette was clutch under pressure for BYU driving into the lane to hit a shot and draw the foul with 47 seconds remaining. Fredette would complete the three-point play. Fredette finished with 26 points on the night on 7-for-21 shooting.

Team Notes

-The Cougars struggled to find their groove offensively in the first half shooting just 34.4% from the field including 2-for-14 from behind the arc in the first half. Meanwhile, Wyoming shot 41.7% from the field and 40% from long range.

-BYU came out very active defensively, tallying 10 team steals in the first half with four players recording at least one steal in the half. The Cougars finished with 15 steals on the game.

Record Watch

-With 8:03 remaining Jimmer Fredette hit two free throws to move the senior guard into 4th place all-time in BYU history for free throws made. Later in the game three more free throws would move the All-American guard into 3rd place all-time in free throws made. Fredette would finish 10 free throws against Wyoming, giving him made 514 free throws during his career. The 4th place spot was previously held by Mekeli Wesley who made 509 free throws during his time as a Cougar. The 3rd place spot was previously held by Kenneth Roberts who tallied 511 free throws over the course of his career.

-Jimmer Fredette is now just three wins away from becoming the winningest player in BYU history. Jonathan Tavernari currently holds that record with 103 career wins. With the win over Wyoming, Fredette has recorded 101 career victories.

Game Trends

-The Cowboys took an early lead over the Cougars as they demonstrated smothering defense with 3 blocks in the first eight minutes of play and went on a 6-0 run to give the Pokes a 14-8 lead. Back-to-back steals by Emery and Fredette sparked a 15-0 BYU run.

-As the second half drew to a close, Desmar Jackson led the Cowboys on a 10-0 run after trailing by as many as 9 points in the half to reclaim a 26-25 lead. However, the lead was short-lived as Fredette found his long-range game hitting a trey with 1:23 remaining. Still, Wyoming would tie the score at 28-28 going into the half.

-The two teams remained neck-and-neck through the first 10 minutes of the second half but a trey by Charles Abouo ignited the BYU offense and gave the Cougars a four point lead, 49-45. Abouo’s three-pointer was followed by Wyoming’s leading scorer Desmar Jackson receiving his 4th foul on the other end of the floor which seemed temporarily to be a game-changing exchange in favor of BYU.

-Still, the Cowboys came back for more, putting together a 9-0 run holding the Cougars scoreless from the 5:26 mark to the 00:47 second mark. A clutch and-one play by Fredette ended the run and a Davies basket on the following play sealed the deal for BYU to go on to win 69-62.

Postgame Quotes

BYU head coach Dave Rose

“This was a great team win. Wyoming had a lot of fight in them and we couldn’t get rid of them. Wyoming did a great job defending us and we could never really get into a rhythm offensively.”

“You have to find different ways to win. We really like it when we can get out in transition and get shots possession after possession and tonight we just couldn’t do that because they wouldn’t let us.”

Charles Abouo

“They’re a great team here at home. Early on we couldn’t get anything going and we didn’t have a lot of energy but we were able to grind it out in the end to get the win.”

On Jimmer Fredette’s clutch play: “It’s hard to believe Jimmer has been doing that all year. Some guys will play well in one game but will not play as well in the next game. With Jimmer it’s every game. When he makes a great play one game, he forgets about it and comes back ready to do it again in the next game. That’s his approach and it’s great to have a guy like that on your team.”