PROVO -- BYU held on for its 32nd consecutive win in the Marriott Center, narrowly escaping with a 57-52 win over a pesky Colorado State team.
Mark Bigelow continued to resurface for BYU, leading the Cougars with 20 points on seven-for-12 shooting, including four-of-seven from downtown. Bigelow's four long range buckets are the most for him in conference play, just one short of his career high of five. Bigelow scored 20 for the first time since going for 20 against Southern Utah on Dec. 29.
"Bigelow was the difference in my mind," Colorado State head coach Dale Layer said. "We would make some runs at them but he would come back, get a good look and make the big shot."
The Cougars struggled from the line throughout the second half, shooting 11-for-20 from the stripe to keep the game close. BYU finished the game 21-of-31 from the line, only the second time this season the team has shot below 70 percent in a game.
The team also overcame a poor night from the field, hitting a season-low 37.5 percent on the night. Before the game, the Cougars lowest percentage from the Marriott Center floor this year had been 42.9 percent, against San Francisco on Jan. 2 and also against UNLV on Jan. 15.
The game was not decided until the final minute, when Bart Jepsen blocked a Colorado State shot that would have put the Rams within one. After Jepsen's block, Eric Nielsen went to the line and sank two free throws with 22 seconds left , giving the Cougars the victory.
"I thought, defensively, we did a very good job guarding them," associate head coach Dave Rose said. "Bart Jepsen was huge in the final minutes because he attacked the penetration. His blocked shot in the final minute was critical for us."
For the second consecutive game, Matt Montague had double-digits in assists, finishing with 11 on the night. The feat marks the first time in his career Montague has had back-to-back games with more than 10 assists.
Travis Hansen also had a good night for the Cougars, finishing the game with 17 points on 5-9 shooting from the field. Hansen and Bigelow tied for the team lead in rebounds, with five apiece.
The teams went into the break deadlocked at 30 but BYU responded in the second half, pushing their lead to as many as six points. The Rams made several runs to keep the score close but the Cougars responded with big buckets to maintain the lead. BYU never trailed in the second half and only trailed twice in the game.
A Travis Hansen three with 1:30 left in the first half gave the Cougars a 28-26 lead and the team never trailed from there. The win pushes BYU's record to 9-0 when it holds its opponents to less than 60 points in a game.
BYU goes back on the road this weekend to face UNLV on Saturday in Las Vegas. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Colorado State University vs BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars
02/04/02 8:37 at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Colorado State University 9-12, 1-6
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
33 GREENE, Brian....... f 7-14 0-0 1-2 0 7 7 4 15 2 5 1 2 30
42 WILLIAMS, Matt...... c 2-3 0-0 4-5 0 2 2 1 8 0 2 1 0 14
02 MACKLIN, Joe........ g 2-6 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 3 4 2 0 0 0 33
10 RAKIECKI, Jon....... g 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 3 1 1 0 0 20
11 BIRLEY, Andy........ g 4-10 3-6 0-0 0 2 2 0 11 6 1 0 1 34
03 SMITH, Quantone..... 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 3 3 2 2 2 2 0 0 18
13 ROBINSON, Freddy.... 0-3 0-2 1-2 1 0 1 3 1 0 1 0 0 9
20 CLARK, Ronnie....... 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 4 4 0 3 0 1 21
25 BROWN, Matt......... 1-3 0-1 2-2 2 1 3 4 4 1 1 0 0 15
34 BURKE, Darian....... 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 4 0 0 2 0 0 6
TEAM................
Totals.............. 20-47 4-10 8-12 6 24 30 26 52 14 18 2 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-25 44.0% 2nd Half: 9-22 40.9% Game: 42.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 1-5 20.0% Game: 40.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 66.7% 1
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HOME TEAM: BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars 14-6, 4-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 BIGELOW, Mark....... f 7-12 4-7 2-4 1 4 5 0 20 0 1 0 2 34
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... f 2-8 0-0 3-4 0 4 4 3 7 1 2 1 0 30
52 JENSEN, Jared....... c 0-2 0-0 6-6 1 2 3 2 6 0 1 0 1 24
02 HANSEN, Travis...... g 5-9 1-3 6-12 1 4 5 2 17 1 1 1 1 36
31 MONTAGUE, Matt...... g 1-5 1-3 2-3 1 2 3 0 5 11 3 0 2 40
20 BOBIK, Daniel....... 0-1 0-1 2-2 1 2 3 0 2 0 2 0 0 13
22 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4
32 JEPSEN, Bart........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 9
40 HOWARD, Dan......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3
42 CARLISLE, Jon....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 7
TEAM................ 4 4
Totals.............. 15-40 6-14 21-31 6 24 30 14 57 13 14 3 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-21 38.1% 2nd Half: 7-19 36.8% Game: 37.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 2-5 40.0% Game: 42.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-11 90.9% 2nd Half: 11-20 55.0% Game: 67.7% 5
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Officials: Stanley Reynolds, Jim Danner, Randyn McCall
Technical fouls: Colorado State University-None. BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars-None.
Attendance: 8325
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Colorado State University..... 30 22 - 52
BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars......... 30 27 - 57