BOONDAL, Australia -- BYU improved to 3-1 on its exhibition tour in Australia with its third straight win, edging SEQ Invitational Black 93-91 on Saturday.
Close throughout, BYU held a two-point lead at the first quarter (22-20) and the half (47-45) before SEQ evened the tally entering the final quarter at 67-67. The Cougars managed a 26-24 advantage over the final 10 minutes to earn the victory.
For the fourth straight game, senior forward Mark Bigelow led the Cougars in scoring with 17 points, sharing the honor with teammate Marc Roberts. Bigelow also contributed eight rebounds while Roberts added two boards in his 22 minutes of action.
Redshirt freshman Garner Meads, who started for the second straight game, had his best outing of the tour with 15 points, 11 rebounds and a team-leading three steals in 25 minutes. Junior Jared Jensen started at center and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to go with six points. Junior point guard Terry Nashif got his first starting assignment on the trip and dished out a game-best nine assists, while senior guard Luiz Lemes had eight points, three rebounds and three assists playing a team-high 31 minutes in his second straight start.
Coming off the bench for the first time, senior center Rafael Araujo recorded nine points, nine rebounds and two steals in his 20 minutes. Senior point guard Kevin Woodberry played 29 minutes with seven points, three rebounds and two assists, while senior center Dan Howard and freshman point guard Austin Ainge each contributed six points and two assists to the win.
With the game being the Cougars' fourth in as many nights, senior forward Jake Shoff playing just nine minutes, scoring two points, and senior guard Ricky Bower did not play. Both players played with back injuries last season.
The game might not have been as close if either team had shot well from the free throw line. Uncharacteristically, BYU shot just 50 percent from the line, making 18-of-36 attempts, while SEQ wasn't much better, making 59 percent on 13-of-22 shooting.
SEQ kept the pressure on from long range, connecting 12 times from behind the arc compared to BYU's five treys. BYU shot just 24 percent on threes for the game. Roberts led the Cougars with two treys in three attempts while Bigelow, Woodberry and Ainge were each successful once from long range.
The Cougars made up for some poor shooting with a 62-51 advantage on the boards, including an 18-9 edge on the offensive glass. The Cougars also converted 34 points off of 33 SEQ turnovers while the home team managed 18 points after BYU's 29 turnovers in the fast-paced action.
Five players scored in double figures for SEQ, led by Brad Williamson and Jason Cameron with 15 points apiece. Williamson added a team-leading nine rebounds.
After four straight games, BYU will enjoy a day's rest Sunday before returning to the court. The team will remain in Brisbane to attend church services and conduct an evening fireside meeting at which coach Steve Cleveland and several players will speak.