PROVO -- After a slow first half, the BYU Cougars scored a season-high 59 second half points to defeat the Santa Clara Broncos 87-74 and push their winning streak to three games. Senior Jared Jensen and freshman Chris Miles each posted career-highs with 23 and 12 points, respectively, while sophomore Mike Rose tied his career-high and led all scorers with 26.
BYU head coach Steve Cleveland was impressed with the play of all three.
"I told Jared Jensen to get a little nasty on the floor, it won't keep you out of heaven," Cleveland said. "That's the best Mike Rose has played in a BYU uniform. It was his best defensive play ever."
After shooting just 33 percent in the first period of play, the Cougars hit nearly 73 percent of their shots in the second half. BYU finished the night shooting 52 percent (24-of-46) from the field and 91.7 percent (33-of-36) on free throws, including a perfect 23-of-23 in the second half and 24 consecutive overall, setting a school record.
"In the second half, we were much more in an attacking mode," Cleveland said. "Guys were attacking the basket more."
In addition to lighting up the scoreboard, Rose also dished out five assists and collected three rebounds. Miles also played a strong all-around game, tying career-highs with three blocks and three assists. Sophomore guard Austin Ainge was solid, scoring nine points and leading the team with seven rebounds and seven assists, while senior guard Mike Hall chipped in 10 points.
"Austin played with great composure and is really leading this team," Cleveland said.
Senior guard Doron Perkins led the Broncos with 25 points and 10 rebounds while senior guard Kyle Bailey added 14. Perkins, Bailey, freshman guard Brody Angley, and senior guard Ethan Rohde each hit three treys. As a team Santa Clara hit 12-of-26 three pointers (46.2 percent).
BYU scored the first bucket of the game on a Jensen lay-up before Santa Clara ran off eight straight. Trailing 18-11, BYU went on a 13-2 run to take a 24-20 lead. The run included three-point plays by sophomore center Derek Dawes, Hall, and Rose. Both teams then traded threes before a Rose free throw gave the Cougars a 28-25 lead. Rhode of Santa Clara hit a three at the buzzer to tie the game at the half.
The Broncos rode the momentum to start the second half, going on a 9-2 run to take a 37-31 lead. The lead was short-lived as Jensen and Miles each had three point plays and Mike Rose then scored four consecutive points to put the Cougars up 43-42.
The game remained close before Travis Niesen scored to give Santa Clara its first lead since early in the first half at 54-53. The lead changed four more times in the next minute and a half, the last change on a Rose three that gave the Cougars the lead for good at 60-59. The three was the start of a 12-1 run that gave BYU a 69-60 cushion. From there, the Cougars made 12 more free throws to seal the victory.
At 5-8 on the season, BYU will now travel to Moraga, Calif., to play Saint Mary's on Tuesday in an 7:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. MST) tip before opening conference play Saturday, Jan. 8, against San Diego State at 7 p.m. in Provo. Both games can be heard live on KSL Newsradio 1160. The SDSU matchup will be televised on KSL-TV (SportsWest Productions).
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Santa Clara vs Brigham Young
12/31/04 1:05 PM at Provo, UT
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VISITORS: Santa Clara 7-8
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 ANGLEY, Brody....... 4-9 3-5 0-0 2 2 4 3 11 3 3 0 1 28
11 BAILEY, Kyle........ 5-10 3-5 1-2 0 1 1 2 14 2 2 0 0 22
12 DOUGHERTY, Scott.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 10
14 NEUBURGER, Graham... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
15 DENISON, Sean....... 0-2 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 0 0 10
21 HENKE, Mitch........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3
30 PERKINS, Doron...... 8-17 3-7 6-8 5 5 10 4 25 2 4 0 3 34
31 BORCHART, Scott..... 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 9
34 PARHAM, Tristan..... 2-6 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 5 4 1 3 1 0 15
40 ROHDE, Ethan........ 3-8 3-8 0-0 1 1 2 2 9 4 0 0 1 27
41 NIESEN, Travis...... 3-7 0-0 0-1 2 3 5 5 6 0 2 0 0 19
43 LEGGE, Jordan....... 1-1 0-0 1-2 2 0 2 2 3 2 1 0 0 22
TEAM................ 4 1 5
Totals.............. 26-64 12-26 10-16 19 18 37 31 74 16 17 1 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-30 33.3% 2nd Half: 16-34 47.1% Game: 40.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 8-16 50.0% Game: 46.2% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-7 57.1% 2nd Half: 6-9 66.7% Game: 62.5% 0
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young 5-8
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 YOUNG, Keena........ f 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 14
52 JENSEN, Jared....... f 7-9 0-0 9-9 3 2 5 4 23 1 3 0 0 34
43 DAWES, Derek........ c 1-1 0-0 3-3 0 5 5 5 5 1 1 1 0 18
01 HALL, Mike.......... g 3-7 1-3 3-3 0 1 1 4 10 2 3 1 2 37
13 AINGE, Austin....... g 2-8 1-5 4-4 0 7 7 1 9 7 5 0 2 37
02 ROSE, Mike.......... 7-10 4-7 8-11 0 3 3 0 26 5 0 0 0 33
10 NASHIF, Terry....... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
20 BURGESS, Sam........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
54 MILES, Chris........ 4-7 0-0 4-4 2 1 3 4 12 3 0 3 0 17
TEAM................ 2 2
Totals.............. 24-46 6-17 33-36 5 25 30 20 87 19 13 5 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-24 33.3% 2nd Half: 16-22 72.7% Game: 52.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 35.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-13 76.9% 2nd Half: 23-23 100 % Game: 91.7% 2
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Officials: Jim Danner, Shawn Lehigh, Larry Spaulding
Technical fouls: Santa Clara-None. Brigham Young-None.
Attendance: 9534
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Santa Clara................... 28 46 - 74
Brigham Young................. 28 59 - 87