SALT LAKE -- Twelve players scored for BYU as the Cougars used a team effort to cruise past Lamar University, 97-74, Wednesday night at the Delta Center.
"It wasn't just our starters playing well tonight," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "This was a team win, and I'm happy with the way everyone played."
The win improved BYU's record to 3-1 on the season and marks the first time the Cougars have won three consecutive games.
Behind two early three-point baskets, BYU jumped out to an 11-4 lead. The Cougars didn't stop as Lee Cummard nailed another trey to extend the lead to 10 at 16-6. Rashaun Broadus played the roll of floor marshal assisting the first six BYU field goals.
The Cardinals answered by putting together a 9-5 run of their own to cut the BYU lead to 21-15 with under 12 minutes to play.
However, BYU fought right back, riding a 14-2 run to build a comfortable 40-21 lead with 4:21 remaining in the half.
Lamar came back with another run, outscoring the Cougars 14-4 to end the half down 48-35. BYU's 48 points in the first half is more than the Cougars scored in their last trip to the Delta Center. BYU lost to Washington State 49-46 last season in Salt Lake. Rose said the return trip to the Delta Center was a great experience.
"We had a good crowd for a Wednesday night," he said. "Our guys like playing here, and they responded well to the unique schedule change."
Eight Cougars scored in the first half. Overall, BYU shot 66 percent from the field, 57 percent behind the three-point arc and 75 percent from the charity stripe.
"I believe the strength of this team will be the team itself," said Rose.
Led by Alan Daniels, the Cardinals started the second half on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 50-42.
BYU bounced back as Broadus erupted, leading the Cougars to score 12 unanswered points to open a 20-point lead. Broadus scored two buckets and added a steal and an assist to lead Cougars during the run.
At the 12:48 mark, Lamar head coach Billy Tubbs was ejected from the game after being charged with his second technical foul. It was the first time Tubbs has been ejected in three years with the Cardinals. Jimmy Balderson hit the two foul shots and Fernando Malaman picked up a bucket to push the lead to 20 points. The lead only fell below 20 points one time after that as the Cougars took off.
BYU was led by Balderson, who scored 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line. Trent Plaisted added 16 points and seven rebounds. Keena Young also scored in double figures with 10 points while picking up seven boards. Broadus led BYU with nine assists in addition to scoring seven points. Lamar was led by Daniels, who scored 23.
Overall, BYU shot 56.5 percent as a team, including 50 percent on three-pointers and 90.0 percent from the foul line. The Cougars also shared the ball well, picking up 22 assists. The Cardinals' assistant coach Kermit Holmes was impressed with the Cougars.
"BYU played great; they can really shoot," Holmes said. "I've been watching a lot of basketball, and I haven't seen many teams shoot like they did today."
BYU now travels to Pac-10 country for the second time this season when they take on USC Saturday in Los Angeles at 7:30 (PDT).
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Lamar University vs BYU Cougars
11-30-05 7:05 p.m. at Delta Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Lamar University 1-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
33 Daniels, Alan....... f 6-20 1-8 10-12 4 5 9 2 23 5 8 2 2 36
42 Fairley, Thomas..... f 7-11 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 3 14 1 2 2 1 23
44 Goodwin, Josh....... f 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 1 16
01 Chappell, Brandon... g 1-2 1-2 0-0 1 1 2 1 3 5 1 0 3 28
23 Barrow, Matthew..... g 7-13 2-6 2-2 2 0 2 1 18 4 1 0 2 29
03 McThay, Brandon..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 7
11 Beard, Nashid....... 4-11 0-0 0-1 0 1 1 2 8 1 2 1 0 20
21 Whittle, Blake...... 2-9 0-2 0-2 2 4 6 2 4 2 1 0 1 21
43 Grant, Jason........ 2-3 0-0 0-1 4 2 6 4 4 1 1 1 1 20
TEAM................ 2 2 4 2
Totals.............. 29-71 4-18 12-18 16 18 34 20 74 19 19 6 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-35 40.0% 2nd Half: 15-36 41.7% Game: 40.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-8 12.5% 2nd Half: 3-10 30.0% Game: 22.2% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 6-10 60.0% Game: 66.7% 3
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 3-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
15 MALAMAN, Fernando... f 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 4 0 2 0 2 23
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... f 7-10 2-3 5-5 1 1 2 1 21 1 1 0 1 22
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... c 6-9 0-0 4-5 0 7 7 2 16 0 2 2 0 25
01 BROADUS, Rashaun.... g 3-5 0-1 1-2 0 4 4 2 7 9 5 0 1 23
11 REICHNER, Brock..... g 2-5 1-2 2-2 0 1 1 1 7 3 5 0 0 17
02 ROSE, Mike.......... 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 9
03 YOUNG, Keena........ 4-9 0-0 2-2 4 4 8 1 10 3 0 0 0 18
04 EMERY, Jackson...... 1-3 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 16
13 AINGE, Austin....... 3-6 2-3 0-0 1 2 3 0 8 2 2 0 0 13
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ 3-4 1-1 2-2 0 3 3 2 9 3 1 0 1 18
34 BURGESS, David...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
41 ODJEGBA, Jermaine... 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2
43 DAWES, Derek........ 3-4 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 0 8 1 1 0 1 12
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 35-62 7-14 20-22 9 29 38 16 97 22 20 2 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 19-29 65.5% 2nd Half: 16-33 48.5% Game: 56.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-7 57.1% 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% Game: 50.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 14-14 100 % Game: 90.9% 2
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Officials: Bruce Hicks, Greg Burks, Stanley Reynolds
Technical fouls: Lamar University-TEAM 2. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 8383
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Lamar University.............. 35 39 - 74
BYU Cougars................... 48 49 - 97
Points in the paint-LU 39,BY 38. Points off turnovers-LU 18,BY 21.
2nd chance points-LU 6,BY 13. Fast break points-LU 13,BY 20.
Bench points-LU 16,BY 42. Score tied-0 times. Lead changes-0 times.