PROVO -- Freshman Trent Plaisted and junior Fernando Malaman led BYU with 19 and 17 points, respectively, as the Cougars (4-2) held off Boise State (3-3) 80-77 Wednesday night in the Marriott Center.
After falling behind by eight points in the first half, the Cougars outscored the Broncos 44-33 in the second half to pick up the victory.
"I told the guys in the locker room that games like this are what makes teams better," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "You can't just play them; you've got to win them."
Boise State took an early lead, starting the game on a 7-0 run. The Cougars battled back to tie the game 16-16 with 11:25 remaining in the first half. The Broncos held off the Cougars' first-half surge by relying on their three-point shot, going 6-for-10 from three-point range to take a 44-36 halftime lead.
The Cougars came out strong in the second half, running the floor well and going on a 14-2 run to take their first lead of the game, 49-46, with 17:13 left to play. The Cougar run was led by senior Brock Reichner who hit back-to-back three-pointers.
BYU had a 72-60 lead with 4:51 left in the game, but the Broncos fought back to tie the game at 75-75 with 2:12 remaining.
After big baskets from both Plaisted and Malaman, Boise State's Tyler Tiedeman put up a three-pointer for a chance to tie the game, but the shot fell short and the Cougars pulled off the win, 80-77.
Plaisted finished the night shooting 7-for-12 from the field and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line to pick up his 19 points. He also led the Cougars in rebounds with 10, recording the first double-double of his career as well as the first for the Cougars this season.
Malaman's 17 points marked a career high for the forward. He shot 7-for-10 on the night, including 2-for-3 from the three-point line. He also rejected three shots on the night, which was also a career high.
As a team, BYU struggled in the first half, shooting just 38.7 percent from the field, but improved in the second half with a 48.6 shooting percentage.
After Boise State shot 6-for-10 from the three-point line, the Cougars picked up their perimeter defense and held the Broncos to just 1-for-7 three-point shooting in the second half.
"It was a very good college basketball game -- up tempo, lots of threes, and the big guys still got a lot of points," Boise State head coach Greg Graham said. "Kids on both sides were battling hard. Except for the outcome, you can't ask for a better basketball game. BYU's got a good ball club, and they are going to get better. They're a young and talented team."
Boise State was led by forward Seth Robinson, who finished the game with 15 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the field. Guard Coby Karl also added 14 points for the Broncos, shooting 4-for-11 from the field, including 2-for-4 from the three-point line and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
At this point in the season, Coach Rose said he is pleased with his team's play and improvement.
"This is a team that is learning -- learning how to win and learning how to play," Rose said. "I thought it was a great game for our team."
BYU stays home for their next contest against Division II Northern Kentucky (6-0) on Saturday in the Marriott Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Boise State Broncos vs BYU Cougars
12/07/05 7:05 PM at Marriott Center, Provo, UT
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VISITORS: Boise State Broncos 3-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 ROBINSON, Seth...... f 7-9 1-1 0-0 0 5 5 4 15 1 0 0 2 22
25 BANKS, Tez.......... f 6-11 0-0 1-2 0 5 5 2 13 0 0 0 0 21
03 LANE, Eric.......... g 3-8 1-3 2-2 0 3 3 1 9 5 3 0 0 28
05 KARL, Coby.......... g 4-11 2-4 4-4 1 3 4 3 14 3 4 1 0 31
15 BAUSCHER, Matt...... g 5-10 2-5 1-2 1 2 3 1 13 5 1 0 1 34
02 WILSON, Kenny....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 15
12 LLOYD, Kareem....... 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 4 1 3 0 0 10
20 TIEDEMAN, Tyler..... 2-6 1-4 0-0 1 6 7 4 5 2 2 0 1 20
50 CUNNINGHAM, Kurt.... 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 2 4 2 1 0 0 16
55 HALLBERG, Colin..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
TEAM................ 2 3 5
Totals.............. 31-64 7-17 8-10 6 34 40 20 77 19 15 1 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-35 51.4% 2nd Half: 13-29 44.8% Game: 48.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-10 60.0% 2nd Half: 1-7 14.3% Game: 41.2% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 6-7 85.7% Game: 80.0% 1
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 4-2
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 7-10 2-3 1-2 2 3 5 1 17 1 0 3 0 33
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... f 4-11 0-4 2-4 1 2 3 3 10 4 3 0 1 29
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... c 7-12 0-0 5-8 4 6 10 4 19 0 3 1 0 26
01 BROADUS, Rashaun.... g 4-9 0-1 3-7 0 7 7 2 11 6 3 1 0 31
11 REICHNER, Brock..... g 3-7 3-6 3-4 0 4 4 3 12 5 2 0 1 23
02 ROSE, Mike.......... 1-4 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 8
03 YOUNG, Keena........ 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 4 1 0 0 0 7
04 EMERY, Jackson...... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 11
13 AINGE, Austin....... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 9
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9
43 DAWES, Derek........ 1-2 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 1 4 0 0 2 1 14
TEAM................ 3 4 7
Totals.............. 29-66 6-19 16-27 12 28 40 15 80 18 13 7 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-31 38.7% 2nd Half: 17-35 48.6% Game: 43.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 3-11 27.3% Game: 31.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-15 60.0% 2nd Half: 7-12 58.3% Game: 59.3% 2
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Officials: Bill Kennedy, Rick Hartzell, Eric Curry
Technical fouls: Boise State Broncos-TEAM. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 8347
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Boise State Broncos........... 44 33 - 77
BYU Cougars................... 36 44 - 80
Points in the paint-BSU 43,BY 40. Points off turnovers-BSU 16,BY 16.
2nd chance points-BSU 10,BY 14. Fast break points-BSU 13,BY 6.
Bench points-BSU 13,BY 11. Score tied-3 times. Lead changes-1 time.