POSTGAME NOTES
BYU vs. No. 25 UNLV
Feb. 3, 2007
- For the 11th time this season, Austin Ainge, Jimmy Balderson, Lee Cummard, Keena Young and Trent Plaisted received the starting nod from BYU head coach Dave Rose. Cummard and Young have started in all 23 games this season while Plaisted has started 22, Balderson 20 and Ainge 15.
- Individual Career Highs: Mike Rose -- 27 points, 8 three-pointers made (tied).
- Team Season Highs/Lows: Most points scored in a half against Div. I -- 49 (first); .682 three-point shooing percentage.
- Records -- BYU set a new school record for three-pointers made in a game with 15 against UNLV. Mike Rose tied the BYU individual record for three-pointers made in a game with eight against UNLV (set by Rose in 2003).
- BYU's win over No. 25 UNLV extended its home winning streak to 28 games, which is tied for the second-longest active home victory streak in the nation. The Cougars are 14-0 at home this season and 400-116 (.775) all-time in the Marriott Center.
- The Cougars' victory over No. 25 UNLV marked the second consecutive BYU win over a ranked team in the Marriott Center, including last Saturday's win over No. 13 Air Force. Prior to that, BYU had not defeated a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 25 Oklahoma State 76-71 on Dec. 6, 2003 in Salt Lake City. BYU hadn't beaten a ranked team in the Marriott Center since Feb. 1, 1992 with an 80-63 win over No. 19 UTEP.
- With a matchup against the No. 25 Rebels, BYU has now faced four ranked teams this season, the only Mountain West Conference team to do so. The Cougars are 2-2 in those games with a 90-63 win over UNLV, a 61-52 win over then-No. 13 Air Force, an 82-69 loss at then-No. 5 UCLA and a 76-61 neutral court loss against then-No. 25 Michigan State.
- With a +27 (90-63) margin of victory against UNLV, BYU has won four of its nine MWC games this season by more than 20 points, including a 21-point (70-49) win at New Mexico on Jan. 24, a 24-point (89-65) win over TCU on Jan. 10 and a 22-point victory (80-58) over San Diego State to open MWC play. The UNLV win marked BYU's largest margin of victory in MWC play since a 29-point win (82-53) on Jan. 17, 2004 against Colorado State. BYU has won just 10 games by 20 points or more in MWC play since the formation of the league prior to the 1999-2000 season.
- BYU is now 16-3 when scoring at least 70 points and 15-0 when holding opponents below the 70-point threshold.
- With a 38-30 rebounding advantage against the Rebels, the Cougars are now 16-0 when winning the battle of the boards.
- Leading 49-34 against UNLV, BYU went into the locker room with a halftime lead for the 18th time this season, including its eighth double-digit lead, The Cougars have scored over 40 points in the first half five times this season. The Cougars are now 16-2 when leading at the break. BYU is also 16-0 when leading at the five-minute mark and 16-0 when leading at the one-minute mark.
- The Cougars' .682 (15-for-22) three-point shooting marked the 12th time this season BYU has shot above .400 from three-point range and the ninth time this year the Cougars have topped .500. BYU ranked 15th in the country in three-point shooting percentage entering the UNLV game.
- Prior to shooting .438 (7-for-16) from the free-throw line against UNLV, BYU had not shot below .500 from the charity stripe since Dec. 12, 2005 when the Cougars shot .462 (6-for-13) against Northern Kentucky.
- Austin Ainge scored in double figures for the seventh time this season with 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range.
POSTGAME QUOTES
BYU Head Coach Dave Rose
"The guys really responded well from an emotional win earlier in the week."
"I like it when guys come off the bench and make shots. It's really good for our energy and chemistry. There was good play off the bench tonight and great play from Mike Rose."
"We really wanted to work on the inside tonight but had a lot of opportunities from outside the perimeter."
"Tonight, you get someone who goes 8-for-10 from the perimeter, and that's a special night. Mike Rose had a great night."
BYU Guard Mike Rose
"(Hitting those threes) helped give us the momentum. It's fun to be in the zone. There's no other feeling like it. It's nice to kind of validate [the record set in 2003 and tied tonight] against a good team like this.
UNLV Head Coach Lon Kruger:
"It was a total domination by BYU. They got us on our heels early, and they just kept getting better."
"They got on top of us early, and we didn't respond in a way that we could change the momentum back."
"We have to learn from this, make progress and get better. We didn't win many battles today."
"Basically, they got to all the loose balls, got the long rebounds and made all the energy plays."