POSTGAME NOTES
BYU vs. Concordia
Exhibition
Nov. 6, 2008
- BYU’s first exhibition game saw three new faces and two returners in the starting five. Juniors Lamont Morgan, Jr. and Chris Miles and sophomore Jimmer Fredette were the new additions to the starting line-up while senior Lee Cummard and junior Jonathan Tavernari picked up where they left off last season.
- All 11 players who suited up for BYU saw action in the game and scored. Senior Archie Rose (injury) and sophomores Jackson Emery and Michael Loyd, Jr. did not dress.
-True freshman Noah Hartsock was the first Cougar off the bench at the 15:16 mark. Hartsock returned in August from a two-year mission in Salt Lake City.
- After setting a program record with 285 three-pointers last season, the Cougars picked up where they left off with 10 makes from long range against Concordia. BYU recorded double-digit three-pointers in 11 games last year.
- BYU also continued its offensive production overall from last season, defeating Concordia 96-54. The Cougars notched 20 double-digit wins last year while defeating opponents by an average of 16.9 points in their 27 victories,
- The Cougars posted a 49-26 lead at the half against Concordia. Last season, BYU tallied a halftime lead in 28 of 35 games, including 15 double-digit advantages, while going 25-3 when leading at the break. BYU outscored opponents by an average of 7.0 points in the first period of play in 2007-08 while scoring at least 40 first-half points in 10 games.
- Fredette had the hot hand in BYU’s first action of the year as he scored a would-be career-high 26 points in the game to lead all scorers. The sophomore guard went 8-for-13 from the field, including 6-for-8 from three-point range, while making all four of his free throws. He scored in double digits 12 times last year as a true freshman.
- Reigning Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Cummard had a typically productive outing with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Cummard led the Cougars in scoring last season (15.8 ppg) and surpassed the 1,000-career point mark in BYU’s last game of the year. He also ranked second on the team in both rebounds and assists and ranked among the top 10 in the MWC in all three categories.
- True freshman Charles Abouo made his first shot less than one minute after entering the game at the 12:28 mark. He then brought the crowd to its feet with back-to-back dunks later in the first half on passes from Tavernari on the fastbreak. Abouo spent last season playing for Brewster Academy after spending three years at Logan High School.
- Fredette was the first Cougar to reach double-figure scoring with 10 points at the 6:00 mark in the first half.
- Cummard scored seven of BYU’s first nine points in the game.
POSTGAME QUOTES
BYU Coach Dave Rose:
“There were a lot of good things tonight. The best part of your first exhibition game is that you have the opportunity to watch film and break down things we need to improve on. That’s our focus right now.”
“I think you could see a difference in the experience levels of our players tonight. They all played with a lot of energy, though. There were times it was a little ragged out there, but that’s what happens when you have different players from different programs on one court as one team.”
“Jimmer (Fredette) played two positions tonight and had the most minutes. He shot the ball well and had good stats. It looks like that point guard spot is between Lamont (Morgan, Jr.) and Jimmer at this point – it seems most of Jimmer’s aggressiveness came at the point guard position. Hopefully we’ll figure that out soon.”
“Defensively, we were steady tonight. We made shots difficult. Offensively, it’s not where we want it. We have lots of work to do on lots of things, but this was our first time out with a new group and new players. It was a good night.”
Concordia Coach John Dore:
”I thought we were an embarrassment tonight. I apologized to Coach Rose after the game for our lack of competition. BYU has a really good team, and I thought they proved that tonight by playing very well.”
“Tonight we just really didn’t play well. We’re still forming our team, and tonight was a chance for us to see who’s competing and who’s not competing, and we discovered that a little bit in this game.”
“We had a hard time coming back tonight. After Cummard shot his three-pointer followed by Tavernari’s, we couldn’t follow. We missed two free throws and then just lost the momentum. Unfortunately, we were unable to ever really pick it up and get ahead.”