PROVO -- The BYU men’s basketball team earned its 10th win of the season and remained unbeaten Saturday after defeating Portland 91-76. The Cougars also extended their home-court winning streak to 53, the best in the nation.
“I thought this was a very competitive game. We played well on offense—we shot well and passed well,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said.
Junior Chris Miles opened up scoring for the Cougars. Miles, Jackson Emery and Jonathan Tavernari scored the first 17 points for BYU. The trio accounted for 29 of 45 points in the first half.
BYU and Portland swapped baskets for most of the first half, the Pilots taking their first lead of the game with nine minutes remaining. Portland used its defense to keep pace with the Cougars, forcing eight turnovers and posting four blocks.
The Cougars pulled away in the last five minutes of the half after going on a 12-5 run and ended with a 45-36 scoreline. A solid 69.6% first-half shooting average helped BYU keep the lead. Jonathan Tavernari contributed 11 points to BYU’s total while Portland’s Nik Raivio led the Pilots with 12 points in the first half.
Tavernari and the rest of the Cougars came alive during the second half. The junior moved into the third spot for all time three-pointers made with 144. Senior Lee Cummard, who was held to only one basket in the first half, scored 10 points in the second.
For the second consecutive game, BYU scored over 90 points and had five players in double-digit figures for scoring. The Cougars' final shooting percentage of 61.7 percent marks a season high.
"Several of our players stepped up offensively and carried us for a while. Jonathan carried us for a while and Jimmer came in and made a few shots,” Rose said.
BYU will next play Arizona State on Dec. 20 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The game is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on FSN.
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Official Basketball Box Score
Portland Pilots vs BYU Cougars
12/13/08 8:05 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Portland Pilots 5-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
12 SMEULDERS, Robin.... f 5-11 0-3 3-3 1 2 3 0 13 2 4 0 2 26
45 KNUTSON, Kramer..... c 6-7 0-0 0-2 1 4 5 5 12 2 1 1 0 22
15 RAIVIO, Nik......... g 6-9 3-4 3-4 3 4 7 4 18 2 2 0 2 32
20 STOHL, Jared........ g 5-11 4-7 0-0 1 1 2 2 14 4 1 0 1 29
44 CAMPBELL, T.J....... g 2-10 2-7 0-0 1 0 1 4 6 0 4 0 1 30
01 WATERFORD, Eric..... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3
05 ITO, Taishi......... 1-2 0-1 2-2 1 1 2 1 4 2 0 0 1 17
24 PORTER, B.J......... 2-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 4 4 0 1 0 0 9
33 MITROVIC, Nemanja... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
43 SIKMA, Luke......... 0-2 0-0 2-4 1 1 2 4 2 2 2 0 0 16
56 HANNIBAL, J......... 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 14
TEAM................ 2 1 3
Totals.............. 28-61 10-26 10-15 12 15 27 26 76 15 15 1 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-31 48.4% 2nd Half: 13-30 43.3% Game: 45.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-12 50.0% 2nd Half: 4-14 28.6% Game: 38.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 10-15 66.7% Game: 66.7% 3
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 10-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ f 4-8 0-2 4-5 2 6 8 3 12 5 0 0 0 30
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f 7-14 5-11 6-6 1 5 6 2 25 0 2 0 1 28
54 MILES, Chris........ c 6-7 0-0 0-2 1 2 3 2 12 4 2 0 2 23
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g 3-5 2-3 2-2 0 5 5 4 10 4 3 1 0 32
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 6-7 0-1 5-6 1 2 3 0 17 3 4 0 2 29
01 ABOUO, Charles...... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 9
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont. 3-4 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 7 1 1 0 0 19
05 ROSE, Archie........ 0-1 0-0 5-6 2 0 2 2 5 0 0 0 1 9
15 ANDERSON, James..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 6
20 PINEGAR, Matthew.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
53 MACGREGOR, Gavin.... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 2 1 0 2 1 0 11
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 29-47 8-18 25-33 8 23 31 20 91 18 17 2 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-23 69.6% 2nd Half: 13-24 54.2% Game: 61.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-8 37.5% Game: 44.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-13 61.5% 2nd Half: 17-20 85.0% Game: 75.8% 3
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Officials: Rick Batsell, Bruce Hicks, Frank Harvey
Technical fouls: Portland Pilots-None. BYU Cougars-TEAM.
Attendance: 9418
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Portland Pilots............... 36 40 - 76
BYU Cougars................... 45 46 - 91
Points in the paint-POR 26,BY 34. Points off turnovers-POR 17,BY 24.
2nd chance points-POR 16,BY 11. Fast break points-POR 0,BY 14.
Bench points-POR 13,BY 15. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-POR 2nd-00:39, BY 2nd-02:30.
Largest lead-POR by 2 1st-08:49, BY by 23 2nd-02:30.