PROVO -- Thanks to a record-setting first half and explosive playing on both ends of the court, BYU beat Eastern Washington 91-34, the biggest win over a Division I opponent in school history.
The fact that this victory comes on BYU head coach Dave Rose’s birthday makes it all that much sweeter.
"I was extremely proud at how we kept progressively getting better throughout the first half, and through the whole game in general," said BYU Head Coach Dave Rose. "Our first half was one of the best halves I have seen this team play in a long time. This is definitely the best this team has played on my birthday."
It took the Cougars literally only a few seconds to find their groove in the beginning, but once they settled in, everything seemed to fall into place and in the basket.
After Eastern Washington (4-7) scored the first two points of the game, BYU (10-1) answered back with 33 unanswered points over a span of 10:02 and ended after a pair of Eagle free throws.
This 33-0 scoring run is the largest run the Cougars have had under Coach Rose.
After the Cougars' scoring drive went dry, the game went back and forth for the remainder of the first half, but BYU still outscored the Eagles 22-12. BYU shot 68.8 percent from the field, 62.5 percent from behind the arc, and 75 percent from the line in the first period.
The first half ended with BYU ahead by 41 points, 55-14. All told 11 BYU players saw minutes in the first half and seven scored. The Cougars were lead by Jimmer Fredette and Tyler Haws with 16 and 12 points, respectively. BYU also came away with seven steals in the half with Jackson Emery taking two and Haws with three.
The second half showed more of the same Cougar team as they dominated on the boards, defense and scoring.
BYU played selfless basketball as 13 out of 14 players scored and four Cougars finished in double figures. Fredette ended with 20, Emery with 15, Haws, 14, and Brandon Davies with a career-high 12.
"We played a united game today and did a great job at taking them out of their rhythm," Rose said. "This is just oneof those games where we were just really dialed in as a team."
The Cougars look forward to playing in the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic this coming Tuesday, Dec. 22 at Noon Pacific Time against Nevada. The game will be shown live on BYU-TV, BYU.tv, ESPN360.com and HoopTV.net.
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Official Basketball Box Score
Eastern Washington vs BYU COUGARS
12/19/09 7:05 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Eastern Washington 4-7, 0-1 Big Sky
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 DEAN, Glen.......... * 2-7 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 3 5 2 4 0 0 28
02 FORBES, Jeffrey..... * 1-6 0-1 6-6 1 1 2 3 8 2 3 0 2 33
10 GIBBS, Alden........ * 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 2 0 1 0 3 20
32 BRUNELL, Matthew.... * 1-6 0-1 0-2 2 1 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 24
42 DUNN, Mark.......... * 4-11 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 8 0 3 0 0 26
14 GIBSON, Gary........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 12
15 GRIFFIN, Laron...... 2-6 0-0 0-3 1 0 1 5 4 0 2 0 0 10
23 WINFORD, Kevin...... 0-5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21
24 DEMISSIE, Abebe..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6
45 MOORE, Brandon...... 2-4 0-0 1-5 0 3 3 2 5 0 1 1 0 20
TEAM................ 2 2
Totals.............. 13-48 1-7 7-16 6 11 17 17 34 6 16 1 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-25 24.0% 2nd Half: 7-23 30.4% Game: 27.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-3 0.0% 2nd Half: 1-4 25.0% Game: 14.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 5-10 50.0% Game: 43.8% 5
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HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 10-1, 0-0 MWC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... f 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 0 1 2 0 20
54 MILES, Chris........ c 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 3 6 0 1 2 2 16
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g 6-7 2-3 1-3 2 5 7 0 15 4 1 0 3 23
23 HAWS, Tyler......... g 5-6 2-2 2-2 3 4 7 0 14 0 2 0 3 19
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 7-14 1-4 5-5 1 1 2 0 20 6 2 0 2 22
00 DAVIES, Brandon..... 5-5 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 2 12 0 0 1 0 17
01 ABOUO, Charles...... 2-3 1-1 4-6 1 1 2 2 9 2 0 0 0 17
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont. 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 0 16
10 LOYD, JR., Michael.. 1-3 0-0 1-2 0 5 5 0 3 4 2 0 0 19
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 12
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock...... 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 6
15 ANDERSON, James..... 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 0 1 0 0 8
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. 2-5 1-2 0-0 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 5
TEAM................ 2 3 5
Totals.............. 34-53 7-12 16-22 12 33 45 14 91 18 13 5 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 22-32 68.8% 2nd Half: 12-21 57.1% Game: 64.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 2-4 50.0% Game: 58.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 10-14 71.4% Game: 72.7% 2
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Officials: Tony Padilla, Frank Harvey, III, John Paul Guerrero
Technical fouls: Eastern Washington-None. BYU COUGARS-None.
Attendance: 8003
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Eastern Washington............ 14 20 - 34
BYU COUGARS................... 55 36 - 91
Points in the paint-EWU 18,BY 46. Points off turnovers-EWU 4,BY 20.
2nd chance points-EWU 0,BY 19. Fast break points-EWU 4,BY 8.
Bench points-EWU 9,BY 34. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-1 time.
Last FG-EWU 2nd-01:42, BY 2nd-01:24.
Largest lead-EWU by 2 1st-19:14, BY by 58 2nd-04:21.