PROVO -- The No. 14/13 BYU men’s basketball team extended its overall win streak to 14 with an 81-66 victory over Wyoming on Wednesday night. With the win the Cougars improve to 19-1 overall and 4-0 in Mountain West Conference play.
“I’m really pleased our team was able to come out with a hard-fought win tonight,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “Wyoming did a nice job taking us out of what we like to do and really disrupt us. Our guys made some adjustments to help us get on a run and we made enough plays to win.”
True freshman Tyler Haws led all scorers with a career-high 24 points. Jackson Emery and Jimmer Fredette also scored in double figures, with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
“I wanted to come into the game and try to find a rhythm,” said Haws. “I have to give credit to my teammates for finding me open, making unselfish plays and giving me time to knock my shots down.”
It was a physical game from the start as BYU jumped out to an early 5-0 lead which it would never relinquish. With the score tied 16-16 Fredette secured an offensive rebound for the quick put-back, but strong defensive play and untimely turnovers by both teams kept either from creating any momentum. Haws scored his tenth point of the game after a two-for-two trip to the free throw line with 8:49 remaining in the first half.
“Tyler was just terrific tonight,” said Rose. “We knew Wyoming would double team Jimmer and Jackson, leaving Tyler with some open looks. I was pleased how he handled that situation. He shot shots at his pace.”
Both Fredette and Emery knocked down three-point shots to help the Cougars pull away 32-26. Wyoming struggled from the charity stripe, missing its last five free throws as BYU led 41-33 heading into the break.
The Cougars’ first double-digit lead of the game came early in the second half after a jumper from Haws made the score 48-37. The score was part of a 12-point BYU run which lasted nearly five minutes.
While the Cowboys managed to cut the deficit to 10 points, the Cougars maintained a comfortable lead thanks to baskets by Haws and Emery. Emery, Chris Miles and Jonathan Tavernari contributed four points from the free throw line to increase their lead to 74-56 with less than five minutes to play in the game.
The Cougars continue conference play on Saturday at San Diego State. The game tips off at 7 p.m. PT and will be televised live on The Mtn.
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Official Basketball Box Score
Wyoming vs BYU COUGARS
01/20/10 6:02 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Wyoming 8-11, 1-4 MWC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
11 MUOJEKE, Afam....... f 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 8
25 THIAM, Djibril...... f 2-7 0-0 0-3 3 3 6 1 4 1 2 1 0 25
15 WADDELL, Adam....... c 6-10 0-0 3-5 1 3 4 1 15 0 1 2 2 30
01 LUSTER, JayDee...... g 3-7 0-2 3-5 0 3 3 3 9 6 2 0 1 30
02 BOUEDO, Arthur...... g 5-10 2-4 1-2 1 0 1 3 13 0 1 0 0 27
03 JACKSON, Desmar..... 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 6 1 1 0 0 11
05 DERMODY, Ryan....... 2-6 2-6 0-1 0 3 3 3 6 0 0 1 0 28
22 M'BAYE, Amath....... 2-2 0-0 1-2 1 3 4 3 5 0 6 0 1 14
33 SYLLA, Boubacar..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
35 HARRISON, Daylen.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
51 DAVIS, A.J.......... 1-5 0-2 6-8 0 2 2 2 8 1 2 0 3 17
TEAM................ 3 3 6
Totals.............. 24-52 4-15 14-26 9 24 33 21 66 9 17 4 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4% 2nd Half: 12-23 52.2% Game: 46.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 26.7% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 7-12 58.3% 2nd Half: 7-14 50.0% Game: 53.8% 5
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HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 19-1, 4-0 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 3-4 0-0 2-2 0 4 4 0 8 0 0 1 2 26
54 MILES, Chris........ c 2-3 0-0 1-2 0 5 5 3 5 3 2 0 1 23
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g 4-11 1-6 6-8 1 4 5 4 15 3 2 1 4 25
23 HAWS, Tyler......... g 8-12 4-5 4-4 4 2 6 0 24 0 2 1 0 35
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 3-11 1-4 4-7 2 4 6 2 11 3 1 0 2 32
00 DAVIES, Brandon..... 2-6 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 3 5 0 2 0 0 13
01 ABOUO, Charles...... 3-5 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 2 6 1 0 0 0 9
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont. 2-3 0-1 0-1 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 12
10 LOYD, JR., Michael.. 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 8
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. 0-2 0-1 3-4 1 4 5 2 3 2 1 0 0 17
TEAM................ 4 1 5
Totals.............. 27-60 6-18 21-30 13 27 40 19 81 13 11 3 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-28 46.4% 2nd Half: 14-32 43.8% Game: 45.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 33.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-13 84.6% 2nd Half: 10-17 58.8% Game: 70.0% 4
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Officials: Rick Batsell, Bob Staffen, Randy McCall
Technical fouls: Wyoming-None. BYU COUGARS-None.
Attendance: 10931
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Wyoming....................... 33 33 - 66
BYU COUGARS................... 41 40 - 81