Albuquerque, New Mexico (Jan. 27, 2010) – Jimmer Fredette scored 27 points, including a go-ahead three with two minutes left in the game, but New Mexico made the key plays down the stretch to defeat BYU, 76-72 at the Pit.
With the loss, BYU goes to 20-2 and 5-1 in MWC competition, a half game ahead of New Mexico and UNLV, both at 5-2. The Cougars' 15-game win streak, the longest active streak in the country, was broken as BYU lost for the first time in eight weeks.
"If we played those last three minutes again maybe it would be different," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "But tonight they got us. Our players made a valiant effort here."
The Cougars trailed the entire game until Fredette spotted up behind a screen seven feet behind the three-point line, swishing a triple as the shot clock expired to give BYU its first lead, 64-62 with three minutes to play.
"The game went back and forth and we were able to get that lead late," Rose said. "When we got that shot, I felt we were right there and where we needed to be, but they made plays in the end."
Those plays came from Dairese Gray who scored nine points in the final 90 seconds on his way to a career-high 25 points.
Fredette added seven assists and made all seven free throws he took in 34 minutes of action.
Jonathan Tavernari scored ten key points early in the second half, finishing with 17, including three treys, and four rebounds.
On the defensive end, Noah Hartsock shut down the Lobos' leading scorer, Darington Hobson, forcing Hobson into 1-of-11 shooting and just five points, 10 points fewer this his per-game average. Hartsock played a career-high 32 minutes, posting 10 points, seven rebounds, one block and one assist.
BYU will look to get back in the win column and lengthen a 17-game win streak at the Marriott Center against rival Utah on Saturday at 7 p.m in the Deseret First Duel.
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Official Basketball Box Score
#12/10 BYU vs #23/rv New Mexico
1/27/10 8:02 PM at Albuquerque, N.M./The Pit
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VISITORS: #12/10 BYU 20-2, 5-1
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 4-7 0-0 2-3 1 6 7 0 10 1 0 1 0 32
54 MILES, Chris........ f 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 3 1 0 2 1 0 11
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g 3-10 1-7 1-2 0 6 6 3 8 0 0 0 3 32
23 HAWS, Tyler......... g 3-8 0-1 1-2 2 5 7 1 7 3 2 0 2 28
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 8-21 4-6 7-7 0 1 1 2 27 7 3 0 1 34
00 DAVIES, Brandon..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 4 0 0 2 0 1 6
01 ABOUO, Charles...... 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 2 0 1 1 15
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 6
10 LOYD, JR., Michael.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
15 ANDERSON, James..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 5
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. 5-11 3-5 4-4 1 3 4 3 17 1 1 1 1 29
TEAM................ 2 2 4
Totals.............. 24-63 8-19 16-20 10 31 41 23 72 14 11 5 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-32 31.3% 2nd Half: 14-31 45.2% Game: 38.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 5-9 55.6% Game: 42.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-10 90.0% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% Game: 80.0% 2
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HOME TEAM: #23/rv New Mexico 19-3, 5-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 HARDEMAN, A.J....... f 3-8 0-0 0-3 3 3 6 1 6 1 0 3 0 22
30 MARTINEZ, Roman..... f 5-10 2-4 0-2 0 4 4 1 12 2 2 0 1 33
01 HOBSON, Darington... g 1-11 0-2 3-4 4 10 14 4 5 4 2 1 1 32
05 GARY, Dairese....... g 6-10 1-2 12-17 2 1 3 1 25 4 3 0 0 33
23 MCDONALD, Phillip... g 3-8 2-5 1-1 0 2 2 2 9 0 1 0 2 26
03 DENNIS, Curtis...... 3-8 1-2 4-4 0 1 1 1 11 1 2 0 2 16
04 ADAMS, Chad......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5
11 GARTH, Nate......... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 10
13 FENTON, Jamal....... 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 7
15 BROWN, Will......... 2-4 0-0 1-2 4 3 7 2 5 0 0 1 0 16
TEAM................ 3 7 10
Totals.............. 24-63 7-17 21-33 16 31 47 15 76 13 11 5 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-35 31.4% 2nd Half: 13-28 46.4% Game: 38.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 41.2% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-16 62.5% 2nd Half: 11-17 64.7% Game: 63.6% 4
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Officials: Mike Scyphers, Larry Spaulding, Chris Rastatter
Technical fouls: #12/10 BYU-None. #23/rv New Mexico-None.
Attendance: 14586
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
#12/10 BYU.................... 32 40 - 72
#23/rv New Mexico............. 36 40 - 76
Points in the paint-BY 28,NM 32. Points off turnovers-BY 13,NM 13.
2nd chance points-BY 14,NM 16. Fast break points-BY 15,NM 8.
Bench points-BY 19,NM 19. Score tied-5 times. Lead changed-5 times.
Last FG-BY 2nd-00:03, NM 2nd-01:30.
Largest lead-BY by 3 1st-19:40, NM by 9 1st-09:52.