FORT WORTH -- Forward Charles Abouo and No. 14/15 BYU exploded on offense at TCU, winning its 12th-straight against the Horned Frogs 107-77 in the Cougars' final game of the regular season.
The sophomore forward finished with 22 points, doubling his previous career high. Abouo shot 8-of-11, hitting two three-pointers, while collecting five rebounds and three assists in a career-high 26 minutes.
Abouo’s output led a season-high 61 points from BYU’s bench, also including a season-high 23 points from senior forward Jonathan Tavernari. Tavernari nailed 9-of-12 shots and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“Our guys really got going,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “Our bench shot the ball extremely well, which helps our starters to shoot well. They’re playing at a higher level. They can elevate the performance of the starters and make your team a lot better.”
After falling behind early by a score of 18-4, the Cougars went on a 14-3 run at the 12:00 mark of the first half to take their first lead of the game. BYU went into halftime up 57-43, tying for the most points in a first period this season. Tavernari hit four treys for 16 points in the first half to key the run.
The second half was even better for the Cougars, as the team shot 72.0% for the half. BYU started the second frame by going on a 12-2 run. Jackson Emery quickly hit a three off an assist from Brandon Davies, then Jimmer Fredette and Davies hit back-to-back layups. Emery would follow with another hoop and a free throw, extending the lead to 68-45.
Emery posted the best all-around game of the night with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, 5-of-6 from three, including five steals, five assists, two blocks and two rebounds. Emery, already the BYU record holder for most steals in a season, moved into third place on the BYU career steals list with his fourth game this season of five steals or more.
“Tonight we had a lot of people involved that really helped us win this game and that helps with individual confidence,” Rose said.
As a team the Cougars had 14 steals, their third of the last four games with at least 10 thefts.
BYU closes out regular season and conference play with a 28-4, 13-3 record, tying a program record for most wins in a season and good for the No. 2 seed at the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas next weekend. The Cougars will play No. 7 seed TCU on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.
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Official Basketball Box Score
BYU COUGARS vs TCU
03-06-10 5:00pm at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (Fort Worth, TX)
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VISITORS: BYU COUGARS 28-4 (13-3 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 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 1 0 15
54 MILES, Chris........ c 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 1 2 0 1 0 1 7
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g 8-10 5-6 1-1 0 2 2 3 22 5 1 2 5 31
23 HAWS, Tyler......... g 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 8
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 5-11 1-4 7-8 0 0 0 1 18 5 2 0 2 22
00 DAVIES, Brandon..... 4-7 0-0 1-1 0 8 8 3 9 2 3 0 1 24
01 ABOUO, Charles...... 8-11 2-2 4-6 3 2 5 1 22 3 2 0 0 26
10 LOYD, JR., Michael.. 1-5 0-1 3-4 0 3 3 0 5 2 1 0 2 26
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock...... 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4
15 ANDERSON, James..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. 9-12 5-8 0-0 1 3 4 0 23 3 0 0 3 30
TEAM................ 2 1 3 1
Totals.............. 38-61 13-23 18-22 8 22 30 14 107 21 14 3 14 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 20-36 55.6% 2nd Half: 18-25 72.0% Game: 62.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-13 53.8% 2nd Half: 6-10 60.0% Game: 56.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-12 83.3% 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% Game: 81.8% 4
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HOME TEAM: TCU 13-18 (5-11 MWC)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
13 RUZGAS, Edvinas..... f 3-5 1-2 3-3 0 4 4 2 10 2 2 0 0 29
15 BULJAN, Zvonko...... c 4-11 1-4 2-4 2 4 6 4 11 1 7 0 2 33
22 MITCHEM, Keion...... g 3-6 2-4 0-0 0 1 1 4 8 2 5 0 2 27
24 BUTLER, Kevin....... g 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 0 1 0 2 24
25 HILL, Greg.......... g 4-6 0-2 2-2 1 1 2 2 10 2 0 0 1 25
05 MOSS, Ronnie........ 6-12 3-7 2-2 0 1 1 1 17 2 6 0 0 26
21 CERINA, Nikola...... 4-8 0-0 2-4 3 1 4 2 10 1 1 0 0 17
31 BAVCEVIC, Marin..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
32 HUIE, Zach.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
33 GREEN, Garlon....... 3-5 1-2 2-2 1 1 2 0 9 0 2 0 0 19
TEAM................ 3 3
Totals.............. 28-57 8-21 13-17 10 15 25 17 77 10 24 0 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-27 59.3% 2nd Half: 12-30 40.0% Game: 49.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-9 66.7% 2nd Half: 2-12 16.7% Game: 38.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 8-11 72.7% Game: 76.5% 1
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Officials: Ruben Ramos, Martin Cota, K.C. Ely
Technical fouls: BYU COUGARS-None. TCU-None.
Attendance: 6469
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
BYU COUGARS................... 57 50 - 107
TCU........................... 43 34 - 77
Points in the paint-BY 34,TC 28. Points off turnovers-BY 32,TC 17.
2nd chance points-BY 10,TC 14. Fast break points-BY 4,TC 4.
Bench points-BY 61,TC 36. Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-3 times.
Last FG-BY 2nd-02:58, TC 2nd-00:28.
Largest lead-BY by 32 2nd-01:17, TC by 14 1st-16:33.