PROVO -- Spencer Nelson and the Aggies ended a 13-game losing streak in the Marriott Center, defeating the Cougars 84-62 in their second meeting this season. The Cougars were led by Austin Ainge who scored a career-best 21 points, while three Aggie players scored in double figures, led by Nelson who scored a game-high 26 points to sweep the Cougars.
"Utah State dominated every position offensively and defensively," coach Steve Cleveland said. "We got beat in every area of the game."
In the first half, the Cougars struggled with the Aggies' low-post offensive presence. Early in the half, Utah State forward Nate Harris, who finished the game with 16 points, scored three easy lay-ups to lift the Aggies to a comfortable lead. The Cougars fought back with a crowd-pleasing block by Gardner Meads, followed by an Ainge three-pointer to close in on the Aggies, trailing 26-30. The Utah State would answer back to the Cougars' run with Nelson connecting on a three-point play and then scoring on a three-point banker from the top of the arc the next time down the court. The Aggies continued their run with an all-around effort to finish the half leading 41-27.
Utah State jumped on the Cougars in the second half, widening the lead to as high as 23 points. Posting double-figures in his eighth consecutive game, Nelson continued to deliver for the Aggies, scoring 12 of his 26 points in the second half and adding a game-high 11 rebounds. The Cougars would rally back mid-way through the second half to cut the lead to a 14-point deficit, yet sharp shooting by Jaycee Carroll from beyond the arc proved to be key to finish off the Cougars. Carroll finished with 21 points.
"We were obviously really excited about playing really well down here," Utah State Coach Stew Morrill said. "We made a few shots and that always helps."
The Cougars were out-shot by the Aggies, with BYU shooting only 39 percent to Utah State's 50 percent. Mike Rose was the Cougars' second leading scorer with 14 points, followed by Kenna Young who finished with 8 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.
The Cougars host No. 9 North Carolina State Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the first visit to Provo by an ACC team. The game will be televised by SportsWest on KSL-TV locally and will also be aired on Fox Sports Net South.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Utah State vs Brigham Young
12/18/04 7:05 at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Utah State 7-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 HARRIS, Nate........ f 7-8 0-0 2-4 0 6 6 1 16 1 2 1 1 36
25 NEIL, John.......... f 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 15
32 NELSON, Spencer..... c 9-13 1-2 7-7 6 5 11 3 26 7 6 0 1 28
02 PAK, David.......... g 3-7 2-3 0-1 0 2 2 4 8 3 2 0 0 16
20 CARROLL, Jaycee..... g 7-14 4-7 3-4 0 5 5 2 21 4 1 0 3 32
01 CRANE,Marques....... 2-3 1-1 0-0 2 2 4 2 5 1 0 0 1 13
03 MATHEUS, Cass....... 0-4 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 12
05 COX, Robert......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
21 BROWN, Calvin....... 0-1 0-1 0-2 0 1 1 2 0 4 0 0 1 17
23 HUBER, Chris........ 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 0 0 13
30 WILLIAMS, Jason..... 0-2 0-2 2-4 2 3 5 0 2 0 1 1 1 13
31 MC VEY, Ian......... 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 4
TEAM................ 5 1 6
Totals.............. 30-59 9-18 15-24 18 28 46 18 84 22 15 4 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-29 48.3% 2nd Half: 16-30 53.3% Game: 50.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 50.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-9 88.9% 2nd Half: 7-15 46.7% Game: 62.5% 2
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young 2-7
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... f 1-5 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 4 2 1 1 0 0 10
41 MEADS, Garner....... f 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 5 4 1 0 1 1 23
43 DAWES, Derek........ c 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 3 0 0 2 1 0 14
01 HALL, Mike.......... g 1-4 0-2 2-2 1 3 4 0 4 1 3 0 0 22
13 AINGE, Austin....... g 6-9 3-5 6-8 0 2 2 0 21 3 4 0 1 30
02 ROSE, Mike.......... 5-15 3-8 1-2 1 0 1 0 14 0 1 0 2 31
03 YOUNG, Keena........ 4-9 0-0 0-1 5 2 7 4 8 0 1 1 0 17
10 NASHIF, Terry....... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 12
20 BURGESS, Sam........ 2-5 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 1 9
52 JENSEN, Jared....... 2-2 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 1 4 0 0 1 0 10
54 MILES, Chris........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 3 0 0 0 3 0 22
TEAM................ 1 3 4
Totals.............. 23-58 7-19 9-14 11 18 29 22 62 10 13 7 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-24 37.5% 2nd Half: 14-34 41.2% Game: 39.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 4-13 30.8% Game: 36.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 64.3% 1
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Officials: Ronnie Hernandez, Shawn Lehigh, Michael Irving
Technical fouls: Utah State-None. Brigham Young-None.
Attendance: 11610
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Utah State.................... 41 43 - 84
Brigham Young................. 27 35 - 62