OGDEN -- Led by a balanced overall attack, BYU shot 60 percent from the floor on its way to a 79-61 road victory over Weber State Thursday in the Dee Events Center.
"This game is much easier when you make baskets," said BYU coach Steve Cleveland, whose team entered the game shooting 40 percent on the season. "Our post players did a nice job tonight. We got the ball into the post. That's what we have to do."
Four Cougars tied season highs in scoring to fuel BYU's offense, led by senior guard Mike Hall's career-equaling 23 points. Senior center Jared Jensen added 16 points while sophomore forwards Keena Young and Garner Meads tallied 14 and 10 points, respectively. Hall was 9-for-12 from the floor, including a sizzling 5-of-7 from long range. His five treys is a personal best. Jensen went 8-for-11 from the field and Young was 5-of-7 from the floor as the Cougars had their top shooting night of the season.
Center Derek Dawes added seven points to help BYU outscore Weber State 42-28 in the paint. Cleveland put Dawes in the starting lineup for the second time this season, joining Jensen, Young, Hall and sophomore Austin Ainge to begin the game. Cleveland went primarily with six players as Meads (27 minutes) was the only reserve to log double-digit minutes.
Ainge played a nice floor game in his third straight start at the point, contributing nine points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists. BYU committed just eight turnovers on the night, with Ainge making only one miscue during his career-most 34 minutes.
BYU led from the outset and never looked back after finishing the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 42-28 advantage at the break. The Cougars built a lead as high as 21 points in the second half and never let Weber State get closer than 10 points at 48-38 with 16 minutes remaining.
The Cougars shot a season-high 54.5 percent on threes, going 6-of-11, and were a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe -- BYU's second perfect night from the line this season. The Wildcats shot 41.5 percent overall, including 33.3 percent on threes, and converted on 75 percent of their free throws.
Weber State got a huge performance out of senior center Lance Allred, who scored 27 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Terrell Stovall added 15 points and Troy Goodell had 11 for the Wildcats, with Goodell making three treys and Stovall connecting twice from behind the arc.
With the win, BYU improves to 3-8 on the season while Weber State falls to 4-6. BYU is next in action Tuesday when the Cougars host Southern Utah in the Marriott Center at 7 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Brigham Young University vs Weber State
12-23-04 7:05pm at Dee Events Center -- Ogden, Utah
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VISITORS: Brigham Young University 3-8
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 YOUNG, Keena........ f 5-7 0-0 4-4 3 3 6 3 14 4 0 2 0 35
52 JENSEN, Jared....... f 8-11 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 4 16 3 0 0 0 27
43 DAWES, Derek........ c 3-8 0-0 1-1 0 2 2 3 7 1 0 1 0 23
01 HALL, Mike.......... g 9-12 5-7 0-0 1 1 2 2 23 4 3 0 2 35
13 AINGE, Austin....... g 4-9 1-3 0-0 1 3 4 2 9 3 1 0 4 34
02 ROSE, Mike.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
10 NASHIF, Terry....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6
20 BURGESS, Sam........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
41 MEADS, Garner....... 3-6 0-1 4-4 0 6 6 3 10 0 2 0 0 27
54 MILES, Chris........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3
TEAM................ 1 1 1
Totals.............. 32-53 6-11 9-9 7 20 27 19 79 15 8 3 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 19-28 67.9% 2nd Half: 13-25 52.0% Game: 60.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 2-5 40.0% Game: 54.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 9-9 100 % Game: 100 % 0
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HOME TEAM: Weber State 4-6
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 Riggs,Coric......... f 0-4 0-2 0-0 2 1 3 1 0 0 4 0 0 22
33 Patten,David........ f 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 10
50 Allred,Lance........ c 9-18 0-0 9-12 10 8 18 1 27 3 2 0 0 36
05 Stovall,Terrell..... g 5-10 2-3 3-4 0 1 1 2 15 2 3 0 1 36
10 Cox,Brett........... g 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 17
03 Emadi,Matt.......... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
04 Jenkins,Jamaal...... 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 6 2 3 0 0 33
11 Goodell,Troy........ 4-8 3-6 0-0 1 1 2 1 11 1 0 0 0 33
22 Parsons,Dale........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 6
41 Barisic,Danko....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 22-53 5-15 12-16 14 14 28 12 61 9 14 0 1 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-27 37.0% 2nd Half: 12-26 46.2% Game: 41.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-7 57.1% 2nd Half: 1-8 12.5% Game: 33.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% Game: 75.0% 1
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Officials: Brian Shelley, Eric Curry, Chris Rastatter
Technical fouls: Brigham Young University-None. Weber State-None.
Attendance: 7043
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Brigham Young University...... 42 37 - 79
Weber State................... 28 33 - 61