LAS -- Jimmy Balderson ignited the Cougars Saturday, scoring a career-high 23 points to overcome a tough UNLV team in overtime, 82-72, in the Thomas & Mack Center. BYU point guard Austin Ainge led the way in overtime, adding 12 of his 19 points and dishing out five assists.
"This group has had to overcome a lot this season," Cleveland said. "And to win on the road here is just what the doctor ordered."
The Cougars battled hard against the Rebels, holding on to a small lead for nearly 14 minutes of the first half. The Cougars were carried by sophomore guard Balderson, who hit three three-pointers and finished the half with 11 points. Late in the half, UNLV's Odartey Blankson scored on a lay-up to give the Rebels a one-point advantage, which they extended to a 33-27 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Cougars capitalized on a Mike Hall three-pointer and two more long-bombs from Balderson to regain the lead, 39-37. The Rebels would quickly regain their lead by sensational play from senior forward Blankson, who finished with a career-high 33 points and 13 rebounds. In the last two minutes of play, the Cougars went on a 6-0 run to only trail by one, 60-61 with 18.9 seconds on the clock. With less than 10 seconds to go, BYU center Derek Dawes missed a jump-hook, but Balderson came up with the rebound and was fouled on a three-point shot. Balderson made all three free throws to give BYU a 63-61 lead with 5.6 seconds left. However, UNLV's Jerel Blassingame drove to the basket and connected on a lay-up to send the game into overtime.
BYU jumped on the Rebels to start the extra period, led by sophomore Ainge, who helped lift the Cougars to an eight-point lead. The Rebels never recovered from the Cougars' dominating play and 83.3 percent shooting in O.T., falling even with BYU at 2-5 in league play.
In addition to Balderson and Ainge, the Cougars' third-leading scorer was Hall, who scored 16 points, while Kenna Young added 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. BYU finished the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and 75.8 percent from the charity stripe.
At 8-14 overall and 2-5 in league play, the Cougars take on San Diego State for the second time this season in a 7 p.m. PST (8 p.m. MST) start Monday night in San Diego. The game will be televised by SportsWest (UPN-Z24 in Utah). BYU will return to the Marriott Center to face the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday, February 12 at 7 p.m. MST.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
BYU vs UNLV
02/05/05 12:00 PM at Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nev.
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VISITORS: BYU 8-14, 2-5 MWC
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 4-12 0-0 2-2 2 4 6 2 10 0 4 0 2 39
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... f 7-15 5-9 4-6 2 5 7 1 23 3 3 0 0 37
43 DAWES, Derek........ c 3-6 0-0 3-3 2 7 9 4 9 1 3 1 0 24
01 HALL, Mike.......... g 3-12 2-8 8-10 1 1 2 1 16 1 1 0 5 39
13 AINGE, Austin....... g 5-8 2-5 7-8 0 3 3 3 19 5 4 0 0 42
02 ROSE, Mike.......... 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13
10 NASHIF, Terry....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
20 BURGESS, Sam........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 3
41 MEADS, Garner....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 3
52 JENSEN, Jared....... 1-2 0-0 1-4 1 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 15
54 MILES, Chris........ 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 2 0 1 1 0 8
TEAM................ 2 2 4 1
Totals.............. 24-59 9-24 25-33 12 26 38 16 82 11 18 3 7 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-33 27.3% 2nd Half: 10-20 50.0% OT: 5-6 83.3% Game: 40.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-13 30.8% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% OT: 2-2 100 % Game: 37.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-5 100 % 2nd Half: 13-20 65.0% OT: 7-8 87.5% Game: 75.8% 5
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HOME TEAM: UNLV 9-10, 2-5 MWC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 BLANKSON, Odartey... f 11-20 1-4 10-10 5 8 13 5 33 1 2 2 0 37
22 AMUNDSON, Louis..... c 1-7 0-0 1-2 2 4 6 2 3 1 1 2 1 24
01 BECK, Romel......... g 4-11 1-6 0-0 1 2 3 2 9 3 1 0 0 27
03 UMEH, Michael....... g 1-5 1-2 2-2 1 2 3 2 5 1 3 0 0 28
10 BLASSINGAME, Jerel.. g 3-9 0-3 3-4 2 0 2 1 9 5 7 0 4 36
05 TERRY, Curtis....... 0-3 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 17
11 MORGAN, Ricky....... 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 1 9
12 HANNAN, Andy........ 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 0 1 19
30 ANTHONY, Joel....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 7
41 VILLEPIGUE, Dustin.. 4-6 0-0 2-2 3 4 7 3 10 0 2 1 0 21
TEAM................ 3 3 2
Totals.............. 25-64 3-17 19-22 15 26 41 20 72 15 19 8 7 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-31 38.7% 2nd Half: 10-23 43.5% OT: 3-10 30.0% Game: 39.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-8 0.0% 2nd Half: 2-4 50.0% OT: 1-5 20.0% Game: 17.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-10 90.0% 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% OT: 2-2 100 % Game: 86.4% 1
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Officials: Stanley Reynolds, Greg Burks, Eric Curry
Technical fouls: BYU-None. UNLV-None.
Attendance: 11591
Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT Total
BYU........................... 27 36 19 - 82
UNLV.......................... 33 30 9 - 72
ID-282587
Points in the paint-BY 28,LV 34. Points off turnovers-BY 16,LV 14.
2nd chance points-BY 17,LV 14. Fast break points-BY 2,LV 2.
Bench points-BY 5,LV 13. Score tied-9 times. Lead changes-9 times.