CLICK TO VIEW GAME NOTES AND QUOTES
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW
PROVO -- The No. 15/14 BYU men’s basketball team got a boost from junior Noah Hartsock's double-double and fought off a pesky Air Force team 76-66 on Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at the Marriott Center.
"It was a hard fought game but we were prepared well and played hard," head coach Dave Rose said. "Air Force is a very physical team. They sped us up a little bit and we didn't shoot the ball as well we are capable of but it was another one of those games where our guys found a way to win and that's really important."
BYU shot 42.1 percent from the field on 24-of-57 shooting, hitting just 9-of-30 three-point shots but made up the difference outrebounding the Falcons 38-25, and hitting 19-of-22 free throws.
"The pace of this game was affected by the number of fouls called but it was a physical game and both teams played physical," Rose said. "We were able to get to the free throw line and convert our free throws which was a big plus for us in this game."
Hartsock scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while senior Jimmer Fredette led all scorers with 22 points. Senior Jackson Emery recorded his 195th career steal, moving him into a tie with Danny Ainge for the BYU record.
The Cougars and Falcons traded baskets for much of the first half, each team playing solid defense with BYU holding a 15-12 lead with 11:35 until halftime.
Junior Charles Abouo had six points, including a three-pointer with 5:24 left in the half amidst a 9-0 Cougar run to extend the BYU lead to 29-17.
Air Force remained in the contest, answering back with a 7-0 run later in the half to cut into the lead. BYU went into the break up 37-30.
Hartsock carried the Cougars with a strong first half performance, tallying six points and bringing down nine rebounds. Fredette added nine points to lead all scorers at halftime.
The Cougars came out of the gates firing after the break, going on an 11-3 run in the first two minutes after the break to push their lead to 48-33.
The three-point line heated up for BYU, with three different players hitting from behind the arc. Hartsock, Fredette and senior Logan Magnusson knocked down treys on consecutive possessions to open up a 57-40 lead with 15:26 remaining.
The Falcons would not go quietly, cutting the lead to single digits at 65-56 with 4:25 on the clock. Trading baskets for the final three minutes, the Cougars would go on to a 10-point victory, 76-66.
No. 15/14 BYU will play at instate rival Utah on Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 6:30 p.m. MT in the Hunstman Center. Live stats and audio links will be available on www.byucougars.com and fans can listen live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m. MT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.
Official Basketball Box Score
Air Force vs BYU Cougars
01/08/11 1:02 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Air Force 10-5, 1-1 MWC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
20 FOW, Tom............ f 3-8 2-5 0-0 1 2 3 2 8 1 1 0 0 20
34 BROEKHUIS, Taylor... c 3-5 0-1 3-6 0 3 3 2 9 1 2 0 0 30
10 FLETCHER, Todd...... g 2-6 0-3 1-2 1 2 3 2 5 1 2 0 3 30
14 LYONS, Michael...... g 5-9 0-1 4-4 0 3 3 4 14 1 1 0 2 28
35 WASHINGTON, Evan.... g 4-7 0-1 0-1 1 5 6 4 8 3 1 0 2 36
05 FITZGERALD, Mike.... 3-3 3-3 4-4 0 2 2 1 13 0 2 0 0 15
13 BOHANNON, Zach...... 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 8
24 BROOKS, Derek....... 2-7 1-3 2-2 0 2 2 4 7 2 3 0 0 22
32 HEMPSEY, Shawn...... 0-2 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 11
TEAM................ 2 2
Totals.............. 22-48 6-17 16-23 5 20 25 19 66 10 12 1 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-25 44.0% 2nd Half: 11-23 47.8% Game: 45.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 35.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-9 55.6% 2nd Half: 11-14 78.6% Game: 69.6% 3,1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 16-1, 2-0 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 DAVIES, Brandon..... f 2-4 0-0 6-7 3 3 6 5 10 1 2 0 1 19
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... f 5-8 2-2 0-0 4 7 11 4 12 2 0 0 0 36
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g 2-11 2-11 2-2 1 2 3 1 8 5 3 0 1 37
31 COLLINSWORTH, Kyle.. g 2-5 0-1 3-4 3 3 6 0 7 3 2 1 0 25
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 6-14 3-8 7-7 0 3 3 1 22 2 4 0 0 38
01 ABOUO, Charles...... 3-7 1-4 1-2 1 3 4 3 8 1 0 0 1 16
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan.... 1-2 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 4 3 0 0 0 0 10
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock...... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
21 ROGERS, Stephen..... 3-5 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 4 6 1 2 0 1 17
TEAM................ 2 2
Totals.............. 24-57 9-30 19-22 13 25 38 22 76 15 13 1 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-31 38.7% 2nd Half: 12-26 46.2% Game: 42.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-15 26.7% 2nd Half: 5-15 33.3% Game: 30.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-10 90.0% 2nd Half: 10-12 83.3% Game: 86.4% 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Rick Batsell, Tony Padilla, Glen Mayberry
Technical fouls: Air Force-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 22700
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Air Force..................... 30 36 - 66
BYU Cougars................... 37 39 - 76
Marriott Center sellout.
Jackson Emery ties Danny Ainge for school record in career steals - 195.
Points in the paint-AF 22,BY 26. Points off turnovers-AF 13,BY 14.
2nd chance points-AF 4,BY 18. Fast break points-AF 2,BY 6.
Bench points-AF 22,BY 17. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-3 times.
Last FG-AF 2nd-01:19, BY 2nd-00:43.
Largest lead-AF by 5 1st-18:39, BY by 18 2nd-14:10.