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USAFA -- BYU took an early lead over Air Force and never trailed, defeating the Falcons 90-52 on Wednesday in Clune Arena. Although just nine players dressed out for the injury-ridden Cougars, the win was a true team effort for BYU as eight players scored, four players scoring in double-digits.
The Cougars were led by Jimmer Fredette who scored 25 points, handed out five assists, grabbed 4 rebounds and tallied three steals. Jackson Emery added 17 points and also distributed 5 assists. However, it was the big man Brandon Davies who led the team in assists with six. Davies also posted 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
"Our preparation was terrific the last two days in practice," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "These guys are competitive and they know the importance of every game and they gave a great effort and that effort turned into a great victory."
As a team BYU recorded 15 threes, tying a team record set in 2007 against UNLV. The 90 points are also the most allowed by Air Force at home since Jan. 15, 2000.
The Cougars got off to a 7-0 start with their first five points coming from Fredette. The senior guard added a steal and an assist in the first three minutes of play forcing Air Force to call an early timeout. Coming out of the huddle, the Falcons battled back to come within three of BYU with the score 15-12.
Valuable minutes by Stephen Rogers, Noah Hartsock and Logan Magnusson extended the Cougar lead, each scoring one basket. Hartsock also recorded two blocks within one minute giving the Oklahoma native 100 career blocks. Following a media timeout, Rogers recorded a block of his own on one end and then nailed two consecutive treys on offense to lead a 16-0 run and giving BYU a 28-12 lead.
The Falcons responded by hitting three straight three-pointers to go on a 11-0 run of their own to cut the Cougar lead to eight, holding BYU scoreless for over six minutes of play. The Cougars would go into the half with an 11-point advantage.
Despite Air Force coming out of the locker room with an immediate dunk, BYU proceeded to go on 14-0 run led as four Cougars scored in the first four minutes and BYU extended its lead to 23. With 10:47 remaining, Hartsock found Davies open under the basket for a one-handed dunk as the Cougars maintained a substantial lead over the Falcons.
After suffering a poor shooting start, Emery heated up with 8:30 left to play posting a dunk of his own followed by two treys to extend the BYU lead to 27. Emery would hit another trey before the game’s end as the Cougars went on to win 90-52.
Next up, BYU will face University of Utah in Provo on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
Official Basketball Box Score
BYU vs Air Force
2/9/11 8:00 p.m. at USAFA, Colo. (Clune Arena)
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VISITORS: BYU 23-2, 9-1 MWC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 DAVIES, Brandon..... f 5-5 0-0 3-3 0 8 8 3 13 6 2 1 0 31
01 ABOUO, Charles...... f 3-5 1-2 0-0 1 3 4 2 7 2 1 0 2 29
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... f 3-5 1-2 0-0 2 5 7 3 7 3 2 3 0 25
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g 6-12 5-11 0-0 0 1 1 3 17 5 2 0 2 29
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g 8-16 5-8 4-4 0 4 4 0 25 5 6 0 3 35
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan.... 3-4 0-1 0-1 2 5 7 0 6 2 0 0 0 18
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock...... 1-4 0-2 2-3 0 2 2 2 4 1 0 0 0 8
14 MARTINEAU, Nick..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
21 ROGERS, Stephen..... 4-5 3-4 0-0 0 5 5 0 11 0 1 2 2 20
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 33-57 15-30 9-11 6 35 41 13 90 24 14 6 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-28 46.4% 2nd Half: 20-29 69.0% Game: 57.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 8-18 44.4% 2nd Half: 7-12 58.3% Game: 50.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100 % 2nd Half: 7-9 77.8% Game: 81.8% 0
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HOME TEAM: Air Force 13-10, 4-6 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 4-11 3-7 0-0 1 2 3 1 11 3 0 0 0 30
34 BROEKHUIS, Taylor... c 2-6 1-1 1-2 0 3 3 2 6 1 2 1 1 22
10 FLETCHER, Todd...... g 2-6 1-2 0-0 0 3 3 2 5 4 3 0 1 30
14 LYONS, Michael...... g 4-14 1-5 2-4 2 1 3 1 11 1 3 0 1 35
35 WASHINGTON, Evan.... g 3-7 1-1 0-0 1 6 7 2 7 4 4 0 0 28
05 FITZGERALD, Mike.... 2-4 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 4 1 1 1 0 19
13 BOHANNON, Zach...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 4 0 0 2 0 0 11
15 STEWART, Taylor..... 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 6
24 BROOKS, Derek....... 3-6 1-3 0-0 1 0 1 3 7 1 1 0 2 17
32 HEMPSEY, Shawn...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 20-58 8-21 4-8 6 20 26 17 52 16 16 2 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-28 35.7% 2nd Half: 10-30 33.3% Game: 34.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-11 27.3% Game: 38.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 50.0% 1
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Officials: Rick Hartzell, Eric Curry, Hal Lusk
Technical fouls: BYU-None. Air Force-None.
Attendance: 6028
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
BYU........................... 36 54 - 90
Air Force..................... 25 27 - 52
Points in the paint-BY 28,AF 16. Points off turnovers-BY 26,AF 8.
2nd chance points-BY 7,AF 1. Fast break points-BY 6,AF 8.
Bench points-BY 21,AF 12. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-BY 2nd-01:27, AF 2nd-00:43.
Largest lead-BY by 40 2nd-01:27, AF None.