PROVO -- A trio of newcomers helped BYU open exhibition play Friday with an 81-54 victory over the University of Victoria at the Marriott Center in front of 8,407 fans.

Freshman Lee Cummard led the way for the Cougars with 23 points in his debut, fueling a second-half surge that turned a tight first half into a blowout. With 19 of his game-high total coming in the second frame, Cummard paced BYU to outscore the Vikes by 23 points in the final 20 minutes while adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

"In the second half our guys played with a lot more purpose," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "I really believe that the last 10 to 12 minutes came down to mental toughness. For the most part I was pleased with our effort."

Trent Plaisted, a freshman who received a medical redshirt last season after playing in five games, showed his return to full health by posting 11 points and six rebounds as the starting center.

Junior-college transfer Fernando Malaman made his presence felt early, scoring seven points in his first 2:20 of playing time while adding a rebound and a block. The 6-foot-7 junior from Limeria, Brazil, finished with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and had two blocks.

The British Columbia-based Vikes came in with a 7-0 record and kept the game close in the first half by connecting on three 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes to take an 18-17 lead. After trading baskets the rest of the half, the Cougars took the lead at 31-29 at the 1:44 mark on a 3-pointer from junior Jimmy Balderson.

Balderson's bucket put BYU on top for good as it came out firing in the second half, using a 19-4 run to build a 60-39 cushion and cruise to the victory. After a 39.4 percent shooting performance in the first half, the Cougars warmed up to sink 60 percent of their shots from the floor in the second half. Balderson was one of four Cougars in double figures with 10 points, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

"In the first half we were really impatient," Rose said. "A lot of guys were hunting out shots. Our effort was really good, but we've got some execution issues to deal with."

BYU held the Vikes 19 points below their season scoring average of 72.7 and won the rebounding battle 45-33. Steve Moore finished with a team-high 11 points for Victoria and Jacob Doerksen nabbed a game-high seven boards.

"BYU has some athletes, they have lots of potential, and they seem to be a lot deeper this year," Victoria head coach Craig Beaucamp said. "We gave them too many easy scores in the second half and that helped them gain confidence."

Junior Keena Young led the Cougars with three steals while junior Austin Ainge tied for a team-high six rebounds. Senior Brock Reichner added five assists and eight points.

Injuries kept guards Mike Rose (lip laceration) and Rashaun Broadus (ankle sprain) out of the game. Both are expected to be ready to play for the season opener against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 18.

BYU will return to the Marriott Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. for its final exhibition matchup against Seattle Pacific.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
University of Victoria vs BYU Cougars
cd/04/05 7:00 at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: University of Victoria
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
14 HASS, Tyler......... f  1-1    0-0    1-2    3  3  6   4   3  2  3  1  0  26
24 DOERKSEN, Jacob..... f  4-16   0-7    0-0    1  6  7   1   8  0  1  0  3  33
32 MOORE, Steve........ f  5-7    1-2    0-1    0  2  2   0  11  2  0  0  1  23
10 ELLIS, Brandon...... g  4-11   1-3    1-1    1  3  4   2  10  0  3  0  0  31
12 TRUMPY, Chris....... g  2-12   0-3    0-1    1  1  2   4   4  8  1  0  3  31
11 SPOOR, Chris........    2-2    1-1    0-0    0  4  4   0   5  2  3  0  1  17
15 BOLLINGER, Graeme...    2-4    0-0    1-2    1  0  1   2   5  0  1  0  1  14
23 KUZMINSKI, Matt.....    1-3    1-3    2-2    0  1  1   0   5  0  3  0  0  14
30 KINNEAR, Rob........    0-1    0-0    1-2    0  1  1   0   1  0  1  0  0   3
52 KAJFES, Ivan........    1-5    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   2  0  1  0  0   4
55 INDOME, Cyril.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  1  0  0   4
   TEAM................                            4  4
   Totals..............   22-62   4-19   6-11   8 25 33  13  54 15 18  1  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-29 37.9%   2nd Half: 11-33 33.3%   Game: 35.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-11 27.3%   2nd Half:  1-8  12.5%   Game: 21.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-7  57.1%   2nd Half:  2-4  50.0%   Game: 54.5%    2
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars
                          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  2-6    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   1   4  2  1  1  4  16
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... f  5-8    0-0    1-2    1  5  6   3  11  0  1  0  1  25
13 AINGE, Austin....... g  2-7    0-3    0-0    1  5  6   2   4  3  2  0  2  32
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... g  3-6    2-3    2-4    2  4  6   1  10  3  1  1  1  33
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ g 10-16   1-3    2-2    2  3  5   2  23  4  1  0  2  27
04 EMERY, Jackson......    1-2    0-1    1-2    0  3  3   3   3  2  3  0  0  10
11 REICHNER, Brock.....    3-7    0-1    2-2    0  2  2   1   8  5  0  0  1  18
15 MALAMAN, Fernando...    5-6    1-2    0-0    1  2  3   2  11  1  1  2  1  20
34 BURGESS, David......    2-9    0-0    1-2    2  4  6   2   5  1  1  2  0  13
41 ODJEGBA, Jermaine...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
43 DAWES, Derek........    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  0  1  0  1   4
   TEAM................                            3  3
   Totals..............   34-68   4-13   9-14  10 35 45  17  81 21 12  6 13 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-33 39.4%   2nd Half: 21-35 60.0%   Game: 50.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-10 30.0%   2nd Half:  1-3  33.3%   Game: 30.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-6  66.7%   2nd Half:  5-8  62.5%   Game: 64.3%    4
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Officials: Scott Thornley, Mike Littlewood, Ken Nielsen
Technical fouls: University of Victoria-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 8407
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
University of Victoria........   29   25  -   54
BYU Cougars...................   33   48  -   81
Exhibition Game
Points in the paint-UV 20,BY 42. Points off turnovers-UV 9,BY 12.
2nd chance points-UV 4,BY 13. Fast break points-UV 4,BY 16.
Bench points-UV 18,BY 29. Score tied-4 times. Lead changes-6 times.

PROVO -- The BYU men's basketball team opens its exhibition season Friday when the Cougars host the University of Victoria at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The British Columbia-based team is off to a 7-0 start this season, including five exhibition victories.

Friday's game will be broadcast live on KSL Newsradio, which can be heard on 102.7 FM or 1160 AM. Greg Wrubell and Russell Larson will call the game, which is also available online at KSL.com.

BYU is coming off a competitive blue-white scrimmage Friday at the annual Cougar Tipoff. Junior guard Sam Burgess scored a game-best 21 points during the scrimmage but will not be playing Friday after a decision to redshirt Burgess this season was reached on Monday. Transfer forward Fernando Malaman, a 6-foot-9 junior out of Arizona Western College, added 20 points at the Tipoff, while redshirt freshman David Burgess pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

"We saw a lot of good things that tend to make us think we are on the right track," BYU coach Dave Rose said of his team's effort at the Cougar Tipoff. "It was a really competitive game. We hope to keep making progress when we actually play against an opponent on Friday when we face Victoria."

The Vikes' most recent win, an 84-71 victory over Trinity Western, saw all five of their starters score in double figures, led by freshman guard Steve Moore with 16. Forward Jacob Doerksen has scored in double-figures in six of the Vikes' first seven games and is ranked 13th in the Canada West Conference with a 15.3 scoring average. Point guard Chris Trumpy has also played well for Victoria, averaging 14.0 points per game while ranking third in the league with 5.86 assists per game. As a team, the Vikes are scoring 72.7 ppg while holding their opponents to 59.4 ppg.

Victoria is making a three-game swing to the States. After playing BYU, Victoria will face Weber State on Saturday, followed by the University of Colorado on Sunday.

SAM BURGESS TO REDSHIRT

BYU coach Dave Rose announced Monday after practice that junior guard Sam Burgess will redshirt the upcoming season. The 6-foot-3 guard from Alpine, Utah, is one of nine juniors on the roster this year. He joins junior Vuk Ivanovic, who must sit out due to transfer rules, as players who will not use a year of eligibility in 2005-06. Other players could also join them as redshirts.

"As a coach there are guys you love to coach and Sam is that kind of player," Rose explained. "He has a competitive spirit, is a good athlete and plays to win. He also has the mental toughness to use this year the best. He will work hard and improve and still help our team this season (in practice). He is plenty good enough to play this year but with so many players in this class, we needed to address that situation. As a staff, we feel this will help our team in the long run and also be good for Sam. We want to invest in Sam and commit to him another year. In that third year, he's going to be a player who will really help us."

Burgess scored a game-high 21 points at Cougar Tipoff on Friday, the team's annual blue-white scrimmage. He went 7-for-12 from the floor, including 4-for-6 on threes, and was 3-of-4 from the line while adding five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 33 minutes on the floor.