BYU Back Home, Defeat Florida International By 28
Provo, Utah (Dec. 7, 2000) -- After a road trip that saw BYU drop two games in a row by shooting 32 percent from the field, the Cougars were back on track Thursday night in the Marriott Center, defeating Florida International, 78-50.
BYU came out hot, hitting six three-pointers in the first ten minutes of the game, including three in a row by Daniel Bobik in less than a three minute span at the 15-minute mark. The most three-pointers in a game this year by BYU is seven, which they tied tonight when Terrell Lyday hit the only three-pointer of the second half just 17 seconds after the second half started.
"BYU shot the ball very well tonight," said FIU Coach Donnie Marsh. "I heard they were in a slump, but they must have broken out of it tonight. We knew that (Mekeli) Wesley and Lyday would get their shots, we wanted to try and make someone else step up. When Bobik came in and hit those threes, he really gave them a lift."
The Cougars led at half, 30-23, but tallied 48 in the second half, outscoring Florida International by 21 points.
"I tried to challenge this team three times in the first half because they were just too lethargic," said BYU Coach Steve Cleveland. "I thought they responded in the second half."
As usual, Lyday and Wesley led the Cougars, scoring 16 points each, followed by Bobik's nine points scored on his three-point barrage. Matt Montague also hit a three-pointer. Montague has already doubled his season total from last year and has the best three-point percentage on the team, hitting six of seven on the year.
"Matt has had a tough week," Cleveland said. "I really challenged him at halftime and he responded. He hasn't been in sync and our team hasn't been in sync and it was nice to just see a flow in a game."
Carlos Arroyo led the Golden Panthers with 14 points and Karel Rosario added 13. Rosario also pulled down six rebounds, but as a team, the Cougars won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Florida International, 33-18.
BYU is back in action on Saturday night when they travel to Houston to face Rice University. The game will be palyed in the Compaq Center at 5 p.m. CST as part of a double-header also featuring North Carolina and Texas A&M. The game will not be televised.
