Bigelow's Big Game Lifts Cougars Past Cowboys

LARAMIE -- Mark Bigelow scored 21 points, including 16 in the first half, to lead three Cougars in double figures past the Cowboys 67-53 Saturday afternoon in the Arena-Auditorium.

"You win games like these typically with seniors," coach Steve Cleveland said of Bigelow's performance, "Mark along with Rafa (Araujo), Shoff, Woodberry and Lemes gave us a big lift tonight."

BYU jumped out to a quick lead in the first half as Mike Hall and Bigelow each hit three-pointers to open the game for the Cougars, and Bigelow added another basket to cap an 8-0 run.

The Cougars extended their lead to 10 at 25-15 with just over seven minutes left before intermission following Bigelow's fourth three of the first half. The Cowboys, however, would reel off 10 straight points to tie the game at 25, before BYU would extend its lead to three at the break.

Rafael Araujo was sitting on the bench during Wyoming's run with two fouls, allowing the Cowboys to score in the paint. Before he was forced to sit because of foul trouble, Araujo had been a strong defensive presence in the post and had twice used his quickness to intercept Cowboy entry passes in the first half. He finished with three steals for the game.

The Cougars opened the second half much like they did the first half, extending their lead to 11 points with 12:10 on a basket by Luiz Lemes, capping a 6-0 BYU run.

The Cowboys kept hanging around, cutting the Cougars' lead to six points at 56-50 after a three-point basket by Mikel Watson. Wyoming had an opportunity to cut BYU's lead to four, but David Adams, a 77 percent free-throw shooter, missed two straight foul shots, and BYU outscored the Cowboys 11-3 to close the game and account for the final score.

"In the last five minutes of the game, we were in control," Cleveland said. "Road wins are always the ones you cherish the most."

After hitting just 5-of-34 three-pointers in two games last week, the Cougars recovered to hit 7-of-15 in this game, including a season-high four three-pointers by Bigelow.

"I told Mark, 'If you're open, shoot the ball," Cleveland said, trying to infuse confidence in the senior forward.

Hall followed up his 20-point game with another solid outing scoring 13 points, while Araujo added 12 points and nine boards, just missing his 13th double-double of the season. Joe Ries led the Cowboys with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

With the victory the Cougars end a five-game losing streak on the road and improve to 5-4 in the Mountain West Conference and 15-7 overall. The Cowboys drop to 2-7 in the conference and 9-13 overall.

BYU will end its two-game road trip in Fort Collins, Colo., when it faces Colorado State Monday at 10 p.m. in an ESPN Big Monday game.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Brigham Young Cougars vs Wyoming Cowboys
2-14-04 1:00 PM at Laramie, Wyo. (Arena Auditorium)
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VISITORS: Brigham Young Cougars 15-7 (5-4 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 BIGELOW, Mark....... f  7-12   4-7    3-4    0  1  1   2  21  3  0  0  3  33
41 MEADS, Garner....... f  0-2    0-0    0-2    0  1  1   2   0  0  2  0  2  20
55 ARAUJO, Rafael...... c  6-11   0-0    0-0    0  9  9   4  12  3  2  0  3  28
01 HALL, Mike.......... g  5-6    2-3    1-2    0  1  1   1  13  0  3  0  1  29
04 LEMES, Luiz......... g  3-6    1-1    2-2    1  4  5   1   9  3  2  0  2  30
00 WOODBERRY, Kevin....    2-9    0-4    2-2    0  5  5   0   6  2  2  2  0  26
02 ROSE, Mike..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
05 SHOFF, Jake.........    1-1    0-0    2-2    2  1  3   4   4  0  1  0  0  22
52 JENSEN, Jared.......    0-0    0-0    2-2    1  0  1   2   2  0  1  0  0  10
   TEAM................                            4  4
   Totals..............   24-47   7-15  12-16   4 26 30  16  67 11 13  2 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-25 48.0%   2nd Half: 12-22 54.5%   Game: 51.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  6-11 54.5%   2nd Half:  1-4  25.0%   Game: 46.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-2   0.0%   2nd Half: 12-14 85.7%   Game: 75.0%    3
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HOME TEAM: Wyoming Cowboys 9-13 (2-7 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 ROTTINGHAUS, David.. f  0-3    0-2    1-2    2  2  4   0   1  2  4  0  1  20
25 RIES, Joe........... f  7-11   0-0    2-3    5  6 11   1  16  1  3  0  1  34
31 CORREA, Mory........ f  0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   2
03 STRAIGHT, Jay....... g  2-9    0-4    1-2    2  1  3   2   5  3  2  0  1  33
23 ADAMS, David........ g  3-7    1-5    0-2    1  0  1   4   7  0  1  0  0  23
00 MAKUN, Omoniyi......    2-3    0-0    1-1    1  3  4   3   5  0  0  0  0   6
02 WEBB, Jerry.........    0-0    0-0    0-2    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
04 SHERRELL, Dion......    3-10   0-6    0-0    3  1  4   2   6  0  1  0  0  19
13 DUNN, Alex..........    3-6    0-0    1-2    1  4  5   0   7  0  2  2  1  33
24 WATSON, Mikel.......    2-10   1-4    1-2    0  1  1   1   6  2  0  0  0  20
32 WILDENBORG, Ryan....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  1  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   22-59   2-21   7-16  16 20 36  14  53  8 14  2  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-29 37.9%   2nd Half: 11-30 36.7%   Game: 37.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-9  11.1%   2nd Half:  1-12  8.3%   Game:  9.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-8  50.0%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 43.8%    4
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Officials: Bill Gracey, Randy McCall and Ronnie Hernandez
Technical fouls: Brigham Young Cougars-None. Wyoming Cowboys-None.
Attendance: 10218
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young Cougars.........   30   37  -   67
Wyoming Cowboys...............   27   26  -   53
Points in the paint-BY 24,WY 32. Points off turnovers-BY 19,WY 14.
2nd chance points-BY 2,WY 11. Fast break points-BY 4,WY 0.
Bench points-BY 12,WY 24. Score tied-1 time. Lead changes-0 times.