Cougars Earn Wire-to-Wire Victory

PROVO -- BYU used big runs at the start of both halves to maintain the lead throughout and withstood several Colorado State rallies to earn a 77-69 win at home Wednesday. The Cougars improved to 19-7 overall and 11-4 in the Mountain West Conference while the Rams fell to 15-13 overall and 4-11 in the MWC.

Despite being picked to finish last in the preseason media poll, the Cougars are now tied with Air Force for second place in the league. The win makes BYU 9-1 in its last 10 games and extends the Cougars' home win streak to 13.

"Our effort was good tonight," said BYU coach Dave Rose. "We stayed focused, especially at the start of the two halves."

Rashaun Broadus led BYU with 13 points and four assists while four other Cougars scored in double-digits, including Trent Plaisted (10), Brock Reichner (12), Fernando Malaman (11) and Jimmy Balderson (12). Keena Young led the team in rebounds with six, and Malaman had a career-high four steals. As a team, BYU shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field, including 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) from three-point range.

"You have to make perimeter shots against this team," Rose said. "Their size caused a lot of problems."

Michael Harrison led Colorado State with game-highs of 17 points and seven rebounds while Cory Lewis added 13 points, Stuart Creason 11 and Jason Smith 10. The Rams hit 48.2 percent (27-56) from the field but could not overcome 21 turnovers that the Cougars converted into 27 points.

BYU jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a three by Reichner on the first possession of the game and then back-to-back hustle plays by Jackson Emery. With his team leading 3-0, Emery came out of nowhere and grabbed an offensive rebound and then dumped it off to Young who drove to the basket for a layup. Emery then stole a pass at the top of the key and took it himself for an easy bucket.

After a Harrison basket, Broadus took over, scoring 11 of BYU's next 15 points during a 15-4 run that gave the Cougars a 16-point lead at 22-6, its biggest lead of the half. Broadus hit three treys and two free throws during the run, and Plaisted added the other four BYU points.

Leading 31-17 with less than nine minutes to go in the half, the Cougars went cold and the Rams caught fire. Colorado State outscored BYU 17-6 to get within three at the half at 37-34. Cory Lewis scored five points during the run, including a three with 10 seconds left in the first period.

The Cougars built their lead in the first half behind hot shooting from behind the arc, hitting 7-of-10 in the first period. Broadus was 3-for-4, and Balderson hit both of his attempts.

BYU had no trouble regaining the momentum in the second half, scoring the first 11 points to push the lead back to double-digits at 48-34. Reichner scored four during the run, including two free throws following a technical foul on Colorado State coach Dave Layer.

A bucket by Lewis stopped the run, but the Cougars added six unanswered to increase the lead to a game-high 18 at 56-34. The Rams made two runs late in the game, including a 12-3 spurt that cut BYU's lead to nine at 67-58 and a 7-0 run that made the score 73-67, but it was not enough as the Cougars held on for the win.

BYU will conclude its regular season at home against New Mexico on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. A win would clinch at least a share of second place in the MWC.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Colorado State Rams vs BYU Cougars
3-1-06 7:05 p.m. at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Colorado State Rams 15-13, 4-11 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
13 ROBINSON, Freddy.... f  1-6    0-1    0-0    0  2  2   2   2  2  2  0  2  23
14 SMITH, Jason........ f  5-15   0-1    1-2    0  5  5   0  11  2  3  1  2  31
55 HARRISON, Michael... f  7-15   0-0    3-4    2  5  7   3  17  4  3  1  1  38
04 LEWIS, Cory......... g  4-6    1-1    4-4    2  3  5   1  13  4  6  0  2  33
33 GILLING, Stephan.... g  3-5    2-4    0-0    1  1  2   2   8  1  0  0  1  18
01 MORRIS, Sean........    1-1    1-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   3  0  2  0  1   5
21 PATTERSON, Andrew...    1-1    1-1    0-0    1  2  3   3   3  0  2  0  0  19
30 CREASON, Stuart.....    5-6    0-0    1-1    1  2  3   3  11  0  3  3  1  24
32 MORRIS, Micheal.....    0-1    0-1    1-2    1  2  3   1   1  3  0  0  0   9
   TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   27-56   5-10  10-13  10 23 33  15  69 16 21  5 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-26 50.0%   2nd Half: 14-30 46.7%   Game: 48.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-5  40.0%   2nd Half:  3-5  60.0%   Game: 50.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-7  85.7%   2nd Half:  4-6  66.7%   Game: 76.9%    1
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 19-7, 11-4 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 YOUNG, Keena........ f  4-11   0-0    0-0    2  4  6   2   8  3  1  0  0  18
04 EMERY, Jackson...... f  1-4    0-3    0-0    1  4  5   2   2  3  2  1  2  17
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... c  2-5    0-0    6-10   3  2  5   4  10  1  3  0  0  29
01 BROADUS, Rashaun.... g  3-8    3-5    4-5    0  2  2   1  13  4  5  0  4  31
11 REICHNER, Brock..... g  4-7    2-3    2-2    1  3  4   0  12  0  2  0  0  32
13 AINGE, Austin.......    2-2    2-2    0-0    0  2  2   2   6  1  1  0  0   9
15 MALAMAN, Fernando...    4-9    1-3    2-2    2  2  4   3  11  2  2  1  4  31
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy....    4-9    2-2    2-2    2  1  3   3  12  1  0  0  0  23
30 CUMMARD, Lee........    1-3    1-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   3  1  0  0  0   8
43 DAWES, Derek........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   25-58  11-19  16-21  12 21 33  18  77 16 16  2 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-27 44.4%   2nd Half: 13-31 41.9%   Game: 43.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  7-10 70.0%   2nd Half:  4-9  44.4%   Game: 57.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-6  100 %   2nd Half: 10-15 66.7%   Game: 76.2%    3
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Officials: Bill Gracey, Mike Scyphers, Terry Christman
Technical fouls: Colorado State Rams-TEAM. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 11535
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Colorado State Rams...........   34   35  -   69
BYU Cougars...................   37   40  -   77
Points in the paint-CS 34,BY 18. Points off turnovers-CS 23,BY 27.
2nd chance points-CS 11,BY 11. Fast break points-CS 6,BY 6.
Bench points-CS 18,BY 32. Score tied-0 times. Lead changes-0 times.