By Nicholas Goodfellow
With a 43-game winning streak on the line, the Cougars showed no mercy as they dismantled the UNLV Runnin” Rebels in front of one of the largest crowds of the year Thursday night, Jan. 16 in the Marriott Center.
The Cougars led early and never looked back as they beat the Rebels 85-77, extending their nation-leading home winning streak to 44 in front of a crowd of nearly 18 thousand.
“We spent the last ten days trying to be a more efficient team offensively,” head coach Steve Cleveland said. “We took care of the ball, we were unselfish, and we had as good a execution offensively as we had all year.”
BYU looked sluggish early, beginning the game two quick misses and gave up four quick points to UNLV”s two big scorers, Dalron Johnson and Marcus Banks.
But Terry Nashif and Kevin Woodberry quickly took Marcus Banks out of rhythm, and the hot shooting from Saturday”s win over Idaho State had apparently not yet worn off as the Cougars reeled off nine straight points on three”s by Travis Hansen and Mark Bigelow.
Hansen and Bigelow play better when they score early and it showed again tonight.
“I was just open, so I shot it,” junior guard Travis Hansen said. “I just keep playing hard. I have a lot of confidence in myself.”
BYU controlled the first half from that point on by throwing the ball inside to Rafael Araujo for some easy buckets, and that opened up the perimeter for the shooters.
Defensively they were able to keep UNLV”s leading scorer, Marcus Banks to just four points on 2-of-6 shooting in the first half.
“The start of the game was run at BYU”s pace,” UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonhour said. “Any time you dig yourselves into a 10-point hole on the road, it”s tough to come back from.”
The Cougars as a team shot 46 percent from the field and a scorching 62 percent from the three point ark led by Mark Bigelow”s 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting as the Cougars took a ten point lead into the locker room.
The beginning of the half was no different as the Cougars came out on fire, outscoring the Rebels 10-5 in the first three minutes as Travis Hansen scored 7 of the Cougars first 10 points and the Cougars increased their lead to 15 at 53-38.
The Runnin” Rebels were not about to give up as they slowly picked away at BYU”s defense and brought the game to within five with four minutes to go. But BYU”s defense has been its strongest asset all year and it showed as the team held the Rebels to only eight points in the final four minutes of the game.
Rafael Araujo continues to be the most improved player on the team as he was a dominant force inside both offensively and defensively.
“The first half I was tired,” Araujo said. “But in the second half I needed to get more focused.”
He was more focused to the tune of 22 points and 14 rebounds.
“He is always intense,” Travis Hansen said of Araujo. “He loves the game; he loves to work hard.”
The win was even sweeter for Araujo, who made the decision to come to BYU only after he turned down UNLV”s offer.
“I have respect for how the guys play,” Araujo said of UNLV. “But I made the right decision to come here.”
With the win BYU goes to 12-4 on the season and 8-0 at home.
Next game for the Cougars is Monday night when they visit the Aztecs of San Diego State. Game time is 7 p.m.
