By Matthew Reichman
San Diego State probably wasn?t expecting Jimmer Fredette to be such a thorn in its side, but the BYU freshman tipped the scales in the Cougars? favor with 11 points, including a game-changing three, in BYU?s 59-56 victory Wednesday in the Marriott Center.
BYU (14-5, 3-1 MW) and San Diego State (14-5, 4-1 MW) both struggled with nearly identical shooting, each hitting around 35 percent from the field and 23 percent from behind the arc. In a victory remarkably similar to that against Utah last week, the Cougars mustered the grit to hand the Aztecs their first Mountain West Conference loss.
?We had opportunities but just couldn?t quite make that last play,? San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. ?I think that?s a credit to this home crowd.?
The home crowd helped the Cougars extend their home-winning streak to 41 games, still second in the nation only to No. 1 Memphis, which has a one-game lead.
?Trent [Plaisted] was a huge factor in tonight?s win,? BYU coach Dave Rose said. ?He played long and hard against a very athletic team. Jimmer [Fredette] stepped up really well for us.?
Plaisted led the Cougars with 17 points and 11 rebounds, with guard Lee Cummard right behind him with 12 points. Cougar forward Jonathan Tavernari continued to struggle from three-point land, but stomped into the paint for 10 points anyway. The
Aztecs? Lorrenzo Wade gave BYU a run for its money with 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Neither team is likely to make it onto the highlight reel, but a win is a win.
?I?ll take an ugly loss over a pretty win any day,? Plaisted said.
After the Cougars and the Aztecs traded buckets to start the show, BYU went up 7-4 on a Cummard three-pointer that got the fans on their feet. However, the Cougars? shooting went flat quickly thereafter; they went on a six-minute drought, punctuated just once by a Ben Murdock trey, which opened the door for the Aztecs to take the lead for
the remainder of the half.
Wade was perfect at the free-throw line, and nearly perfect everywhere else, dropping 10 points on the Cougars in the first half. Fredette hit a three with 10 minutes to go for a morale boost that kept the Cougars in the game at 17-13, and then Tavernari and Cummard dropped in some scrappy shots to fill in the gaps. Cummard swished a turnaround jumper that snipped the Aztec lead to one at 28-27 to end the first half.
It looked as if someone left the lid on the rim for Plaisted after his first lay-up, because he then went scoreless until downing four more points in the last minute and a half of the first period.
Coming out of the locker room, Plaisted couldn?t be stopped, and the crowd let the Aztecs know it. He hit the second half?s first six points, while the Cougars kept the Aztecs scoreless several minutes by forcing turnovers. A rash of missed BYU threes kept San Diego State within striking distance until Wade broke away for a dunk plus a foul, and the Aztecs were soon up 35-33.
Fredette hit a three to go up 41-37, which gave the Cougars the edge the Aztecs never could wear down.
A San Diego State three brought the Aztecs so close to a lead they could smell it at 57-56. A one-point lead, 33 seconds left, and the ball in Aztec hands. San Diego State got two shots off in their second-to-last possession, but the wild crowd practically willed the rebound into Ben Murdock?s hands. He quickly passed to a fast-breaking Cummard who promptly tripped in the paint.
?I was going to try to finish at the rim, they had a guy back, I bobbled the ball, my steps weren?t right, and luckily it went off Billy White?s foot,? Cummard said.
Two nerve-wracking Sam Burgess free throws later, the Cougars had their win.
