Cougars cruise to victory in Idaho

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    By Daniel Whitehead

    A raucous Idaho State crowd wasn”t enough to slow down the visiting BYU men”s basketball team Saturday night as the Cougars came away with an 85-65 victory for their second win away from home and an overall record of 6-0.

    The undefeated mark is the best start the Cougars have enjoyed since the 1991-92 season.

    “I was really proud of how our players responded to playing a good team in a difficult environment,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “We came in very prepared but didn”t get off to a good start.”

    The Bengals raced to a 12-6 lead early, only to see BYU captains Lee Cummard and Jonathan Tavernari and the remaining starters utilize two big scoring runs in the first half to give the Cougars a 40-28 halftime cushion.

    The Cougars used 16-2 and 14-0 scoring spurts in the first half to help their cause, utilizing every player on the court to take advantage of the Bengals. During the 14-0 burst, the Bengals had pulled within four points at 26-22 before BYU kicked it into gear for a 40-22 lead three minutes before halftime.

    Four BYU players scored in double figures. Leading the way was Tavernari who put in 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two steals, effectively diminishing a scoreless performance a week earlier against Cal Poly.

    Sophomore Jimmer Fredette tied two career highs with 19 points and six assists, and fellow guard Jackson Emery set a personal record of 15 points. Cummard contributed 17 points with three assists and three steals.

    Overall, the team shot 56 percent from the field and nearly 40 percent from 3-point range. The Bengals were held to 41 percent shooting. Matt Stucki led Idaho State with 19 points while star Amorrow Morgan, who was averaging 22.7 points per game, was held to seven points.

    Rose praised Emery for his efforts.

    “I thought Jackson was terrific tonight,” Rose said. “He had a tough assignment guarding Morgan. He made plays on the ball and had active hands. He did a great job with his assignment and held a very good player to seven points.”

    A highly defensive game plan was evidenced by 16 Cougar points off Bengal turnovers in the first half alone.

    The Bengals stuck around for various parts of the second half, but Tavernari and Emery would quickly put any attempt to come back to rest. Freshman Charles Abouo also made critical buckets to keep the opponents at bay.

    The Cougars return home for a few days before heading up the freeway Wednesday night to face instate-foe Weber State. The Cougars will then face Utah State on Saturday at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

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