Cougars have night of records, beat Pepperdine

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The BYU men’s basketball team had a couple of players who reached career milestones as the Cougars rebounded from their home loss on Thursday by beating Pepperdine on Saturday 77-64 in Malibu, Calif.

Junior forward Brandon Davies had a career-high 29 points for the Cougars (17-5, 6-2 West Coast Conference) who were determined to get the ball inside for points in the paint. Davies went to the line 18 times, capitalizing on 15 of them for an 83 percent conversion rate.

[media-credit name=”Associated Press” align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]
BYU's Brandon Davies (0) drives against Pepperdine's Taylor Darby, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Moraga, Calif. BYU won 77-64. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
“We learned a lot from our game the other night and we threw it inside a lot,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “Tonight was a game we had to win and you have to figure out how any way you can.”

Senior forward Noah Hartsock became the 43rd player in BYU history to hit the 1,000-point mark in a career as he hit a free three with just over eight minutes to go in the game. He finished the game with 20 points.

“A lot of guys knew Noah and Brandon would have a real advantage,” Rose said. “I’m real proud of the guys.”

Senior forward Taylor Darby had a career-high 21 points for the Waves (7-12, 1-7), who lost their seventh straight game of the season. Senior Corbin Moore scored 14 and junior Joshua Lowery added 10.

The Cougars still couldn’t find the answer to their struggles from the 3-point line as they made just 2-for-11 from beyond the arc. However, their field goal percentage improved from their 38.3 percent performance against Loyola Marymount on Thursday. They shot 46.9 percent from the floor against the Waves, and scored 30 points in the paint.

“A big difference was we had more patience,” Rose said. “There were a few possessions where we would take the ball inside and pass out and back in. A lot of it was patience and determination.”

Proof of that was in the way that BYU continued its conference-leading assist-to-basket ratio, getting assists on 14 of its 23 makes, and 11-of-15 in the first half.

Senior guard Charles Abouo had 15 points in the game, 13 of which came in the first half, helping the Cougars overcome an early 11-2 deficit,  and allowing them to take a 14-point lead into halftime.

The Cougars travel literally across the country as they will play Virginia Tech on Wednesday night at 5 pm. The game will be available for viewing on ESPN3.

“We’ll get back to playing like we’re supposed to be playing when we get a little rest and get back on track,” Rose said.

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