LAS -- The Cougars could not mount the second-half comeback they needed Wednesday night at UNLV, losing 82-72 to fall to 9-5 on the season and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV is the lone unbeaten team in MWC play, improving to 2-0 and 8-6 overall.

"I thought the pressure caused us problems," said BYU Coach Dave Rose. "We never really got into a flow where we could go possession after possession after possession and execute our offense the way we wanted to."

The loss marks BYU's third straight road loss of the year as the Cougars are now 1-4 on the road and 7-1 at home.

"Any coach is concerned anytime his team gets beat anywhere," said Rose. It's important for us to stay positive and believe that we're a good team. That's been our focus from day one. We have a lot of confidence in certain things. Right now, securing the road win in conference play is something we have to figure out how to do.

Both teams came out slow to start the game as each squad made just one shot in the first 4:48 of the first half. UNLV scored first on the opening possession 21 seconds into the game while BYU did not make its first basket until the 17:22 mark when Fernando Malaman found the hoop. Neither team scored again from the field until the 16:12 mark when a Rebel three-pointer followed by a steal and a layin gave UNLV an early 8-2 lead.

The Cougars put together a 7-2 spurt of their own from there as Rashaun Broadus hit a big three-pointer and Derek Dawes and Brock Reichner both contributed on the offensive end of the court. BYU had difficulty finding an effective combination in the first half as Coach Rose used 10 of his 11 available players in the first eight minutes of the game.

The two teams battled it out throughout the next several minutes until a long ball from Austin Ainge gave BYU its first lead of the game, 14-12, at the 9:42 mark. The Cougars continued fighting off the Rebels until, trailing 22-21, UNLV put together a 10-0 run, holding BYU scoreless for 3:53 until two free throws by Derek Dawes ended the drought. The remainder of the half was more of the same as the Rebels took a 37-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.

BYU came into the second half ready to mount a comeback as the Cougars have outscored their opponents in the second half in every game since the season opener against Loyola Marymount. BYU was able to keep the Rebel lead at seven points in the opening minutes of the half until a 10-0 UNLV run left the Cougars reeling.

Rashaun Broadus hit a three-pointer to end the drought. A no-call on a UNLV drive to the bucket that knocked a stationary Cougar to the floor prompted a protest from Coach Rose that resulted in a technical foul, the first of Rose's head-coaching career. UNLV hit both free throws and a three-pointer on the ensuing offensive possession to take its largest lead of the game at 56-28.

Perhaps inspired by Rose's passion, the Cougars caught fire from behind the arc, hitting back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to nine points. After four straight points from the Rebels, BYU scored five of its own on a three-point play by Balderson and a jumper from Fernando Malaman to cut the lead to eight points at 60-52. The two teams battled it out for the next several minutes until another UNLV run, 10-1, pushed the lead to 74-57 and dashed any hopes of a BYU comeback, leaving the Cougars with the 82-72 loss.

Only two Cougars managed to score in double digits as Fernando Malaman recorded 13 points and Brock Reichner added 10. Lee Cummard tied his career-high with nine points while Rashaun Broadus also contributed nine. Malaman was also BYU's high rebounder, pulling down a career-high seven boards. The Cougars shot 43 percent (23-for-54) from the field, 38 percent from three-point range (8-for-21) and 78 percent (18-for-23) from the free throw line while tying UNLV with 34 rebounds.

UNLV's Jo'Van Adams, who came into the game averaging 8.7 points per contest, led the Rebels with 23 points while Louis Amundson recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds. At 2-0 in MWC play, UNLV is now the only undefeated team in the league.

The Cougars now have a week-long layoff before hosting Wyoming next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

"This is a setback for us, but we're halfway through the season, and everything we want to do as a basketball team is still right in front of us," said Rose. "We're going to get back home, work harder, get better and see what we can do the next time out."

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
BYU vs UNLV
01/11/06  7:00 PM at Tarkanian Court, Thomas & Mack Center
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: BYU 9-5, 1-2 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 MALAMAN, Fernando... f  6-11   0-2    1-3    5  2  7   3  13  1  3  0  0  20
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ f  3-4    0-0    3-4    1  1  2   1   9  2  0  0  0  19
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... f  1-4    0-0    1-1    0  4  4   5   3  0  3  0  0  21
01 BROADUS, Rashaun.... g  3-7    3-5    0-0    0  1  1   0   9  1  1  0  1  23
11 REICHNER, Brock..... g  2-6    1-4    5-6    2  2  4   3  10  1  2  0  0  26
02 ROSE, Mike..........    1-2    1-2    0-0    0  1  1   0   3  1  1  0  0  13
03 YOUNG, Keena........    2-5    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   4   4  2  4  0  0  24
04 EMERY, Jackson......    1-4    0-2    0-0    1  0  1   1   2  1  0  0  2   9
13 AINGE, Austin.......    2-4    2-3    0-0    0  3  3   1   6  2  3  0  0  21
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy....    2-4    1-3    1-1    0  0  0   2   6  0  0  0  0  10
43 DAWES, Derek........    0-3    0-0    7-8    2  2  4   0   7  0  1  0  0  14
   TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   23-54   8-21  18-23  13 21 34  20  72 11 18  0  3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-22 45.5%   2nd Half: 13-32 40.6%   Game: 42.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-8  50.0%   2nd Half:  4-13 30.8%   Game: 38.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-8  75.0%   2nd Half: 12-15 80.0%   Game: 78.3%    1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: UNLV 8-6, 2-0 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
22 AMUNDSON, Louis..... f  7-12   0-0    7-9    4  6 10   2  21  3  4  0  2  29
31 TERRY, Curtis....... f  3-7    1-4    0-0    0  2  2   3   7  5  0  0  1  36
41 VILLEPIGUE, Dustin.. f  4-8    0-0    3-4    1  7  8   2  11  1  0  0  0  30
01 ADAMS, Jo'Van....... g  9-11   2-4    3-4    0  1  1   3  23  4  3  0  5  34
13 PETRIMOULX, Jason... g  2-7    0-4    3-4    0  2  2   2   7  6  2  0  1  27
05 WHITE, Wendell......    3-7    0-0    3-3    3  1  4   1   9  1  1  0  0  12
11 MORGAN, Ricky.......    1-3    1-1    1-1    1  0  1   2   4  1  0  0  0  13
33 JOHNSON, Jerome.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
45 DARGER, Joe.........    0-3    0-2    0-0    1  1  2   2   0  0  0  0  0  10
52 ESSENGUE, Gaston....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   3   0  0  1  0  0   7
   TEAM................                         2     2             1
   Totals..............   29-59   4-15  20-25  12 22 34  20  82 21 12  0  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-29 48.3%   2nd Half: 15-30 50.0%   Game: 49.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-9  33.3%   2nd Half:  1-6  16.7%   Game: 26.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-10 60.0%   2nd Half: 14-15 93.3%   Game: 80.0%    2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Verne Harris, Tom O'Neill, Mark Whitehead
Technical fouls: BYU-TEAM. UNLV-None.
Attendance: 9130
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BYU...........................   30   42  -   72
UNLV..........................   37   45  -   82
ID-352125
Points in the paint-BY 28,LV 44. Points off turnovers-BY 7,LV 19.
2nd chance points-BY 19,LV 15. Fast break points-BY 6,LV 16.
Bench points-BY 28,LV 13. Score tied-3 times. Lead changes-4 times.

GAME #14 FAST FACTS

BYU COUGARS (9-4, 1-1 MWC)

vs.

UNLV REBELS (7-6, 1-0 MWC)

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006

Thomas & Mack Center (18,500)

Las Vegas, Nev.

7 p.m. PST

Coaches:

BYU, Dave Rose (9-4 in first year; same overall)

UNLV, Lon Kruger (24-20 in second year; 342-253 in 20 seasons overall)

Series:

BYU leads 10-9 after splitting the series last season with each team winning on the road

TV:

KSL, channel 5, in Salt Lake City; KLAS, channel 8, in Las Vegas; pay-per-view on ESPN Full Court (Tom Kirkland, play-by-play; Blaine Fowler, game analysis)

Radio:

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (6 p.m. PST pregame show -- Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Russell Larson, game analysis)

Web:

Live audio and live stats broadcasts are available at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

BYU TRAVELS TO UNLV WEDNESDAY

BYU (9-4, 1-1 MWC) travels to UNLV (7-6, 1-0 MWC) Wednesday for a 7 p.m. (PST) contest. The game is a SportsWest production available in Utah on KSL (channel 5) and in Las Vegas on KLAS as well as being available via ESPN Full Court. Tom Kirkland and Blaine Fowler will call the action. The radio broadcast can be heard on KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network with Greg Wrubell and Russell Larson calling the play-by-play action.

UP NEXT

BYU returns home next Wednesday to take on the Wyoming Cowboys at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. That contest is also a SportsWest telecast.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

-- Coming off a disappointing 9-21 season after five straight postseason appearances, BYU looks to return to the ranks of conference contenders and postseason invitees under the direction of new head coach Dave Rose, who served the past eight seasons as Steve Cleveland's lead assistant. The Cougars are off to an 8-4 start this year.

-- BYU is 7-1 at home this year and has won seven straight in the Marriott Center. The Cougars are 1-3 away and 1-0 at a neutral site. BYU averages 76.8 points (second in the MWC) and shoots .484 (third in the MWC) from the field, including .382 from long range and .672 from the line. Cougar opponents average 67.5 points on .423 shooting, .336 from three and .723 from the line. BYU pulls down 35.3 rebounds per game, 2.4 more rebounds per contest than its opponents. The Cougars dish out an MWC-leading 17.8 assists per game.

-- Redshirt freshman forward/center Trent Plaisted leads BYU in scoring (12.8), followed by senior guard Brock Reichner (10.0). Junior forward Keena Young is the top Cougar rebounder (5.8), followed by Plaisted (4.5). Junior point guard Rashaun Broadus is the MWC's top assist maker (4.9), followed by junior combo guard Austin Ainge (3.3), who is tied for fifth. Eleven Cougars are logging 10 minutes or more per game.

-- Among BYU's returning players, honorable mention All-MWC guard Austin Ainge was the team's second-leading scorer and top assist man last year, and forward Keena Young was BYU's leading rebounder. Other returners with starting experience last year include swingman Jimmy Balderson, who led Canada in scoring at the World University Games this summer; center Derek Dawes, who made 13 starts in the middle last year; and guard Mike Rose, who made seven starts last year and averaged 7.7 points while making a team-leading 56 treys. Lone senior Brock Reichner made two starts late last year after mostly limited action during the season.

LOOKING AT UNLV

The Rebels are 7-6 this season and 1-0 in the Mountain West Conference with a win at Wyoming last Wednesday. UNLV is 6-2 on the road this year with wins over BYU-opponents Loyola Marymount and Southern Utah and has won five of its last six contests. With the loss of first-team All-MWC pick Odartey Blankson, UNLV returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last season's Second Round NIT team. Senior forward Louis Amundson, an All-MWC Honorable Mention pick last year, leads the way for the Rebels this season averaging 14.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, which rank eighth and third in the league, respectively. He is also sixth in the conference in field goal percentage, making 57.8 percent of his shots from the floor. Junior guard Michael Umeh is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.1 ppg, but missed his first game of the season at Wyoming. Guard Jason Petrimoulx, a junior transfer from Dixie State College, averages 10.6 ppg and is UNLV's top assist maker, averaging 3.3 dishes per game, which is tied for fifth in the MWC along with BYU's Austin Ainge. Senior forward Dustin Villepigue, who also transferred from Dixie State College prior to last season, is second in the league in field goal percentage, making 72.2 percent of his shots from the floor while scoring 7.7 ppg and 5.8 rpg, second on the team. As a team, the Rebels average 74.0 ppg while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor, including 34.0 percent from three-point range and 62.5 percent from the free throw line. UNLV opponents are averaging 70.2 ppg on 45.0 percent shooting from the floor, 31.5 percent from beyond the arc and 62.8 percent from the line. UNLV's three-point percentage defense leads the MWC. The Rebels also average 38.8 rebounds per game while allowing opponents to pull down 34.8 boards per contest. UNLV head coach Lon Kruger is 24-20 in his second year with the Rebels and 342-253 in his 20th year overall.

UNLV's PROBABLE STARTERS

Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG

F 22 Louis Amundson 6-9 225 Sr. 14.1 9.5

F 31 Curtis Terry 6-5 205 So. 6.2 3.1

F 41 Dustin Villepigue 6-9 230 Sr. 7.7 5.8

G 1 Jo'Van Adams 6-0 190 Fr. 8.7 3.2

G 13 Jason Petrimoulx 6-4 195 Jr. 10.6 3.0

UNLV's LAST OUTING -- Rebels Victorious in MWC Opener

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Louis Amundson scored 20 points, leading UNLV to an 88-77 victory over Wyoming in the teams' first game of Mountain West Conference play Wednesday night. The Runnin' Rebels were strong from the free-throw line in the second half, making 14 of 16 attempts, including 10 of 12 in the final three minutes. Amundson had his best night of the season from the line, hitting eight of 10 free throws in the game. The Cowboys went on a 15-6 run capped by a Derek Wabbington dunk that brought them within 63-60 with 7:22 left, but that was the closest they would get. Joe Darger and Jason Petrimoulx each added 14 points for UNLV. JoVan Adams had 12, and Dustin Villepigue scored 11 for the Runnin' Rebels. Wyoming was led by Brandon Ewing with 17 points. Kevin Lewis and Steve Leven each scored 14, and Derek Wabbington added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Wyoming's Justin Williams, who ranks second in the nation in blocked shots per game, had six blocks for the Cowboys. Amundson scored eight straight points as UNLV went on a 14-2 run early in the second half, going up 57-45 with 14:42 to play. UNLV shot better than 50 percent from the field in the first half, but the Cowboys kept the game close, tying the score four times in the period. A 7-2 run, highlighted by four points from Wabbington, was Wyoming's biggest of the half and evened the score at 26 with 5:16 to go. UNLV's Darger hit four of four from the field, including two 3-pointers, in the first half. His final 3-point basket of the period put the Runnin' Rebels up 41-36 at halftime.

SERIES NOTES

This will be the 20th meeting in the series between the two schools that dates back to 1981. The series has been a close one with BYU owning a slight 10-9 advantage by virtue of sweeping the season series in 2004 and splitting the series in 2005, with each team winning on the road. The series has been tied six times over the last three years, and the two teams split the regular season series with home wins each of the prior three years. The Cougars won the first two meetings in the series in 1981 before the Rebels ran off four straight victories. Prior to 2004, the last time the Cougars swept the regular season series was in 1999-2000. The Rebels came back that year to achieve their largest margin of victory over BYU (23 points) in the title game of the 2000 MWC Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. BYU is 6-3 in Provo against UNLV and 4-6 in Las Vegas against the Rebels. BYU has won eight of the 13 games as MWC opponents.

QUOTING BYU HEAD COACH DAVE ROSE ...

"Lon (Kruger) has really got UNLV playing well right now. They had a tough early season schedule, and played some really big teams early. They've been through some rough times but they're really starting to figure it out in the last five or six games."

"Michael Umeh is really, really improved. He's from Houston along with Mike Rose and Keena Young, so they all know each other. He has a lot of confidence. He hits a lot of big shots for them. We'll prepare assuming he will play."

"They like to push the ball. Defensively they are really quick and athletic and will put a lot of pressure on us. We'll have our hands full, but I think we have some good momentum right now and some good confidence with our players. We look forward to going down there and playing. We'll work really hard in practice and then go down there and see what we can do."

LAST YEAR IN LAS VEGAS -- BALDERSON SCORES BIG, AINGE STEPS UP IN COUGAR VICTORY

LAS -- Jimmy Balderson ignited the Cougars Saturday, scoring a career-high 23 points to overcome a tough UNLV team in overtime, 82-72, in the Thomas & Mack Center. BYU point guard Austin Ainge led the way in overtime, adding 12 of his 19 points and dishing out five assists. The Cougars battled hard against the Rebels, holding on to a small lead for nearly 14 minutes of the first half. The Cougars were carried by sophomore guard Balderson, who hit three three-pointers and finished the half with 11 points. Late in the half, UNLV's Odartey Blankson scored on a lay-up to give the Rebels a one-point advantage, which they extended to a 33-27 halftime lead. In the second half, the Cougars capitalized on a Mike Hall three-pointer and two more long-bombs from Balderson to regain the lead, 39-37. The Rebels would quickly regain their lead by sensational play from senior forward Blankson, who finished with a career-high 33 points and 13 rebounds. In the last two minutes of play, the Cougars went on a 6-0 run to only trail by one, 60-61 with 18.9 seconds on the clock. With less than 10 seconds to go, BYU center Derek Dawes missed a jump-hook, but Balderson came up with the rebound and was fouled on a three-point shot. Balderson made all three free throws to give BYU a 63-61 lead with 5.6 seconds left. However, UNLV's Jerel Blassingame drove to the basket and connected on a lay-up to send the game into overtime. BYU jumped on the Rebels to start the extra period, led by sophomore Ainge, who helped lift the Cougars to an eight-point lead. The Rebels never recovered from the Cougars' dominating play and 83.3 percent shooting in O.T., falling even with BYU at 2-5 in league play. Hall added 16 points for BYU, while Keena Young scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. BYU finished the game shooting 40.7 percent.

LAST YEAR IN PROVO -- REBEL RuN RUINS COUGARS' VICTORY HOPES

PROVO -- In the final game of the regular season, UNLV went on an 18-0 run in the second half to put the Cougars away, 76-66, Saturday night at the Marriott Center. The Cougars ended the regular season 9-20 overall and 3-11 in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels finished with a 15-12 overall record and a 7-7 MWC mark. Cougar seniors Mike Hall, Jared Jensen and Terry Nashif, who were honored at the beginning of the game, made a strong effort to lift the team in their last home game. Hall and Jensen led the Cougars with 22 and 12 points, respectively. They also received a standing ovation from the crowd as they left the game with 42 seconds left. Hall racked up 16 of his 22 points in the first half, three more points than his season average. He also tied his career high for three pointers made, shooting 5-of-9 from long range. Although BYU led 37-33 at halftime and began with an early lead in the second half, a seven-minute scoring drought for the Cougars gave UNLV its first lead since 10 minutes into the game. After free throws from Jensen gave BYU a six-point lead at 49-43 at the 13-minute mark, the Cougars did not score again until Hall sunk a free throw and Ainge hit a jumper with six minutes left. UNLV's Andy Hannan sparked the Rebels' run with four-straight points to tie the game at 49. Odartey Blankson buried a three to give UNLV the lead at 52-49. From that point on, the Rebels extended their lead to 12 points and did not look back. Hall and Ainge continued to chip away at the UNLV lead, but BYU was unable to make up the difference. In the first half, three-pointers helped BYU overcome a slow start as they connected on a first-half season-high 9-of-15 shots behind the arc. The Cougars shot 45 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, compared to 28 percent in the second half. BYU grabbed its first lead of the game at 19-18 with a three-pointer from Mike Rose. Nashif then added his three points of the game, pushing the lead to 24-20. After two free throws from a BYU technical foul, a three-pointer by Romel Beck gave the Rebels the lead at 30-24 with less than six minutes left in the half. But Mike Hall scored 10 straight points to the end of the first half, including two three-pointers to give the Cougars a 37-33 lead. Hall led all scorers with 16 points at the break.

BYU's LAST OUTING -- Broadus, Cougars Run Past Utes

PROVO -- In his first game against in-state rival Utah, Rashaun Broadus scored a team-high 17 points, including a deep three-pointer with one minute left in the game and the shot clock at zero, to lead BYU to a thrilling 72-60 victory over Utah in front of a loud Marriott Center crowd. Broadus added three assists and six rebounds while helping the Cougars control the tempo. BYU Coach Dave Rose said Broadus set the pace for the Cougars. BYU improved to 9-4 (1-1 MWC) with the victory while the Utes dropped to 8-5 (1-1 MWC). The win was the Cougars' first against the Utes since the 2003-2004 season. BYU started slow, hitting only two of its first eight shots in the first four minutes. Broadus was the bright spot early for the Cougars, scoring six early points and making three of his first four shots. Utah only made two of its first six. Jimmy Balderson's three-point play gave BYU an 11-9 lead with 13:39 remaining in the first half. The two teams played back and forth with the Cougars holding onto a one-point lead midway through the first half. Johnnie Bryant scored five consecutive points, leading the Utes on a 5-0 run and giving them a 20-18 lead with 7:50 left in the first period. The Cougars countered with an 11-4 run of their own, including a stretch of seven consecutive points. The run helped BYU regain the lead at 32-28 with 2:30 remaining in the half. Overall, the Cougars finished the half on a 16-6 run to take a 34-30 lead into the break. The second half started much the same way the first ended, with BYU running. The Cougars got an early 11-4 run in the first four minutes to go up 45-36 and force a Utah timeout. Two minutes later, Mike Rose drained a three-pointer to give BYU a 10-point lead. Shaun Green hit threes on consecutive trips for the Utes to cut the lead to six points. Utah used the three-ball to stay in the game, hitting five of its first six treys in the second period. BYU kept the tempo up, bouncing back to open a game-high 11-point lead. But Utah battled back again as Bryant hit a three to cut BYU's lead to 63-58 with under five minutes to play in the game. But BYU's tempo was too much, and it showed as the Cougars ran away at the end of the game. BYU never trailed in the second half. As time wound down, BYU maintained its double-digit lead. Broadus hit the late three to put the finishing touches on the victory.

WHAT WAS SAID AFTER THE GAME ...

BYU Head Coach Dave Rose:

-- "I'm proud of our players. They responded well to a tough situation. When your team has 14 assists and only seven turnovers and scores 70 points, those are some pretty good numbers."

-- "Rashaun (Broadus) was really big today. He got off to a great start and gave us some energy. He's a good competitor and he showed it today"

-- "In the first half, we got a lot of stops defensively and were able to push the ball and force the action. I think that made them tired and in the second half it paid off."

-- "To beat Utah is big for the confidence of our players. It was important that we were able to protect our home court. It feels good to beat Utah."

-- "Coming in the key to the game was rebounding. When we needed big boards we got big boards and that helped our offense."

Utah Head Coach Ray Giacoletti:

-- "We're going to get better with these kids. It's not going to happen overnight. We'll keep competing and getting better."

-- "Coach Rose has done a heckuva job. I think they have really found roles for their guys and they've really bought into those things. They're pretty darn good."

-- "We need to get better defensively. We missed some critical stops; we're not there yet. There were critical stops we couldn't get tonight offensively too."

BYU NOTES FROM LAST OUTING

-- Individual Career Highs: Rashaun Broadus -- 8 field goals made, 13 field goals attempted (tied); Trent Plaisted -- 2 assists.

-- Team Season Highs/Lows: Fewest Three-Pointers Made -- 5 (tied); Fewest Turnovers -- 7.

-- The Cougars' win over the Utes is their first since March 1, 2004, snapping a three-game Utah winning streak in the series. Utah still holds a slim 122-118 edge in the series, which dates back to 1909.

-- With the win against Utah, BYU is now 8-0 when leading at the half. The Cougars' average halftime lead is 11.8 points, and they have led by double digits six times. Their four-point (34-30) halftime lead against Utah ties their smallest halftime lead of the season (34-30 at Washington State).

-- With 12 points against the Utes, Trent Plaisted bounced back from a five-point performance at Air Force, a season-low, to score in double figures for the 10th time this year.

-- Fernando Malaman recorded his first dunk of the season with 52 seconds left in the first half while Trent Plaisted added his 12th slam of the year 40 seconds into the second half and his 13th at the 9:45 mark. BYU has recorded 22 dunks this season.

-- BYU's Rashaun Broadus came out hot from the field as he scored the Cougars' first six points and 10 of their first 15 on 5-for-6 shooting in the first 10 minutes of the game. Broadus finished the game with a team-leading 17 points.

-- After finding themselves down 24-18 in the first half, the Cougars went on a 14-5 run to take a 32-28 lead. The run featured four free throws by Derek Dawes during the initial 7-0 spurt and six points from Lee Cummard.

-- The Cougars made another offensive push to begin the second half as they outscored the Utes 11-6 in the first 3:31 of play.

-- Mike Rose made an immediate impact in the game after coming off the bench in the second half. Rose made his first two three-point shots, the first to give the Cougars their largest lead of the game up to that point at 48-38 and the second to push BYU's lead back to nine points after Utah had cut the deficit to just six at 52-46. Rose finished the game with eight points and two assists.

-- BYU's largest lead of the game was 12 points at 70-58 and 72-60. Utah's largest lead was six at 24-18. The game featured four lead changes and 15 ties.

RACKING UP THE WINS

With a win on Wednesday, BYU can surpass its win total from last year. The Cougars are currently 9-4 this season after suffering a 9-21 campaign last year to end five straight postseason appearances. The Cougars can also achieve back-to-back Mountain West Conference wins with a victory over UNLV, which they could not do all of last season.

HALFTIME REPORT

With its win against Utah, BYU is now 8-0 when leading at the half. The Cougars' average halftime lead is 11.8 points, and they have led by double digits six times.

MAGIC NUMBER: 70

BYU is 7-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points and 2-4 when allowing opponents to surpass the 70-point threshold. Cougar foes are currently averaging 67.5 points per game. BYU is also 7-2 when scoring 70+ points and 2-2 when falling below the 70-point mark. The Cougars are currently second in the league in scoring, averaging 76.8 ppg.

COMEBACK COUGARS

BYU has bounced back from each of its four losses this season with a victory. After each bounce-back victory the Cougars have been able to start a winning streak with another win. BYU will look to continue that trend at UNLV Wednesday. The Cougars have achieved three winning streaks this year -- two three-game streaks and one two-game streak.

FOR STARTERS

BYU's starting lineup the last four games has consisted of two freshmen (Trent Plaisted and Lee Cummard), two junior transfers (Rashaun Broadus and Fernando Malaman) and one senior (Brock Reichner). Reichner is the only one of the five to have started a Division I game prior to this season. He made two starts late last year in his first season at BYU. Coming off the bench for BYU are five Cougars who started between seven and 23 games on last year's team (Austin Ainge, 23 starts; Jimmy Balderson, 16 starts; Keena Young, 15 starts, Derek Dawes, 13 starts; Mike Rose, 7 starts). Overall this year, seven players have started while Coach Dave Rose has used three starting lineups. Broadus, Malaman and Plaisted have started each game while Reichner has started 12 games and Balderson nine games. Ainge has one start, the first game, and Cummard has four starts, the last four games.

BYU AMONG MWC LEADERS

BYU leads the MWC in assists (17.8) and is second in scoring (76.8), scoring margin (+9.3), assist/turnover ratio (1.26), defensive rebounds (25.62) and three-pointers made (7.0). The Cougars rank third in field goal percentage (.484) and blocked shots (4.54). Individually, point guards Rashaun Broadus (4.9) and Austin Ainge (3.3) rank first and fifth (tied), respectively, in assists and are first and fourth in assist/turnover ratio, with Ainge leading all MWC players with a 3.91 ratio, and Broadus recording a 1.70 mark. Fernando Malaman and Trent Plaisted rank fourth and seventh, respectively, in field goal percentage at .597 and .571 while Keena Young is eighth at .569. Young is also 11th in rebounding average (5.8), and Malaman is fourth in blocked shots (1.62).

SCORING FOR THE COUGARS

BYU is averaging 76.8 ppg, second in the MWC, led by redshirt freshman Trent Plaisted's 12.8 points per game. Five different Cougars have led the team in scoring in BYU's first 13 games. Plaisted has led BYU five times (20 at USC, 13 vs. Southern Utah, 19 vs. Boise State, 15 vs. Weber State and 16 vs. Tulsa), and junior Keena Young has led the team three times (12 vs. Northern Kentucky, 15 vs. Eastern Washington and 16 at Air Force) while senior Brock Reichner (18 at Washington State and 26 at Utah State) and junior Jimmy Balderson (18 vs. Loyola Marymount and 21 vs. Lamar) have each led BYU twice and junior Rashaun Broadus has led the Cougars once (17 vs. Utah). Nine different Cougars have had a double-digit scoring outing for BYU this year (all except Austin Ainge, high of 8; Lee Cummard, high of 9; and Jermaine Odjegba, high of 2).

BYU REDSHIRTS: SAM BURGESS, VUK IVANOVIC

Junior guard Sam Burgess is redshirting this season. The 6-foot-3 guard from Alpine, Utah, is one of nine juniors on the roster this year. Fellow junior Vuk Ivanovic will also redshirt while he sits out the season due to NCAA transfer rules. Burgess scored a game-high 21 points at Cougar Tipoff, the team's annual blue-white scrimmage before a decision was reached about redshirting. During the Tipoff, he went 7-for-12 from the floor, including 4-for-6 on threes, and was 3-of-4 from the line while adding five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 33 minutes on the floor.

BYU AT THE POINT

BYU's Rashaun Broadus (4.9 apg) and Austin Ainge (3.3 apg) rank first and fifth (tied), respectively, among Mountain West Conference players in assists per game this season while helping the Cougars lead the MWC in team assists at 17.8 apg. Broadus and Ainge have combined for 72 assists compared to 29 turnovers in BYU's nine wins while totaling 34 assists and 19 turnovers in the Cougars' four defeats. Broadus has 43 assists and 22 turnovers in the wins with 20 assists and 15 turnovers in the losses. Ainge boasts 29 assists to only 7 turnovers in the victories while totaling 14 assists and 4 turnovers in defeats. With his overall 43 assists to 11 turnovers, Ainge easily leads all MWC players in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.91), while Broadus ranks fourth (1.7). In BYU's season-opening loss to Loyola Marymount the two guards combined for six assists and five turnovers, and in the loss at USC they totaled seven assists and five turnovers. Broadus and Ainge showed marked improvement in the Cougars' win at Washington State, where the two combined to dish out 10 assists while committing only two turnovers, as each posted a line of a game-high 5 assists with only one turnover. In BYU's victory over Southern Utah, they combined for 13 assists with only one turnover, as Ainge tied a career high with 8 assists without a turnover and Broadus had 3 assists and one turnover while scoring 11 points. Against Lamar, Broadus dished out a career-best 9 assists, including an assist on BYU's first six baskets, while Ainge added two assists to help BYU achieve 22 assists for the second straight game. Broadus recorded a team-high 6 assists against Boise State and the two points combined for 7 assists (4 Ainge, 3 Broadus) and only 1 turnover (Broadus) vs. Northern Kentucky and 7 assists (4 Ainge, 3 Broadus) and only 2 turnovers vs. Weber State. Ainge had 7 assists without a turnover at USU while Broadus had 8 assists and 4 turnovers while scoring a career-best 21 points. Broadus tied a career-best 9 assists while Ainge added 4 to fuel BYU to a season-high 29 assists vs. Eastern Washington. As a team, BYU has made an assist on 62.9 percent of its field goals this season.

BYU IN THE POST

BYU's post players are all efficient from the floor. Starters Fernando Malaman, who has made 59.7 percent (46-of-77) of his shots, and Trent Plaisted, who has converted 57.1 percent (60-of-105) of his attempts, rank fourth and seventh, respectively among MWC players in field goal percentage. Off the bench, Keena Young is shooting .569 (41-of-72) and Derek Dawes is making .531 (17-of-32). Malaman's numbers are perhaps the most impressive to date, considering the 6-foot-9 Brazilian transfer is scoring from all over the floor, including a team-leading 57.9 percent success rate (11-of-19) from behind the three-point arc.

BYU ON THE WING

Senior Brock Reichner has started the last 12 games at 2-guard and is second on the team in scoring at 10.0 ppg, including a team-high 21 threes, while junior Jimmy Balderson started the first nine games at small forward and is fifth in scoring at 8.1 ppg, with nine treys. BYU's two freshman wings are playing significant roles. Lee Cummard has started in place of Balderson the last four games and is averaging 5.5 points in 14.4 minutes while shooting 44 percent from the floor and has made nine threes. Jackson Emery is shooting 46 percent from the floor and has made eight triples while averaging 3.7 points in 10.6 minutes. He has also been a solid defender for the Cougars, often helping guard the opponent's top perimeter player. Junior Mike Rose plays 10.4 minutes in the rotation on the wing, averaging 4.8 points, including 16 treys.