PROVO -- Playing in its first game of the Basketball Travelers Invitational, the BYU men’s basketball team defeated North Florida 74-41 on Thursday night. With the win the Cougars are now 3-0 on the season, averaging 24-point victories in their first three games.

“I was pleased with the end result of the game,” said head coach Dave Rose. “Defensively we were pretty good at executing our assignments.”

Junior Jonathan Tavernari led all scorers with 25 points on the night—the only Cougar to score in double figures. Senior Lee Cummard recorded a game-high 12 rebounds, including eight defensive boards.

Tavernari started the game with a hot hand, scoring the first seven points for BYU, including an under-the-basket make off an assist by Jimmer Fredette. The point guard led the Cougars in their stiff defensive play, successfully running down North Florida’s shot clock on back-to-back possessions. A fade away jumper by Chris Miles put BYU up 11-6 entering the first timeout of the game.

Tavernari continued to put points on the board, connecting on his third three-pointer of the night with 11:52 remaining in the half. The junior has made a trey in 19 consecutive games, putting him only three games behind the BYU all-time record set by Mark Bigelow with 22 straight games.

BYU’s stingy defense held North Florida scoreless for more than five minutes, steadily increasing its lead. Sophomore Jackson Emery scored his first three-pointer this season with just over five minutes remaining in the half, giving the Cougars a 20-point lead at 30-10.

“Early in the first half we were terrific in executing our game plan on the defensive end,” said Rose. “But hopefully we’ll be able to improve and make more of our shots. That would help us be even better.”

Fouls kept either team from gaining momentum late in the half as freshman forward Noah Hartsock scored the final points of the half with 3:11 remaining. The Cougars entered the locker room up 35-12, marking the fewest points allowed to a BYU opponent in the first half since allowing Long Beach State 12 points on Nov. 10, 2007.

The Ospreys opened the second half scoring five straight points before a trey by Cummard. The teams continued trading makes from beyond-the-arc, bringing the score to 43-24 with 16:56 remaining in the game.

Coming out of a media timeout, Tavernari sparked BYU with a three-pointer and layup on consecutive BYU possessions. With 14:45 remaining, the junior followed with a quick assist to Emery for the lay-in, drawing an impressed reaction from the Marriott Center crowd.

The Cougars increased their lead to 30 points after a jumper by point guard Lamont Morgan, Jr. Freshman Charles Abouo soon followed with a make of his own to give BYU the 63-33 advantage.

With 6:02 remaining in the game, redshirt freshman Matt Pinegar scored the first two points of his BYU career. Fellow redshirt freshman James Anderson blocked a shot on the Ospreys’ end of the court, before following with his first collegiate bucket as well. The Cougars’ final points of the game came on a 2-for-2 trip to the free-throw line for Morgan.

Up next the Cougars continue in the Basketball Travelers Invitational, playing Rice at 8:30 p.m. on Friday in the Marriott Center. Rice is coming off an 81-76 win against Cal Poly earlier on Thursday.

RICE DEFEATS CAL POLY IN FIRST GAME OF TRAVELERS INVITATIONAL

by Jeff Cullimore, BYU Athletic Communications

PROVO -- In the first game of the Basketball Travelers invitational in the Marriott Center, Rice defeated Cal Poly by a score of 81-76 Thursday.

“I felt we played a good game tonight,” said Rice head Coach Ben Braun. “Cal Poly came out and played us hard, but I credit the team with holding on till the end. I’m proud of our young guys playing well away from home.”

Cal Poly led throughout the first four minutes of the game, but Rice took the lead 9-8 at the 16:40 mark and led throughout the rest of the first half. Cal Poly would cut the lead to one, 32-31, at the 1:32 mark.

The Owls led at the break, 36-33. In the second half, the Mustangs would come back and take the lead 48-47 at the 13:52 point in the second half, but Rice would retake the lead quickly on a three-pointer from Cory Pflieger, who was 3-4 from the three-point-line in the game.

Rice went 11-19 (57 percent) from behind the three-point-line helped the Owls maintain the lead throughout the second half. Cal Poly was 6-19 (31 percent) on three-pointers. Overall, Rice shot 49 percent (27-55) from the field, while the Mustangs shot 46 percent (28-60).

Cal Poly guard Lorenzo Keeler led all scorers with 20 points, and forward Wes Dipprey had eight rebounds. Rice had three players in double figures, Cal Poly had two.

With the win, Rice moves to 1-1 on the season, while Cal Poly drops to 0-2.

The Basketball Travelers Invitational continues tomorrow as Cal Poly plays North Florida on Friday, Nov. 21 at 6:00 p.m., while Rice will face the host BYU Cougars on Friday at 8:30 p.m.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
North Florida vs BYU Cougars
11/20/08 7:30 p.m. at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: North Florida 0-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
44 GROOTHUIS, Kyle..... f  0-3    0-0    2-2    0  1  1   2   2  0  0  0  1  16
15 RILEY, Cortez....... g  3-8    0-0    0-0    0  5  5   1   6  2  6  0  1  19
24 LOVELACE, Cameron... g  3-12   3-8    0-0    0  1  1   0   9  1  0  0  1  25
25 SPARKES, Germaine... g  3-8    0-0    0-1    1  2  3   0   6  1  0  0  0  26
32 JANUSKA, Stan....... g  2-6    0-2    2-2    1  3  4   0   6  1  3  0  1  23
05 GIBSON, Ian.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   3   0  0  0  0  0  13
13 FAIR, Jordan........    1-3    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   4   2  0  3  0  1  16
22 SAUEY, Matt.........    2-3    0-0    1-1    1  2  3   0   5  0  2  0  2  21
30 RIGGINS, Zack.......    2-6    0-1    1-3    0  5  5   4   5  1  2  0  0  25
35 AUERBACHER, Tyler...    0-3    0-3    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  1  16
   TEAM................                         2     2
   Totals..............   16-52   3-14   6-9    5 22 27  14  41  6 16  0  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  5-25 20.0%   2nd Half: 11-27 40.7%   Game: 30.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-6   0.0%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 21.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-3  66.7%   2nd Half:  4-6  66.7%   Game: 66.7%    1
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 3-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f 10-16   5-10   0-0    0  5  5   2  25  4  0  0  1  24
54 MILES, Chris........ c  4-6    0-0    1-3    1  2  3   2   9  1  0  0  0  20
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  3-4    2-3    0-0    0  1  1   0   8  5  1  0  0  23
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ g  3-11   1-3    0-0    4  8 12   1   7  1  2  0  1  26
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  2-6    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   1   4  6  1  0  3  20
01 ABOUO, Charles......    4-6    0-0    1-2    0  4  4   1   9  1  0  0  1  19
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    1-5    0-3    2-3    0  1  1   3   4  2  4  0  0  22
15 ANDERSON, James.....    1-2    0-0    0-0    2  3  5   3   2  0  0  3  0   8
20 PINEGAR, Matthew....    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  2  2   0   2  1  0  0  0  14
34 HARTSOCK, Noah......    2-3    0-0    0-0    2  2  4   0   4  0  0  0  0  16
53 MACGREGOR, Gavin....    0-1    0-0    0-2    3  1  4   2   0  0  2  0  0   8
   TEAM................                            3  3
   Totals..............   31-62   8-22   4-10  12 33 45  15  74 21 10  3  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-36 41.7%   2nd Half: 16-26 61.5%   Game: 50.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-14 28.6%   2nd Half:  4-8  50.0%   Game: 36.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  1-1  100 %   2nd Half:  3-9  33.3%   Game: 40.0%    3
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Officials: Bruce Hicks, Casey McClellan, Doran Gotschall
Technical fouls: North Florida-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 7778
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
North Florida.................   12   29  -   41
BYU Cougars...................   35   39  -   74
Points in the paint-UNF 10,BY 28. Points off turnovers-UNF 7,BY 18.
2nd chance points-UNF 1,BY 12. Fast break points-UNF 0,BY 4.
Bench points-UNF 12,BY 21. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-UNF 2nd-00:52, BY 2nd-00:35.
Largest lead-UNF None, BY by 35 2nd-02:52.

BYU to Host Basketball Travelers Invitational

BYU (2-0) will host the Basketball Travelers Invitational this week at the Marriot Center on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Cougars welcome North Florida (0-1), Rice (0-1) and Cal Poly (0-1) to the Marriott Center for three doubleheaders in three days. Games on Thursday are scheduled for 5 and 7:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday at 6 and 8:30 p.m. The weekend’s schedule is below (teams designated as the home team are listed on the right).

BASKETBALL TRAVELERS INVITATIONAL

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008

5 p.m.Rice vs. Cal Poly

7:30 p.m.North Florida at BYU

Friday, Nov. 21, 2008

6 p.m.Cal Poly vs. North Florida

8:30 p.m.Rice at BYU

Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008

6 p.m.North Florida vs. Rice

8:30 p.m.Cal Poly at BYU

LOOKING AT NORTH FLORIDA

North Florida opened the 2008-09 season with a 75-60 loss at Savannah State. Cortez Riley led the Ospreys with 16 points and four rebounds. Germaine Sparkes was also in double digits with 11 points and Kyle Groothuis added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Matt Kilcullen is in his 10th season coaching North Florida and has accumulated a record of 93-190. North Florida plays in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

LOOKING at RICE

Rice is 0-1 to open the 2008-09 season after losing to Portland State, 78-74. Rice led Portland State 38-33 at the half but was outscored 45-38 in the second half. Cory Pflieger scored 17 points to lead Rice while Aleks Perka added 15 points and nine rebounds and Rodney Foster scored eight points and dished out nine assists. Ben Braun is in his first season as the coach of the Owls. He has a career record of 552-390 with stints at Siena Heights, Eastern Michigan and California.

LOOKING AT CAL POLY

Cal Poly opened the 2008-09 season with a 67-40 loss to Arkansas-Little Rock at home. The Mustangs were led by Titus Shelton’s 15 points and Wes Dipprey added nine points and five boards. Cal Poly is coached by Kevin Bromley, who is in his ninth season at the helm. He has a career record of 92-125.