POCATELLO -- Four players scored in double figures to help BYU men’s basketball remain perfect on the season with an 85-65 victory over Idaho State in Holt Arena on Saturday. The Cougars are now 6-0 for the first time since the 1991-92 season while the Bengals fall to 1-4.

“I was really proud of how our players responded to playing a good team in a difficult environment," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "We came in very prepared but didn’t get off to a good start. After that first media timeout we came out and improved our effort. We finished with a strong defensive effort in the first half and that’s what allowed us to have a lead at the break.”

Jonathan Tavernari scored a game-high 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Fredette tied two career highs with 19 points and six assists while Jackson Emery set a career-high with 15 points. Lee Cummard added 17 points, three assists, one block and three steals.

The Cougars hit 56.6 percent (30-of-53) from the field and 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from downtown. BYU held Idaho State to 41.1 percent (23-of-56) shooting from the field. Matt Stucki led the Bengals with 19 points and five assists.

BYU runs defined the first half as the Cougars used spurts of 16-2 and 14-0 to take a 40-28 lead into the locker room. Trailing 12-6 BYU outscored Idaho State 16-2 to take a 22-14 lead. Cummard scored four points during the run and Tavernari scored five-straight — on a three and a fast break dunk — to make it 17-12 in favor of the Cougars. Fredette tipped in his own miss and Emery scored on a fast break layup to make it 22-14 BYU.

The second big run came after the Bengals chipped away at the lead and got within four at 26-22 on an Amorrow Morgan layup. Fredette hit two free throws, assisted a dunk by Chris Miles and hit a three in transition. Tavernari hit two layups during the run and Cummard’s three in transition gave BYU its largest lead of the half at 40-22 with 2:51 remaining before the half.

Tavernari, who went scoreless when the Cougars defeated Cal Poly in their last outing, finished the half with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Cummard had nine first half points and Fredette and Emery had seven apiece. BYU hit 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field in the first half, had nine steals — three each by Cummard and Emery — and scored 16 points off turnovers.

During the second half BYU responded to every Idaho State challenge and never allowed the Bengals to get the lead down to single digits. A Morgan layup cut the lead to 45-34 but Tavernari and Emery hit back-to-back threes to make it 51-34.

The Bengals went on an 8-2 run to get back within 11 but Charles Abouo hit two free throws and Tavernari threw down a dunk to finish a play off a steal by Fredette. With 6:54 remaining Fredette hit a three to give BYU a 19-point lead at 67-48. Cummard’s two free throws with 1:48 left on the clock gave the Cougars their biggest lead at 81-61. His two free throws with 55 seconds remaining equaled the 20-point lead and made the score final at 85-55.

BYU will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at Weber State at 7 p.m.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Brigham Young vs Idaho State
11-29-08 7:05 pm at Pocatello, ID (Holt Arena)
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VISITORS: Brigham Young 6-0
                          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 10-17   2-7    1-2    1  5  6   2  23  4  1  0  2  39
54 MILES, Chris........ c  1-1    0-0    2-2    2  3  5   4   4  2  1  1  2  25
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  6-9    2-4    1-1    0  4  4   5  15  2  2  0  3  31
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ g  6-11   1-3    4-6    2  2  4   4  17  3  1  1  3  35
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  6-12   3-6    4-4    2  2  4   1  19  6  4  0  1  32
01 ABOUO, Charles......    0-0    0-0    3-4    0  3  3   0   3  0  1  0  0   9
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    0-0    0-0    2-4    1  2  3   3   2  1  1  0  0  14
15 ANDERSON, James.....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2   0  0  0  0  0   7
20 PINEGAR, Matthew....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
53 MACGREGOR, Gavin....    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   0   2  0  0  0  0   7
   TEAM................                            1  1
   Totals..............   30-53   8-21  17-23   8 25 33  21  85 18 11  2 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-27 55.6%   2nd Half: 15-26 57.7%   Game: 56.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-11 36.4%   2nd Half:  4-10 40.0%   Game: 38.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-8  75.0%   2nd Half: 11-15 73.3%   Game: 73.9%   2,1
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HOME TEAM: Idaho State 1-4
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 MONROE, Demetrius... f  3-5    0-0    2-2    1  2  3   0   8  1  1  0  0  31
33 BUSMA, Deividas..... c  2-6    0-0    2-2    1  2  3   0   6  1  2  0  0  16
01 MORGAN, Amorrow..... g  3-10   0-1    1-3    0  1  1   3   7  4  2  0  0  35
20 CARSON, Donnie...... g  3-8    1-2    0-2    2  3  5   2   7  3  0  0  3  27
31 STUCKI, Matt........ g  6-12   3-5    4-6    2  2  4   4  19  5  4  0  0  30
02 BAY, Kal............    2-4    1-2    2-2    0  2  2   3   7  0  2  0  0  12
03 TAYLOR, Phyllip.....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
04 STEIJN, Lucas.......    3-5    0-0    2-4    2  2  4   2   8  0  0  0  0  19
12 BALDWIN, Sherrod....    0-0    0-0    0-1    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
23 KILPATRICK, Austin..    0-3    0-3    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  1  1  0  1  11
32 CASPARI, Felix......    1-2    0-0    1-4    5  0  5   3   3  0  0  0  0  14
   TEAM................                         1  1  2             1
   Totals..............   23-56   5-14  14-26  14 17 31  18  65 15 13  0  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-25 44.0%   2nd Half: 12-31 38.7%   Game: 41.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-5  40.0%   2nd Half:  3-9  33.3%   Game: 35.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-10 40.0%   2nd Half: 10-16 62.5%   Game: 53.8%   5,2
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Officials: Byrne Haskins, Michael Irving, Wilson Holland
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-None. Idaho State-None.
Attendance: 4374
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young.................   40   45  -   85
Idaho State...................   28   37  -   65
Points in the paint-BYU 41,ISU 22. Points off turnovers-BYU 20,ISU 12.
2nd chance points-BYU 8,ISU 10. Fast break points-BYU 20,ISU 2.
Bench points-BYU 7,ISU 18. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-5 times.
Last FG-BYU 2nd-02:15, ISU 2nd-01:10.
Largest lead-BYU by 20 2nd-01:48, ISU by 6 1st-15:54.

COUGARS TO TAKE ON IDAHO STATE

BYU (5-0) will hit the road two days after Thanksgiving to take on Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. The Cougars will look to add to their perfect start that includes four home victories and one road win. Last week BYU defeated Pepperdine on Tuesday before playing three striaght on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to win the Basketball Travelers Invitational. Idaho State is 1-3 on the year and is n a three-game losing streak. The Bengals have lost three straight, all in overtime with the last two going to double overtime. Idaho State has already played an extra 25 minutes of basketball in just four games. Saturday’s game will be televised live on BYUTV (online at www.byutv.org/streaming/) and can be heard live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m. MT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City or via the Internet at KSL.com.

BYU GAME #6 FAST FACTS

BYU (5-0)

vs.

Idaho State (1-3)

Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008

Holt Arena (12,000)

Pocatello, Idaho

7 p.m. MT

Coaches:

BYU, Dave Rose (77-26 in fourth season; same overall)

ISU, Joe O’Brien (26-39 in 3rd season; same overall)

Series:

BYU leads, 29-6, with BYU winning the last meeting 90-69 in 2008 in Provo

TV:

BYUTV (Dave McCann, play-by-play; Andy Toolson, game analysis; Jarom Jordan, sideline)

Radio:

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network (7 p.m. MT pregame show — Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

Web:

Live audio and live stats links are available on the basketball schedule page at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

LOOKING AT IDAHO STATE

Idaho State is off to a 1-3 start this season. The Bengals opened the year with a 75-70 victory over Eastern Oregon at home but have since dropped three-straight overtime games to Hawai`i, Boise State and Long Beach State. Amorrow Morgan has been an offensive force all season, leading the team in scoring at 22.3 points per game and scoring a season-high 31 points in a double-overtime loss to Boise State. Against Long Beach State Deividas Busma was 8-of-9 from the field, scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds. Demetrius Monroe added a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds and Morgan chipped in 20 points. Idaho State is guided by Joe O’Brien, who is in his third season at the helm. Last season he led the Bengals to a 12-19 record and a trip to the Big Sky Conference semifinals.

IDAHO STATE’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Pos.#NameHt. Wt.Yr. PPGRPG

G1Amorrow Morgan6-5210Jr.22.32.8

G20Donnie Carson6-2195Jr.4.85.3

G31Matt Stucki6-6210Sr.8.83.0

F21Demetrius Monroe6-8200Jr.13.012.3

C4Lucas Steijn6-11240Sr.7.34.5

IDAHO STATE'S LAST OUTING - BENGALS FALL TO LONG BEACH STATE IN 2OT

Pocatello, ID --- It looked all too familiar to anyone on the Idaho State bench, as the Bengals played a third straight overtime, and a second-straight double overtime game, and again they came out on the short end of the stick, losing 88-82 to Long Beach State. The Bengals tied the school record for consecutive overtime games played, as the Bengals played three straight overtime games against Northern Arizona, Montana, and Montana State from February 10-17, 2001. Idaho State has played back-to-back multiple overtime games just once, losing double overtime games to Montana State and Louisville January 10 and 13, 1976.The Bengals never looked like they would even get to overtime in the first half as Long Beach State bolted to a 30-15 lead, paced by a 6-of-7 three-point start by Stephan Gilling, but ISU fought all the way back to tie it at the half. The Bengals then led by as much as six in the second half before Long Beach battled back. Tied at 61, Matt Stucki hit Devidias Busma underneath for a wide open layup with 36.7 left to give the Bengals a 63-61 lead, but Stucki fouled out hitting Donovan Morris, who hit both of his shots with 24.2 left to tie it. ISU couldn’t get a shot down at the end of regulation, and it was off to overtime again. In the first OT, no one led by more than two. After a fluke basket by Long Beach State when Donnie Carson stole a ball, rolled over and threw it right to Casper Ware underneath the basket for an easy layup making it 69-67, Amorrow Morgan hit one of two free throws with 1:20 left, and then Busma hit one of two with 1:02 left to tie it. Long Beach State then got two shots to tie after a miss and a turnover, and it was time for a second overtime, and that was when Donovan Morris took over. Morris, LBSU’s leading scorer, hit a long two and then a big three to open the second extra session, and quickly it was 74-69. The Bengals got the game down to four at 78-74 after a Morgan basket with 2:26 left, but Long Beach hit plenty of free throws down the stretch, including a 14-for-16 night by Morris as he scored 14 points in the extra sessions. The 49ers took advantage of ISU’s overtime miscues, outscoring the Bengals 7-0 on points off turnovers over the final 10 minutes. The loss overshadowed more superb performances, including Busma’s first career double-double, scoring 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, hitting his first eight shots, and adding 11 rebounds in his first start. Demetrius Monroe had 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double, and Matt Stucki added 10. For LBSU, Morris had 24, and Gilling had 18, although they all came in the first 11 minutes of the game. Casper Ware added 15 and Larry Anderson added 10. ISU outrebounded the 49ers 46-36.

SERIES NOTES

Saturday’s game will mark the 36th meeting between BYU and Idaho State. The Cougars hold a 29-6 lead in the all-time series, including 15-4 in Pocatello. In fact the Cougars have not lost at Idaho State since 1977, also the last time BYU lost in the series. The Cougars have won four-straight in the overall series, all at home. BYU and Idaho State were regular opponents during the 1940s and 50s but never played in the 60s. The Cougars and Bengals battled five times in the1950s, once in the 80s and three times during the current decade.

DOWNTOWN RECORD WATCH

After going scoreless against Cal Poly, Jonathan Tavernari’s streak of making at least one three-pointer ended at 20-consecutive games. He was two games shy of tying Mark Bigelow’s school record of 22 straight games with a trey (over two seasons; 1998-99 and 2001-02). Jonthan Tavernari has passed Terrell Lyday for fourth place on BYU’s career list for three-point attempts with 353 and three-point makes with 130. He is 11 from tying Andy Toolson for third all-time in career made threes. Lee Cummard has 124 threes, trailing Terrell Lyday by three makes for fifth all-time in school history.

5-0 STARTS

For the 22nd time in school history BYU men’s basketball is off to a 5-0 start. In the 21 previous season during which BYU started at least 5-0 the Cougars won 20-plus games 11 times and finished first or tied for first in conference play eight times. In fact, the last five times BYU has started at least 5-0 the Cougars have won or shared the regular season conference title, including last season’s squad that was 27-8 overall and won the conference outright at 14-2. The Cougars were not members of a conference the first five seasons BYU started 5-0. Three of BYU’s season-opening win streaks of five-plus games have ended with losses to ranked opponents, including No. 1 North Carolina last season, No. 11 Michigan in 1991-92 and No. 2 NC State in 1955-56. BYU’s most obscure loss to end a perfect start to a season was to Denver Piggly Wiggly in 1932-33. The Cougars were 6-0 before the loss but regrouped to finish 20-7 and first in conference play.