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PROVO -- After leading at the half by 13 points, the Cougars were unable to stop a UNLV comeback at the Marriott Center Wednesday night, falling 76-70. The Cougars are now 14-4 on the season and 2-2 in the Mountain West Conference.

"I thought we came out and got off to a good start," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "They put more pressure on us in the second half and we started to rush in the second half."

The game marks the first time the Cougars lost back-to-back regular season games since 2005, and the first time the team has suffered back-to-back conference losses under BYU head coach Dave Rose.

Jonathan Tavarnari posted his fifth-career double-double, leading the Cougars with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Jimmer Fredette added to the effort with 19 points.

The Cougars trailed UNLV early in the game before a nine-point run put BYU up 15-11. The Cougar defense dominated the Rebels as they made defensive plays to both steal the ball and rebound, to push down court for fast breaks.

Heading into half-time Fredette hit a last second three-pointer to put BYU up 43-30. Fredette led the Cougars with 15 points at the half, while Tavernari and Lee Cummard were both in double figures heading into the second period.

UNLV came out of the second half strong, scoring eight unanswered points, on a 12-3 run. BYU’s shots struggled to fall as the momentum continued to grow for the Rebels. UNLV fought back for the lead.

BYU scored only five points during the first nine minutes of the second half, surrendering the lead to the Rebels.

With as much as an eight-point deficit the Cougars managed to pull within three points of the Rebels, but the second-half deficit proved too much to overcome.

The Cougars shot only 25 percent during the second half, after shooting 51 percent in the first half. The Cougars fell short in rebounding also claiming only 12 rebounds in the second half to UNLV’s 25.

BYU looks to bounce back in conference play when they face San Diego State on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Marriott Center.

CLICK HERE for postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
UNLV vs BYU Cougars
1/21/09 8:05 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: UNLV 15-4, 3-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
33 WILLIS, Tre'Von..... f  5-9    2-3    1-2    0  5  5   2  13  3  1  0  0  34
45 DARGER, Joe......... f  1-3    1-3    6-7    0  7  7   1   9  3  1  1  1  30
44 SANTEE, Darris...... c  5-8    0-0    1-3    1  1  2   2  11  0  4  1  1  23
01 ADAMS, Wink......... g  7-16   0-2    8-10   4  4  8   1  22  1  2  0  2  32
24 ROUGEAU, Rene....... g  2-6    0-0    1-2    1  3  4   2   5  1  3  1  1  30
00 BELLFIELD, Oscar....    0-3    0-2    4-4    1  1  2   3   4  3  4  0  3  20
02 WALLACE, Kendall....    2-4    2-4    0-0    0  2  2   2   6  0  0  0  1   9
03 RUTLEDGE, Mareceo...    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   0   2  0  0  0  0  10
12 MASSAMBA, Brice.....    2-2    0-0    0-1    1  2  3   2   4  0  0  0  0  12
   TEAM................                         2     2
   Totals..............   25-52   5-14  21-29  10 27 37  15  76 11 15  3  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-26 46.2%   2nd Half: 13-26 50.0%   Game: 48.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-9  22.2%   2nd Half:  3-5  60.0%   Game: 35.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-6  66.7%   2nd Half: 17-23 73.9%   Game: 72.4%    5
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 14-4, 2-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ f  5-12   0-1    0-1    2  0  2   4  10  4  2  2  0  37
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan. f  7-22   3-10   4-4    3 10 13   2  21  1  3  0  5  38
54 MILES, Chris........ c  0-2    0-0    0-0    3  3  6   2   0  0  3  0  0  20
04 EMERY, Jackson...... g  3-7    1-4    4-4    1  3  4   3  11  4  1  0  1  33
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... g  6-15   2-5    5-7    2  2  4   0  19  1  4  0  0  37
01 ABOUO, Charles......    1-1    1-1    0-0    0  0  0   2   3  1  0  0  0   8
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    2-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   4   4  1  0  0  0  12
34 HARTSOCK, Noah......    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
53 MACGREGOR, Gavin....    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   2  0  0  0  0  12
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   25-63   7-21  13-16  13 20 33  18  70 12 13  2  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-35 51.4%   2nd Half:  7-28 25.0%   Game: 39.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half:  3-12 25.0%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half: 10-11 90.9%   Game: 81.3%    1
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Officials: Larry Spaulding, Kelly Self, Chris Rastatter
Technical fouls: UNLV-None. BYU Cougars-TEAM.
Attendance: 12853
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
UNLV..........................   30   46  -   76
BYU Cougars...................   43   27  -   70
Points in the paint-LV 20,BY 32. Points off turnovers-LV 9,BY 13.
2nd chance points-LV 9,BY 9. Fast break points-LV 0,BY 8.
Bench points-LV 16,BY 9. Score tied-4 times. Lead changed-2 times.
Last FG-LV 2nd-02:06, BY 2nd-00:09.
Largest lead-LV by 9 2nd-05:19, BY by 15 1st-08:45.

BYU GAME #18 FAST FACTS

BYU (14-3, 2-1)

vs.

UNLV (14-4, 2-2)

Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009

Marriott Center (22,700)

Provo, Utah

8 p.m. MT

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (86-29 in fourth season; same overall)

UNLV, Lon Kruger (105-46 in fifth season; 423-279 in 23rd season overall)

Series

UNLV leads, 14-13, including a 2-1 record last season

TV

CBS C (Tom Hart, play-by-play; Greg Anthony, game analysis)

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/

Cougars to Host UNLV in MWC Contest

BYU (14-3, 2-1) is looking to bounce back from a road loss at New Mexico when the Cougars take on UNLV (14-4, 2-2) on Wednesday at the Marriott Center at 8 p.m. The two-time defending league champion Cougars are off to their best start since the 1999-2000 season. BYU trails UNLV 14-13 in the all-time series against the Rebels and has dropped three of four overall. The Cougars have won three-straight in the Marriott Center against the Rebels. Saturday’s game can be heard live on the radio beginning with the pregame show at 7 p.m. MT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City or via the Internet at KSL.com. The game will be televised live on CBS C.

Up Next

BYU will play its second game at the Marriott Center this week when the Cougars take on San Diego State on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. MT. The Cougars defeated the Aztecs 59-56 at home last season behind 17 points and 11 rebounds from Trent Plaisted. Follow the game on www.byucougars.com and listen 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. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.

Cougar Quick Hits

— At 14-3 BYU is off to its best start since the 1999-2000 season when the Cougars started 14-3.

— BYU’s school record 53 game home winning streak ended with a 94-87 loss to Wake Forest. The Cougars have started a new streak that is at two games with wins against Western Oregon and TCU. BYU has won 55 of 56 at home.

— Two-time MWC Coach of the Year Dave Rose has guided BYU to three-straight 20-win seasons and three-straight postseason appearances. In his first season the Cougars were 20-9 and made a trip to the NIT. In his second campaign he guided the Cougars to the outright MWC title, a top-25 ranking, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a 25-9 overall record. Last season he led BYU to a 27-8 overall record, a second-straight outright league title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He has the best record through 110 games of any BYU basketball coach.

— BYU has been picked to finish second (five first-place votes) in the MWC preseason poll by the league’s media.

Looking at UNLV

UNLV is 14-4 overall and 2-2 in MWC action this season, including an 83-66 home win over Wyoming on Jan. 17. The preseason MWC favorite Rebels ended a two-game losing streak that included losses at TCU and at Colorado State with the win over the Cowboys. They opened conferece play with a 60-58 home win over New Mexico. As a team UNLV averages 71.3 points per game and shoots 43.3 percent from the field. UNLV opponents average 64.3 points and shoot 42.1 percent. The Rebels shoot 34.5 percent on threes and lead the MWC in threes per game at 8.0. UNLV averages 1.8 fewer rebounds per game that its foes but has a turnover margin of +3.7. Senior guard Wink Adams leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game but has struggled shooting from the field with a 35.3 field goal percentage. Rene Rougeau averages 11.2 points per game, shoots a team-best 58.0 percent from the field and leads the team in rebounding (7.6 per game) and blocked shots (37 total). Tre’Von Willis also averages double figures at 11.0 points per game. Head coach Lon Kruger is in his fifth season at UNLV where he has compiled a record of 105-46.

Series Notes

Saturday’s game will be the 28th meeting between BYU and UNLV. The Rebels lead the all-time series 14-13 and have won three of the last four meetings, including two games last year in Las Vegas (the regular season meeting and the MWC tournament championship game). The Cougars have won three-straight against UNLV in the Marriott Center, dating back to a 75-72 win in 2006. In 2007 BYU won 90-63 over then-No. 25 UNLV and in 2008 the Cougars won 74-48.

1,000-Point Man

Including a career-high 36 points against Long Beach State and performances of 30 points against Weber State, 28 against Cal Poly and 26 at Tulsa, Lee Cummard now has 297 total points for the season and 1,310 for his career. He is now 17th all-time in scoring in BYU history and is eight points from passing Joe Nelson for 16th all-time.

Approaching 1,000 Points

Junior forward Jonathan Tavernari is fast approaching the 1,000-point club. Coming into the season he had 640 career points and with 293 points so far this season and 933 for his career, Tavernari is now 67 points from reaching 1,000 for his career.

Downtown Record Watch

With three treys at New Mexico junior forward Jonathan Tavernari has 162 career threes, including 45 this season. He started the season with 117 and has passed Andy Toolson for third place and is two makes from downtown from passing Mike Rose (163) for second. Tavernari also has 442 attempts from downtown, good for second all-time in school history. Lee Cummard has 136 threes for his career, six threes from passing Andy Toolson for fourth.

Top-10 Pick Pockets

With 16 steals this season Lee Cummard has climbed to ninth all-time in BYU history in career steals with 115. Cummard had 16 as a freshman, 50 as a sophomore and 33 last season. He is two steals from passing Mark Bigelow for eighth all-time. Jonathan Tavernari is also climbing the list with 29 thefts this season and 95 for his career. He is now 14th all-time at BYU in steals.

Iron Man Cummard

Since arriving at BYU as a freshman in 2005-06 senior Lee Cummard has not missed a single game. His streak of 115 games played currently ranks 11th for the longest such streak in school history. Cummard has also started the last 86 games he has played, dating back to the first game of the 2006-07 season, a streak that ranks seventh longest in school history. In his career Cummard has played in 115 games and with 13 regular season games remaining, the MWC tournament and the possibility of postseason play he has the potential to claim the top spot in career games played. Below are the streaks for consecutive games started and consecutive games played.