Cougars Fall in Regular-Season Finale

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 will enter the MWC Tournament in Denver as the seventh seed, playing New Mexico in the first round on March 10th at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast regionally on ESPN+Plus.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
UNLV vs Brigham Young
03/05/05 7:07 PM at Marriott Center, Provo UT
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VISITORS: UNLV 15-12, 7-7
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
00 BLANKSON, Odartey... f  7-14   1-2    7-7    3  5  8   2  22  0  7  0  0  37
12 HANNAN, Andy........ f  4-4    1-1    0-1    0  1  1   1   9  0  0  0  2  29
30 ANTHONY, Joel....... c  1-1    0-0    4-6    4  2  6   2   6  0  1  4  0  28
03 UMEH, Michael....... g  8-13   1-2    3-4    0  3  3   3  20  0  2  0  1  23
11 MORGAN, Ricky....... g  0-4    0-0    0-1    0  2  2   1   0  4  2  0  0  23
01 BECK, Romel.........    3-3    1-1    3-3    0  0  0   0  10  0  1  0  1  11
05 TERRY, Curtis.......    1-4    0-2    2-2    3  4  7   1   4  3  2  0  0  20
10 BLASSINGAME, Jerel..    2-3    1-1    0-0    1  4  5   5   5  4  3  0  2  17
41 VILLEPIGUE, Dustin..    0-3    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   0  0  0  0  0  12
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   26-49   5-9   19-24  12 24 36  16  76 11 18  4  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-21 52.4%   2nd Half: 15-28 53.6%   Game: 53.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-5  80.0%   2nd Half:  1-4  25.0%   Game: 55.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-8  87.5%   2nd Half: 12-16 75.0%   Game: 79.2%    2
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young 9-20, 3-11
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... f  3-8    2-7    0-0    2  3  5   1   8  2  4  0  1  27
54 MILES, Chris........ f  0-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  1  1  1  0  18
43 DAWES, Derek........ c  0-3    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   0  0  1  1  0   7
01 HALL, Mike.......... g  7-18   5-9    3-5    4  2  6   3  22  1  1  0  3  36
13 AINGE, Austin....... g  3-6    1-2    3-5    0  1  1   3  10  5  0  0  0  32
02 ROSE, Mike..........    2-4    2-4    0-0    1  0  1   3   6  1  1  0  2  20
10 NASHIF, Terry.......    1-2    1-2    0-0    0  1  1   1   3  1  2  0  0   9
12 REICHNER, Brock.....    1-6    1-4    0-0    0  0  0   1   3  1  1  0  1  19
20 BURGESS, Sam........    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   2  0  0  0  0   1
52 JENSEN, Jared.......    4-11   0-0    4-4    4  4  8   4  12  0  2  0  0  31
   TEAM................                         3  2  5
   Totals..............   22-61  12-28  10-14  16 14 30  18  66 12 13  2  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-29 44.8%   2nd Half:  9-32 28.1%   Game: 36.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  9-15 60.0%   2nd Half:  3-13 23.1%   Game: 42.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-2  100 %   2nd Half:  8-12 66.7%   Game: 71.4%    3
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Officials: Greg Burks, Mike Giarrantano, Larry Spaulding
Technical fouls: UNLV-BLASSINGAME, Jerel. Brigham Young-HALL, Mike; AINGE,
Austin.
Attendance: 11721
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
UNLV..........................   33   43  -   76
Brigham Young.................   37   29  -   66
Points in the paint-LV 38,BY 14. Points off turnovers-LV 20,BY 19.
2nd chance points-LV 12,BY 21. Fast break points-LV 4,BY 2.
Bench points-LV 19,BY 26. Score tied-3 times. Lead changes-6 times.