Young Leads Cougars to Victory

PROVO -- After a slow start, the BYU Cougars pulled out an 89-81 victory against the Wyoming Cowboys Tuesday night in the Marriott Center, improving to 13-5 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain West Conference. Senior Keena Young led his team with 29 points, a new career high, and 10 rebounds. BYU also improved their home-winning streak to 26 games.

"It was a really physical game," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "Our guys responded well to that."

The Cougars started out slow with two turnovers in the beginning minutes. A three-pointer by Brandon Ewing carried the Cowboys to a 12-4 lead before a time-out was called by BYU.

The game continued to go Wyoming's way until Ben Murdock hit a three-pointer to bring the Cougars within five points. A seven-point run by BYU was capped by a Mike Rose breakaway lay-up.

With 10:25 left in the half, Trent Plaisted got his first bucket of the game after missing his previous six attempts. BYU continued to struggle when Murdock received his second foul with just over eight minutes left in the half.

A Jonathan Tavernari jump shot was followed by an Austin Ainge three-pointer. Picking up where he left off during the Cougars' last home game against TCU, Tavernari made his first three-point attempt to bring his team within three.

"Jonathan (Tavernari) came off the bench and gave us a lift," said Rose. "He's playing with a lot of confidence. He has a great attitude and really helps our team."

As the half came to a close, Young was sent to the free-throw line where he made both of his shots. A three-pointer by Jimmy Balderson tied the game for the first time. On the last play of the half, Tavernari hit his second three of the night, giving BYU its first lead of the game at 37-35.

Young was fouled and sent to the line to open the second half where he made both of his free throws. A dunk by Plaisted with 16:05 on the clock tied the game, and a costly turnover by the Cowboys resulted in a breakaway lay-up by Rose, giving the Cougars a 51-45 advantage.

BYU continued on a 17-0 run, with Young contributing nine points and Rose adding five. A strong defensive showing by the Cougars resulted in an expired Wyoming shot clock with just over 10 minutes to play.

"The defense sparked the 17-0 run," said Rose. "We got stops on defense and attacked them in transition."

Murdock's fourth foul sent Eric Platt to the line, bringing the score to 66-54. Soon after, Plaisted recorded his second dunk of the night with 7:14 left in the half.

At 6:53, Ewing recorded his first points of the half on a pair of free throws, having gone over 24 minutes without a score.

"I think our kids got frustrated by something they couldn't control," said Wyoming head coach Steve McClain. "But I think that they really kept their composure."

Young tipped in a missed three-point attempt by Lee Cummard to give BYU a 12-point lead. On a trip to the free-throw line with four minutes left in the game, Young surpassed his previous career high of 27 points.

Ewing's 800th career point came with just over two minutes to play.

A steal by Ainge and ensuing tip-in by Plaisted put the Cougars up 85-79 with 30 seconds left in the game. A pair of free throws by Ainge sealed the BYU victory.

"We got off to a great start," said McClain. "We did what we wanted to do. We got it close but didn't get it."

Four Cougars scored in double figures, including Young with 29 points, Plaisted with 15, Ainge with 13 and Tavernari with 10.

Ewing and Brown both led Wyoming with 22 points each. Brown also led his team with 18 rebounds.

Up next the Cougars will travel to Colorado State on Saturday. The game will be televised on the mtn. at 3:30 p.m. MT.

CLICK HERE to view postgame notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Wyoming Cowboys vs BYU Cougars
01/16/07 6:05 p.m. at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Wyoming Cowboys 11-7, 2-2 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 SPENCER, James...... f  3-10   1-4    0-0    0  1  1   1   7  0  2  0  0  34
20 TAYLOR, Joseph...... f  2-4    0-0    0-0    2  6  8   4   4  2  0  2  0  21
40 BROWN, Daaron....... c  9-17   0-0    4-5    8 10 18   3  22  0  4  0  1  32
01 JONES, Brad......... g  2-12   0-3    9-10   2  0  2   5  13  6  1  0  3  37
23 EWING, Brandon...... g  7-14   1-6    7-11   2  5  7   4  22  4  1  0  2  39
03 OKOYE, Ike..........    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   2  0  1  0  0   9
05 DERMODY, Ryan.......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  1  0  0   7
31 PLATT, Eric.........    3-4    1-2    2-3    0  0  0   2   9  0  1  0  2  15
32 NELSON, Travis......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  0  0  0   1
45 SONGONDO, Bienvenu..    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  0  0  0  0   5
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   28-65   3-16  22-29  15 23 38  24  81 12 11  2  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-32 43.8%   2nd Half: 14-33 42.4%   Game: 43.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-7  28.6%   2nd Half:  1-9  11.1%   Game: 18.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-9  55.6%   2nd Half: 17-20 85.0%   Game: 75.9%    1
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 13-5, 3-1 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
03 YOUNG, Keena........ f  9-16   0-0   11-12   5  5 10   1  29  3  3  0  2  31
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... f  5-13   0-0    5-9    4  1  5   2  15  0  1  1  1  33
13 AINGE, Austin....... g  2-4    2-3    7-8    0  4  4   3  13  4  4  0  1  32
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... g  3-8    1-1    0-0    1  5  6   5   7  1  2  0  0  20
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ g  0-4    0-2    1-2    0  3  3   4   1  2  0  3  1  26
02 ROSE, Mike..........    3-7    1-5    2-2    1  1  2   3   9  3  2  0  2  31
15 MALAMAN, Fernando...    0-1    0-1    0-0    1  1  2   2   0  0  1  0  0   4
20 BURGESS, Sam........    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
24 MURDOCK, Ben........    1-3    1-2    2-2    1  1  2   4   5  0  0  0  0   8
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan.    4-5    2-2    0-0    2  4  6   0  10  0  0  0  0  12
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   27-62   7-17  28-35  16 28 44  24  89 13 13  4  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-38 36.8%   2nd Half: 13-24 54.2%   Game: 43.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-12 41.7%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 41.2%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-4  100 %   2nd Half: 24-31 77.4%   Game: 80.0%    3
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Officials: Randy McCall, Ruben Ramos, Chris Rastatter
Technical fouls: Wyoming Cowboys-TAYLOR, Joseph. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 12817
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Wyoming Cowboys...............   35   46  -   81
BYU Cougars...................   37   52  -   89
Points in the paint-WY 26,BY 30. Points off turnovers-WY 15,BY 19.
2nd chance points-WY 12,BY 16. Fast break points-WY 2,BY 4.
Bench points-WY 13,BY 24. Score tied-4 times. Lead changes-1 time.