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Dickson: Rose's hot shooting started second half of league play right |
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JaredLloyd | Saturday, February 3, 2007, 9:51 pm
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Darnell Dickson
DAILY HERALD
"Harline is still open.”
I won’t take credit for that one: Some enterprising Cougar fan wore that line on their T-shirt at the BYU-Utah men’s basketball game on Wednesday, never missing an opportunity to rub Jonny Harline’s game-winning catch in the Utes’ faces.
You know what?
Mike Rose is still open, too.
Rose and his teammates rained down a school record 15 3-pointers in Saturday’s surprisingly easy 90-63 victory over 25th-ranked UNLV with Rose tying his own individual record by making 8-of-10 from beyond the arc.
It was like that scene from basketball practice in the movie “Pleasantville,” before the kids started showing up in color.
BYU guard Austin Ainge, who contributed 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, said Rose was so hot he could have shot the ball left-handed or kicked it in.
“He was turning and firing before he even saw if anyone was guarding him,” said Ainge, who after one Rose 3-pointer ran down the floor shaking his head in wonder.
“When the crowd starts telling you to shoot the ball when you catch it at half court, you know something’s going on,” Rose said after the game.
After going 0-for-4 against Utah on Wednesday, Rose said he kind of knew it would be his afternoon against UNLV when he nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the first half, this one from straight on and from NBA range.
It brought back memories of the first time he made eight 3-pointers — the first game of his freshman year against Southern Utah. But he also said there’s a big difference between the Mike Rose of 2003 and the Mike Rose of 2007.
“I think I’ve improved my defense so I’m not a liability,” Rose said. “The coaches know they can throw me in there and it’s nice to not be so one dimensional like I was as a freshman.”
BYU’s Lee Cummard congratulated Rose when he finally came out in the game’s final seconds, then withdrew his hand as if touching a hot stove.
Hot, baby.
So let’s talk about perspective: It was a pretty good week for the BYU men’s basketball team, which beat two ranked teams (Air Force was No. 13 when the Cougars claimed victory on Jan. 27) and finally defeated Utah in Salt Lake City for the first time since 1994. The win over UNLV made it 28 straight victories in the Marriott Center and the Cougars are tied with Air Force atop the Mountain West Conference with a 7-2 mark.
“We’re getting really good point guard play and we’re getting the ball where we want it,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “Guys are stepping up and shooting well. We’re just focusing on our next game.”
That would be at Wyoming on Tuesday.
With an overall record of 17-6, the Cougars are close to hitting that magic 20-win plateau with seven games left to play, plus the conference tournament. Let’s say BYU wins its final three home games and goes 2-2 on the road. That would be 22 wins and surely would draw the attention of the NCAA tournament committee.
And you know what?
Harline is still open.
∫ Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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