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BYU hoops wins on road at Wyoming |
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JaredLloyd | Wednesday, February 7, 2007, 12:08 am
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Jason Franchuk
DAILY HERALD
LARAMIE, Wyo. — BYU has realized winning on the road does not have to be about perfection.
More than anything, it’s about finding ways to balance out the most devastating errors. The Cougars did it at Wyoming on Tuesday, turning a poor free-throw-shooting night and some late miscues into a critical 77-73 decision that put BYU in charge of the Mountain West Conference race.
It was also the fifth consecutive win and third success story in a row away from Provo, joining conquests of New Mexico and Utah.
“I just thought it was a great team win,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said after his team improved to 18-6 overall, 8-2 in league play. “Guys are sharing the ball and they have a lot of confidence. This game was like the majority of the wins we’ve had this year. A couple guys stepped up and made some big plays, but it was a team win from top to bottom.”
And there’s a wide-ranging belief in themselves that errors can turn into big plays.
None loomed larger than a 3-pointer by Lee Cummard with barely less than five minutes left. It came off a missed free throw by Keena Young, who tied his career high, set earlier this year against the Pokes with 29 points.
Trent Plaisted gathered the unusually long carom, passed out to Austin Ainge, over to Mike Rose. The hot hand had the open look, but he dished over to Cummard in the corner opposite BYU’s bench.
Never any doubt, as a seven-point margin was created, and never extinguished.
“Lee’s a 60 percent shooter when he gets that kind of look,” Rose said of his teammate, who had 10 points and missed his only other 3-point attempt.
Truth is, any sharpshooters at the Arena-Auditorium, like Rose and Cummard or Wyoming’s Brandon Ewing, would agree that a ball caught in such fluid rhythm is a marksman’s dream.
“That was a big opportunity,” said Ewing as UW’s losing streak extended to three games. “And they did pretty well taking advantage of those.”
Well, the ones that weren’t free throws. BYU clanked 17 of its 39 free throw attempts, and the stats would’ve looked worse if freshman Jonathan Tavernari didn’t save BYU by draining all six of his attempts which came at less than 1:20 left. BYU made nine of its last 11, atoning for a wicked stretch when it missed five in a row at around the 8-minute mark. Plaisted only played defense in the closing minutes as BYU hid him from foul shot chances.
Poor charity shooting isn’t exactly the way a team can expect to win a road game, especially considering Wyoming (13-11, 4-6) had only lost once at home in 10 tries — to ranked Air Force.
The Falcons, by the way, have to settle for being in second place (7-3 in league games) after a 21-point loss at San Diego State, which finished about an hour after BYU’s result.
The Cougars were aware of the score, up to the point of catching their hour-long charter flight back to Provo.
“Road wins and private planes, I’ll take it every game,” Rose quipped after scoring 12 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting. “I think it did help us. Our legs were a little fresher late.”
There wasn’t enough energy early to stop James Spencer, who had 13 of the first 16 Wyoming points. He finished with a career-high 23, only eight in the second half. MWC leading scorer Ewing had just eight points, 12 below his average, although Brad Jones added 21, including 11-of-12 at the line.
A troika of Jimmy Balderson, Cummard and Sam Burgess finally wore down Spencer, or at least gained leverage in the matchup by requiring the sizzling shooter to work harder at getting the ball and fire over a more alert defender.
Just another obstacle the Cougars overcame.
Facing a five-point deficit for much of the first part of the second half, BYU rallied. Surprisingly, it started with a pair of successful Plaisted free throws — he went 3-for-10 — then he scored a putback basket. Rose finished the spurt at exactly the 10-minute mark with a trey.
Wyoming battled by forcing free throws with its quick guards, and causing some turnovers.
The normally steady Cummard had two in a row late, off an errant pass, then a charge as a nine-point lead slipped to 68-64 with 2:25 left.
But the sophomore also stood firm. He blocked a 3-point attempt on Wyoming’s next possession. Wyoming failed on a couple of putbacks, setting up what turned into a Tavernari exhibition of how to shoot free throws.
BYU made up for the struggles at the line by shooting better than 50 percent again on the road, the fourth consecutive time that’s been done. BYU went 25-for-46. For those without a calculator handy, that’s 54.3 percent.
“You’re not going to win many games, home or away, if you let the other team do that to you,” Ewing said.
Rose, on his way out the arena, to the cushy ride home that awaited, passed the praise as the Cougars are so selflessly moving the ball.
“It all starts with our post play,” said Rose of Young and Plaisted, who chipped in 13 points. “We’re able to do a lot of things because of those guys. Just like Wyoming relies on their guards for scoring, we’re just as dependent on the inside game.
“Right now everybody just has a great feel for each other.” |
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