BYU Cougars vs UNLV Rebels Basketball Recap

BYU 78, UNLV 64

The Brigham Young Cougars defeated the UNLV Rebels at a sold-out Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Saturday afternoon. For the first time since both universities joined the (then-) newly formed Mountain West Conference back in 1999, the Cougars swept the season series. The ninth-ranked Cougars remained at the top of the MWC with an 8-1 record. The loss dropped head coach Lon Kruger's Rebels to 5-4 in the conference.

After back-to-back uneven performances when the Cougars relied too heavily on Player-of-the-Year candidate Jimmer Fredette, Saturday was a sign of what BYU could do if Jimmer gets some help. Backcourt mate Jackson Emery shrugged off a recent cold streak, scoring 15 points, grabbing 5 points, dishing out 4 assists, and coming up with defensive play after defensive play. Little-used Stephen Rogers provided a surge off the bench for the Cougars, scoring 12 points and pulling down 8 rebounds.

Both teams came out flat and the first portion of game was sloppy. The Cougars went on an 11-0 run and stretched their lead to as much as 12 in the first half. UNLV answered with a mini-run of its own, cutting the BYU lead to three points. Head coach Dave Rose's Cougars then stretched the lead to 11 points at the halftime buzzer, capitalizing on wayward UNLV shooting.

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Behind the play of Fredette, the Cougars extended that lead to 15 midway through the second half. Despite struggling from the field, Fredette went to the free-throw line an amazing 16 times on the evening. He converted all of his attempts. The UNLV defense was bound and determined to let someone other than the heavily-publicized All-American beat them on Saturday afternoon, as they double-teamed every ball screen and put a new defender on Fredette every couple of possessions. In the end, it was both Fredette and his teammates who completed the task of thwarting UNLV’s plans.

The Rebels were led by Anthony Marshall and Tre'Von Willis, who scored 16 points and 15 points respectively. Despite shooting just 25 percent as a team in the first half and dealing with a raucous sold-out arena, the Rebels fought back in the second half to cut the BYU lead to 12 with just under five minutes remaining but could not get any closer.

It was Willis who drew most of the ire from the BYU faithful in this game. Willis, who has been openly critical of Fredette on a number of occasions this season, will now have to wait for a chance meeting in the MWC Tournament to have another opportunity to back up his talk. Jimmer Fredette continues to answer his critics with both points and victories. BYU fans are hoping that the Year of the Jimmer has a long shelf life.

By: Zach Bloxham
DFN Sports Staff Writer