From Deseret News archives:

Knock-out punch — Cougars deliver crushing blows down the stretch

Published: Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006 12:29 a.m. MST
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PROVO — BYU and Oral Roberts traded beating up one another with scoring spurts until Keena Young and Lee Cummard combined to deliver a knockout blow to the Golden Eagles, keying a 11-4 final run to lift the Cougars to a 72-62 win Friday night in the second round of the Cougar Holiday Classic.

Young scored 21 points, 15 in the second half and hauled down a career-high 16 rebounds, and Cummard grabbed a career-high 9 boards to go with his 13 points and 5 assists to lead the Cougars past Oral Roberts, a team on the move with recent wins over then ranked No. 3 Kansas and Seton Hall.

The Cougars (9-4) face Seton Hall (8-3) tonight at 7:30 in the Marriott Center night cap. Liberty and Oral Roberts tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

"Sometimes when you win certain games, you can take a step forward as a team and I think we died that tonight," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "We didn't shoot the ball well, but our guys found a way to get a win tonight and I'm proud of them."

Led by Ken Tutt's 24 points and Caleb Green's 21, Oral Roberts raced out of the chute in the second half, outscoring the Cougars 16-2 to take the lead in just five minutes. The Cougars had built a four-point advantage at the half. But BYU did what it had all game long and answered with its own 13-5 run to lead 57-54 with eight minutes to play. Young led the charge, scoring 9 points.

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"Coach tells me to keep attacking the basket," said Young. "This was a team effort. This just showed that if we come out and play our game and get stops, we can play with anybody. They are a great team."

Leading the Golden Eagles 59-57 with 4:39 to play, BYU threw a triple team on Green, a 2,000-point career scorer, and when Mike Rose drew a charge as Green made an inside pivot move, the big senior fouled out. A minute later, Marchello Vealy fouled out pushing Young for a loose ball and when he slapped the floor, he drew a technical.

Green's departure made the Cougar finish easier, the 22nd straight win in the Marriott Center, the fourth longest home win streak in the NCAA.

"We were like a wolf smelling blood at that point," Cummard said. The Cougars went on to build a comfortable 10-point lead on a trey, a layin and a steal and slam dunk by Cummard.

"Green is really a good player. He's tough to guard. I'm glad he wasn't in the game for the final minutes, that definitely worked to our advantage," said Trent Plaisted, who scored 12 points with 11 rebounds.

The Cougars started the game just like they did the second half — in a funk and fell behind 6-0 on a series of turnovers and missed shots as Green got Oral Roberts started.

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BYU's Keena Young drives to the basket in the Cougars' win Friday over Oral Roberts.

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