Cougars extend home winning streak to 22, 4th-best in nation

PROVO — BYU extended its homecourt winning streak Friday night.

Barely.

With a closer-than-the-final-score-suggests 72-62 victory over Oral Roberts in the BYU Holiday Classic at the Marriott Center, the Cougars saw their winning streak at home improve to 22 games, which is fourth-best in the country.

Some nights, BYU rolls to an easy victory in Provo, such as its 102-40 rout of Western Oregon a week ago. Friday was not one of those nights.

Trailing by as many as 10 early in the second half, the streak appeared to be in jeopardy. But BYU rallied to keep it alive.

With 6:25 left, the score was tied, 57-all, before the Cougars outscored the Golden Eagles, 15-5, the rest of the way. During one stretch, BYU scored seven straight points and when Lee Cummard buried a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 64-57 advantage with 3:07 left, the Marriott Center erupted.

Keena Young, who scored 21 points and collected 16 rebounds to lead BYU, said the 9,397 fans in attendance helped his team down the stretch.

"We had a nice crowd. The crowd got into it," Young said. "Whenever we make a play or get a stop, the fans make noise and it gives us adrenaline."

"This is a difficult place to play," said Oral Roberts coach Steve Sutton.

Winning at home, Young said, is a mindset.

"We have to protect our homecourt," he said. "We always say that and that's what we try to do."

Young didn't know about the winning streak until he was told about it after Friday's game.

"Really?" he said. "I didn't realize that. We just try to come out and execute and play with energy. Every team plays better at home because you've got the fans and you feel more comfortable than you do on the road."

The Cougars haven't lost at home since dropping their season-opener to Loyola Marymount, 83-71, on Nov. 18, 2005.

They went on to win their other 14 home games that season and this year, BYU is 8-0 at the Marriott Center. Over the past seven seasons, the Cougars have posted an 85-10 mark at home.

How much does playing at home mean to BYU? Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season, the Cougars are 6-10 in road games, including 1-3 this year.

When it comes to homecourt winning streaks, BYU is in good company. Gonzaga boasts the nation's longest homecourt winning streak at 45, followed by Connecticut (30) and Air Force (23). The Cougar win lifted BYU past Memphis, which has won 21 straight at home, to sole possession at No. 4 on the list.

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