Milestone machine: Cougars reach many benchmarks by beating New Mexico

PROVO — BYU once again dominated a Mountain West Conference opponent at the Marriott Center.

Along the way, the Cougars notched several impressive milestones, as they earned their 20th victory overall (marking their 30th 20-win season in the program's history), their league-leading 10th win in conference play, their seventh straight triumph (tying their longest winning streak of the season), and their nation-leading 29th consecutive victory at home.

About the only magic number BYU didn't reach Wednesday night was the century mark. No, the Cougars didn't score 100 points, but they came awfully close in a 96-83 decision over the Lobos.

Not that BYU players and coaches are fixated on such numbers. The fact the Cougars won 20 games a year ago was considered something of a minor miracle. This year, it was pretty much expected. But it's important nonetheless.

"They all seem like big accomplishments to us," said coach Dave Rose, who became the fourth Cougar head coach to win 20 games in each of his first two years (BYU finished 20-9 last season).

Rose is the first BYU coach to win 20 games in each of his first two seasons after taking over a program with less than 13 wins the prior year. Just two years ago, the Cougars finished with a dismal 9-21 mark.

When asked about his team grabbing its 20th victory on the season, guard Lee Cummard replied, "Is that where we're at?"

Pardon him for not noticing. "Our goals," Cummard said, "are higher than 20 wins."

And those goals, including a MWC championship, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, are within the Cougars' grasp, with the way they've been playing recently.

"You will be hard-pressed to find another team like this," said New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay. "This team doesn't have many weaknesses if any. I like their chances (at the MWC tournament)."

McKay tried about everything he had in his bag of tricks against BYU, including red-hot 3-point shooting, mass substitutions, traps, and a variety of defensive schemes. The Lobos knocked down 14 3-pointers, but even that wasn't enough to offset the Cougars' prodigious offense.

Five BYU players scored in double-figures, led by Keena Young, who poured in a game-high 23 points, followed by Austin Ainge (15 points), Trent Plaisted (14), Jimmy Balderson (13), and Mike Rose (12). Freshman Jonathan Tavernari added nine.