BYU basketball: Ailing Aztecs no match for steady Cougs

LAS VEGAS — Dave Rose has BYU playing for the tournament trophy once again in the Thomas & Mack Center after carving out a win over San Diego State Friday night.

It wasn't pretty, but BYU got key buckets from their top guns in the second half to rise above San Diego State 63-54 and advance to the finals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament for the second straight year.

"It was a battle, a real war out there," said senior guard Sam Burgess.

Lee Cummard led the Cougars with 20 points and seven boards, while Trent Plaisted chipped in 19 points as Rose leaned on his veterans to deliver his 27th win of the season.

"I'm looking forward to it," Cummard said of tonight's championship game at 5:05 p.m. Last year, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth the way we ended it in the championship game, and I want it to end better."

The title game will be televised live on Versus.

The Aztecs, battling a team-wide flu situation, decided to slow it down against the Cougars, who scored 89 on Colorado State Thursday. That led to a plodding, ugly contest with eight lead changes and four ties until reserve center Chris Miles canned all three of his inside shots just after halftime to give the Cougars a 38-35 lead after being up by just one point at halftime.

"Miles came in and was physical and made those shots in a few minutes, and that energized us and got the rest of us going," said Rose. "It gave Trent a chance to rest and finish strong."

At that juncture, Jonathan Tavernari and Cummard knocked down back-to-back bombs, and when freshman Jimmer Fredette found Cummard for a driving lay-in with 8:36 to play, the Cougars were on their way to an 8-2 run and an 11-point advantage with 4:17 to play.

Both teams played without much emotion and looked energy-deprived on the court. The Cougars managed just two 3-pointers in 10 tries in the first half but made 3 of 4 to start the second half. That burst was the difference as the Aztecs lacked any firepower except center Ryan Amoroso, who ended with 18 points.

"We tried to speed things up," said Rose of the slow pace of the game. "The problem is, we didn't finish."

After the Cougars fumbled the ball away seven times trying to trigger a transition game in the first half, Rose told his players to play better defense, lock down their assignments and be patient in setting up shots. It worked.