BYU basketball: Jimmer Fredette has nice homecoming against Vermont

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. — It was billed as the Hometown Classic, but as games go, it really won't be remembered as much of a classic.

BYU used tough defense and 56 percent shooting from the field to beat Vermont 86-58 and improve to 9-0 for the season Wednesday night.

What the game will be remembered for is the night a city's favorite son — Jimmer Fredette — returned home to the adoring applause of the standing-room-only crowd of 6,300 at the Glens Falls Civic Center, just a mile or so from where he played his high school ball.

Fredette didn't disappoint anyone, scoring 26 points — including the Cougars' first seven — to send the fans clad in BYU blue and Glens Falls red into a frenzy.

"It was a great atmosphere. It's exactly what I expected," Fredette said.

Fredette handled the pressure of his homecoming and all that was asked of him: an appearance at an assembly at his alma mater, local interviews and the obligations of family and friends that come with playing in your small hometown. He said he was ready at game time, even though he appeared nervous, seemingly shaking on the court before the game.

"I was really cold," he said about the court built over a sheet of hockey ice.

He also acknowledged a touch of nerves.

"Everything together was making me shake," he said. "I was trying to warm myself a little bit."

The warmth of the support from the fans on hand surely helped the nerves dissipate quickly, as did Fredette's opening run — a jumper, a 3-point shot and a layup to start the game.

BYU Coach Dave Rose said his staff designed a few plays to get Fredette off to a solid start. Rose said he hadn't even considered that the magnitude of the homecoming game would affect Fredette.

"I expected him to play really well. That's not always the case in these kind of games," Rose said. "I really thought he played within himself. He just does what he does. He runs our team with the number one goal in mind to help our team."

The Catamounts (6-2) stuck with the Cougars in the opening minutes, coming as close as 13-10 after a layup by senior forward Garrett Kissel. But BYU scored 10 straight, highlighted by Logan Magnusson's 3-pointer off a Fredette assist. The overwhelmingly partisan BYU crowd erupted.