BYU basketball notebook: Stephen Rogers, Charles Abouo play vital roles off bench for Cougars

PROVO — With starters Brandon Davies and Kyle Collinsworth spending long stretches on the bench, a couple of BYU reserves made big contributions in a 78-64 victory over UNLV on Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center.

Stephen Rogers scored 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds in 21 minutes of play. Charles Abouo scored 10 points for the Cougars in 24 minutes.

"Charles came in and gave us a big boost, as well as Stephen and the rest of the guys," said BYU senior guard Jackson Emery. "Brandon got in foul trouble — he had two fouls within the first two minutes — and I thought that could have hurt us. And it did a little on the glass, but for the most part, our guys stepped up when their names were called. I'm really proud of them."

Davies played only 19 minutes and finished with four fouls. Collinsworth was smacked in the nose while battling for a rebound in the second half and did not return to the floor. He played only 14 minutes.

BYU coach Dave Rose said Collinsworth may have suffered a slight concussion.

"We had such great bench play, with Brandon and Kyle being out," said guard Jimmer Fredette. "It was unbelievable how those guys came in and got out to the (UNLV) shooters. Stephen had eight rebounds — that was huge for us because that's what we needed. He did a great job shooting the ball as well, finding spots and getting open. Our bench was huge. I thought that was the key to the game."

Rose also praised the play of Rogers and Abouo.

"Stephen Rogers came in and played at a great pace, made really big shots and got some big rebounds for us," he said. "(The reserves) did a great job coming off the bench, giving us big minutes, productive minutes, and making plays."

ALL-TIME MWC LEADER: With 3:28 remaining in the game, Fredette eclipsed San Diego State's Brandon Heath to become the leading scorer in Mountain West Conference history with 2,190 career points. Fredette finished with a game-high 29 points.

Heath scored 2,189 points in his career.

Fredette also dished out seven assists, giving him 458 for his career, as he moved past former Wyoming guard Jay Straight for third place in MWC history.

Also, Fredette made three free throws with 42.6 seconds remaining in the first half to propel him into second place all-time in MWC history for free throws made with 523. He passed former Utah center Luke Nevill, who made 520 free throws in his career.

After hitting all 16 free-throw attempts on Saturday, Fredette now holds the BYU record for best free-throw percentage in one game while attempting the greatest number of shots.

The previous best was by Andy Toolson, who hit 14-for-14 from the charity stripe against California in 1989. Fredette also tied Mekeli Wesley and Kresimir Cosic for second place all-time at BYU for most free throws made in a game.

GETTING TECHNICAL: UNLV was whistled for two technical fouls in the first half. The Rebels' 6-foot-11 forward, Carlos Lopez, was involved in a scrum for a loose ball on the floor and received a technical foul for flailing his arms around.

"It was just a fight," said Emery, who was involved in the play. "The ball was on the floor and I dove in there, just going for the ball with three or four guys. I grabbed onto the ball ... I didn't want to react, because when you react, that's when you get in trouble."

Moments later, UNLV's Quintrell Thomas earned a technical after contesting a personal foul call.

Fredette hit all four technical free throws to give the Cougars a 14-8 advantage, their widest lead at that time.

HONORED: Members of the BYU men's volleyball team that won the 2001 national championship were honored at halftime. This year marks the 10th anniversary of that achievement.

e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com