BYU basketball: Cougars carry slim lead into halftime against Wofford

DENVER — Miserable shooting and foul trouble have plagued No. 3 seeded BYU in its NCAA Tournament opening-round game against No. 14 Wofford.

At halftime, the Cougars are clinging to a narrow 33-29 lead, trying to avoid being the latest upset victim here at the Pepsi Center in Denver, where the No. 4 and 5 seeds have already fallen.

BYU got off to slow start, hitting only 6 of its first 21 shots from the field. After trading baskets for the first 10 minutes of the game, the Terriers went on a 7-0 run to seize a 17-14 lead with eight minutes left in the half.

Wofford extended its lead to 25-21 when the Cougars scored nine unanswered points to take a 30-25 advantage. The Terriers answered, cutting the deficit to 30-29.

BYU's Jimmer Fredette, who has 15 points at intermission, buried a 3-pointer with about 30 seconds left to give the Cougars a four-point lead as the two teams headed to the locker room.

BYU is shooting 34 percent (12-of-35) while Wofford is shooting 11-of-26 (42 percent).

Charles Abouo played only eight minutes due to early foul trouble, with two. Noah Hartsock also has two fouls while James Anderson has three, including a technical for kicking the ball.

Hartsock has scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Wofford's Noah Dahlman has scored a team-high 11 points.

Cougars on the air

NCAA Tournament

No. 3 BYU (30-4) vs. No. 14 Wofford (21-12)

Today, 5:15 p.m. MT, Pepsi Center, Denver

TV: CBS

Radio: KSL 1160 AM, 102.7 FM

Game notes

The play of Jimmer Fredette has been one of the main storylines of the college basketball season, and the Brigham Young standout can further his big game reputation in the NCAA tournament when Brigham Young opens with Wofford on Thursday in Denver. Fredette leads the nation in scoring at 28.5 points per game, and seemingly topped himself by scoring a career-best 52 points Friday against New Mexico. However, Wofford wont rate as an easy contest for the third-seeded Cougars. The 14th-seeded Wofford nearly upset Wisconsin in last years NCAA tournament, and played a tough non-conference schedule in anticipation of again being part of the NCAA field.

Matchup

No. 14 Wofford vs No. 3 Brigham Young

Preview

No. 14 Wofford vs No. 3 Brigham Young

Previous coverage

The 'Jimmer Show' is about to begin in Denver

Cougars need contributions from entire team

Jimmer has caught President Obama's attention

Misc:

BYU team page

Jimmer Fredette

Wofford team page

Noah Dahlman