BYU basketball: Cougars 'ragged' in blowout win

PROVO — Clearly, BYU coach Dave Rose doesn't want his BYU Cougars getting too confident too early.

Even after the Cougars throttled Concordia University 96-54 in Thursday's season-opening exhibition, Rose said things were still a little ragged out there at times, and the play was not always in accordance with what the coaching staff wants to see.

"This is a good first step and we'll go from here ... but we have a lot of work to do on a lot of things," Rose said.

Early on the veterans carried the load, but plenty of the new guys saw plenty of action — and did plenty to impress the coach in hopes of earning some time of the court. Starting the game alongside returners Lee Cummard and Jonathan Tavernari were center Chris Miles and guards Lamont Morgan and Jimmer Fredette.

"I think you could see the difference in the experience level of our players, but what I was happy with was that they came in and all played with a lot of energy," Rose said.

Fredette led all scorers with 26 points on eight-of-13 shooting, which included six-of-eight from 3-point range. The sophomore also added five assists and three steals.

"I'm just willing to get out there and do whatever I can to get some victories," Fredette said of his mixed time at the point and shooting-guard spots.

Even Cummard, who had 15 points, nine boards and six assists, was impressed with Fredette's offensive numbers.

"It's good to see him play well," Cummard said. "We need him to play well and be a big part of this team."

Tavernari, in only 20 minutes, also scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Charles Abouo came off the bench to add nine points and seven boards. After the Cougars started slowly, it was two back-to-back hammer dunks midway through the first half by the former Logan High star that ignited the crowd and got BYU rolling.

"I think that's something I can bring to this team, is some energy," Abouo said.

Prior to those two dunks, both of which were assisted by Tavernari following a steal, the Cougars were clinging to a 22-15 lead. Shortly following Abouo's dunks the Cougars went on an 11-0 run, which included three straight jumpers from Fredette, to suddenly go ahead by 20. But Rose credited his team's defensive stops for keying that run.

"It was hard for them to get the shots that they wanted, and when they did we contested them pretty good and I think that demoralized them a little bit," he said.