BYU basketball: Cougars hold off Aztecs to stop 2-game losing streak

PROVO — This time around, a run at their solid lead didn't cause the BYU Cougars to buckle.

By jumping out to a 12-point first-half lead, then withstanding an early second-half charge by the San Diego State Aztecs, and then fighting off another late-game run, the Cougars were able to hold on for a critical 77-71 win Saturday night at the Marriott Center to end their two-game slump.

Afterwards, BYU's coaches and players said the difference in how the Cougars played Saturday compared to the way they played in losses to New Mexico and UNLV, was quite simple.

"It goes back to players," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "Players make plays, and these players tonight were put in a pretty tough spot. We needed to win this game. And they figured out a way to do it."

The victory creates a six-team logjam atop the Mountain West Conference standings with each having two losses. One of those teams, the Utah Utes, will be BYU's next opponent on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.

"The main difference was we played a full game. We played consistently throughout the 40 minutes. We played very well together and we competed at a higher level for a longer period of time," Rose said.

All of that likely contributed to the biggest difference, and that was field goal percentage. The Cougars returned to their earlier form by shooting 59 percent in the first half, 52 percent in the second half and 56 percent for the game.

"For us to be what we want to be we have to play together and we have to play together for the entire game, and I thought we relied on each other better tonight," Rose said.

On the other end, San Diego State shot only 41 percent in the first half and 47 percent in the second half. The Cougars also outrebounded the Aztecs 34-24, and gave up only nine second-chance points to a very good offensive rebounding team.

"What we really did on the other end was get some really big stops as far as one-shot only stops and that was probably the difference in the game," Rose said.

The Cougars were led in scoring by captains Lee Cummard and Jonathan Tavernari, who tallied 16 points each. Cummard also grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out a team-high six assists.

"Tonight, BYU was the team that their fans are used to seeing," Aztec coach Steve Fisher said. "They made difficult shots. They went 11-for-22 from 3-point range, made their free throws and they run like crazy."