BYU basketball: Fredette, Cougars make Aztecs sick

SAN DIEGO — Jimmer Fredette says he's still a little under the weather from his month-long bout with mononucleosis. But he's not nearly as sick as the San Diego Aztecs are from seeing the sharp-shooting BYU junior guard burn the nets every time he sets foot in their gym.

Last season Fredette's 28-point break-out game in Viejas Arena handed the Aztecs a heartbreaking home loss. On Saturday night, Fredette, still not 100 percent after coming down with mononucleosis three weeks ago, took it up a notch by dumping 33 on San Diego State in Viejas Arena to give No. 14 BYU a big 71-69 Mountain West Conference road win.

"This was a huge win," Fredette said. "To come in here and get a win, not a lot of teams in our league are going to do that. They are a very talented team and they play really well at home."

The victory is BYU's 15th straight and improves the Cougars to 20-1, matching the best record ever after 21 games in school history. They're 5-0 in the MWC — good enough for a two-game conference lead heading into Wednesday's game at New Mexico. The victory also snaps San Diego State's 14-game home winning streak. The Aztecs have lost only two of their past 26 home games — both to BYU.

"It's our fifth conference win, so it's really big," Cougar coach Dave Rose said. "We're in the middle of a long conference season grind and every win you get is important."

And even though Fredette says he's not 100 percent, you won't find many Aztec players or fans who believe it.

"He truly is one of the best," Aztec coach Steve Fisher said. "He knows how to create opportunities for himself. He wiggles; he twists; he finds gaps; he can step back and make shots and he can shoot it on you when you are guarding him."

In clearly his best game since scoring a school-record 49 points against Arizona a month ago, Fredette played 38 minutes and hit 11 of 19 shots. He also hit 5-of-8 from downtown, was 6-of-6 from the line and dished out a team-high five assists.

"They gave me some shots early, and I got some good looks, and that just kind of got me going," Fredette said.

When BYU's offense got sluggish in the first half, Fredette and freshman Tyler Haws (17 points) kept the Cougars in front. When the Cougars again struggled offensively in the second half, falling behind by five with 12 minutes remaining, Fredette and Haws again came through with some clutch baskets and keyed a 15-0 run that really put BYU in position to survive the Aztecs' late charge.