Provo, Utah – Brigham Young avenged its last loss, celebrated its return to the national rankings and remained on top of the Mountain West Conference standings – all in one night.
The 21st-ranked Cougars beat Colorado State 76-67 on Wednesday, increasing their overall winning streak to eight and 30 in a row at home.
The Cougars and their fans reveled in it all, having a top-25 team to cheer on for the first time since 1993 and winning despite having a slightly off shooting night.
BYU, which had shot 50 percent or better in seven of its past eight, struggled in the first half and finished 25-for-56. But the Cougars also never trailed.
“It’s huge. It just gives us that much more confidence going on the road – knowing that even if we don’t shoot good that we can still get things done,” said Lee Cummard, who had a career- high 20 points for BYU.
Keena Young scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half and Austin Ainge added 13 points and eight assists for the Cougars (21-6, 11-2), who remained alone in first place in the MWC with three games left.
BYU visits San Diego State on Saturday, plays at second-place Air Force on Tuesday, then closes the regular season at home against rival Utah. If the Cougars win all three, they are guaranteed the top seed in the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas.
Jason Smith led Colorado State (15-11, 5-9) with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Stuart Creason added 17 points and Tyler Smith scored 15, but the rest of the Rams combined for 15 points.
Creason and Jason Smith – the Rams’ two 7-footers – forced the Cougars to adjust slightly after halftime.
“They’re huge. Once you get past one of them, the other one is nearby,” Young said. “I was just lucky to get a couple shots off.”
Colorado State was the last team to beat BYU, winning 90-78 in Fort Collins on Jan. 20. Despite shooting 51 percent (26-for-51), the Rams were never much of a threat Wednesday.
The Cougars led by as much as 15 in the second half and regrouped after Colorado State got within seven with about 3 1/2 minutes left. The Rams had 20 turnovers to BYU’s 14.
“Turnovers really killed us,” Colorado State coach Dale Layer said. “You can’t give BYU 20 extra possessions and win here.”
COLORADO STATE (15-11, 5-9 MWC)
T. Smith 5-8 4-4 15, Denson 0-2 0-0 0, F. Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, J. Smith 8-13 4-4 20, Gilling 2-11 0-2 6, Kilby 0-1 1-2 1, Lewis 3-5 1-2 8, Surratt 0-0 0-0 0, Creason 8-10 1-2 17. Totals 26-51 11-16 67.
BYU (21-6, 11-2)
Young 10-15 4-5 24, Cummard 5-7 10-10 20, Plaisted 3-12 2-3 8, Ainge 5-9 2-5 13, Balderson 0-0 2-2 2, Rose 0-2 0-0 0, Burgess 1-4 0-0 2, Murdock 0-1 3-4 3, Tavernari 1-6 1-2 4. Totals 25-56 24-31 76.
Halftime – Brigham Young 37-28. 3-point goals – Colorado St. 4-15 (Gilling 2-9, Lewis 1-1, T. Smith 1-3, F. Robinson 0-1, Denson 0-1); BYU 2-17 (Ainge 1-5, Tavernari 1-5, Rose 0-2, Cummard 0-2, Burgess 0-3). Fouled out – J. Smith. Rebounds – Colorado St. 29 (J. Smith 11), BYU 32 (Young 6). Assists – Colorado St. 12 (Creason 4), BYU 15 (Ainge 8). Total fouls – Colorado St. 27, BYU 17.
A – 18,767.
