AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.—Jimmer Fredette scored 25 points and No. 7 BYU used runs of 16-0 and 14-0 to cruise past Air Force 90-52 Wednesday night.
Fredette, the nation’s leading scorer, reached the 20-point mark for the 10th straight game to lead the Cougars (23-2, 9-1 Mountain West) to their 12th consecutive victory over the Falcons (13-10, 4-6).
Jackson Emery added 17 points, Brandon Davies had 13 and Stephen Rogers 11 for the Cougars, who shot 57.9 percent from the field and hit 15 of 30 3-point attempts. Their defense was even better, holding the Falcons to 34.5 percent shooting and a season low for points.
After Air Force cut the BYU lead to 36-27 on an Evan Washington dunk to start the second half, the Cougars scored the next 14 points.
BYU blew open a 15-12 game with a 16-0 run early in the first half, holding Air Force scoreless for 7:51. The Falcons fought back with an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 31-23 with 2:13 remaining, but Fredette scored five straight points to give the Cougars a 36-25 halftime lead.
Tom Fow and Michael Lyons led the Falcons with 11 points apiece.
The game was a sloppy affair, with the teams combining for 30 turnovers. BYU used 24 assists on its 33 baskets and scored 26 points off turnovers. The Cougars also won the rebounding battle, 41-26.
BYU was the highest-ranked team Air Force has hosted since then-No. 4 Utah visited Clune Arena on Jan. 22, 1998.
