Fresno, Calif. » Maybe there's a reason why Brigham Young and Fresno State waited so long to play each other after coach Steve Cleveland left Provo for Bulldog country in 2005.

Saturday's nonconference basketball game was nowhere near an instant classic.

But it wasn't awkward for the close friends, either, Cleveland and BYU's Dave Rose agreed, after the Cougars held off the Bulldogs 72-67 at Save Mart Center in front of 4,144 fans, the smallest crowd since the arena opened seven years ago.

"It actually seemed really, really normal," Rose said of his emotions after Cleveland took the postgame podium before him and noted the two coaches spoke at the same LDS Church fireside in Fresno on Friday night, "probably for the first time in the history of NCAA Division I basketball" that opposing coaches have spoken at the same function the night before a game.

Not that the teams burned it up on Saturday night.

They combined for 39 turnovers, even though Fresno played zone for much of the game and the Cougars for much of the second half.

"It was a win, but [it was] pretty ugly," said BYU's Tyler Haws, who scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

With BYU's big guns struggling against a young but athletic team, Haws and sophomore Noah Hartsock (nine points, 11 rebounds) provided a much-needed lift in the first half until their more experienced teammates got it together.

The Cougars overcame the shaky start and held on in the frantic final moments to improve to 8-1. Cleveland's team dropped to 4-5.

"Maybe not the cleanest game," Rose said, noting that BYU's 18 turnovers was extraordinarily high "for a 10, 11, 12-turnover team."

The Cougars led by as many as 17 points a couple of times in the second half, and were up 72-60 when Haws hit a three-pointer with 1:26 remaining. Fresno State scored the game's last seven points to make it appear closer than it was, but Cleveland was claiming no consolation prize.

"To beat a team like BYU, you can't turn it over 21 times," he said, lamenting the giveaways and a lot of missed layups.

Fresno's front line of Paul George, Sylvester Seay and Greg Smith combined for 51 points, but the Cougars took away FSU's outside shooting with a zone of their own.

The Cougars were 10-for-27 from three-point range, the Bulldogs 4-for-15.

"There isn't a defense for turnovers," Cleveland said.

Jimmer Fredette led BYU with 24 points, 18 of those coming in the second half after a brief benching.

"I felt the last 12-14 minutes that Jimmer played really well," Rose said.

Fredette missed a free throw with 13.8 seconds remaining, ending his consecutive made free throws streak at 39, a school record.

The Cougars had 11 turnovers in the first half, and committed 10 fouls. Their sloppiness was surpassed by Fresno's, however, as the Bulldogs gave the ball away 12 times in the opening 20 minutes.

Emery and Chris Miles, starters, combined for just four points, with Miles going scoreless but grabbing eight rebounds.

The Cougars were outscored 38-22 in the paint.

"Their inside guys caused us a lot of problems," Rose said.

Senior Jonathan Tavernari started slowly, too, after switching his jersey number from 24 to 45, the number he wore last year. He finished with 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting.

drew@sltrib.com