Provo » Zipping out to a 14-point lead just six minutes into the game, the undefeated BYU Cougars were starting to think they were in for another easy contest on Friday night at the Marriott Center.
But the Weber State Wildcats had other ideas, and the visitors "gave us all we wanted," in the words of BYU coach Dave Rose, before finally succumbing 87-70 in front of 11,892 well-entertained fans.
Jimmer Fredette was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line to match Weber State's Damian Lillard for game-high scoring honors with 23, and foul-plagued Jackson Emery gave the Cougars a huge spark midway through the second half with back-to-back three pointers as BYU improved to 5-0.
Weber State dropped to 1-4, but showed it is far better than its early record indicates with a spirited run after falling behind 18-4 in the early going.
"The game was a battle," said Weber State coach Randy Rahe. "We have very high character kids that are going to fight every step of the way."
The Wildcats outrebounded the Cougars 37-31, 16 of those boards coming on the offensive glass, and were 9-for-21 from three-point range to throw a little scare into the heavy favorites.
"I thought Randy's team was terrific," Rose said.
Weber State had several three-point leads in the second half, the first opponent to lead BYU after the break this season, and trailed just 58-57 with 9:45 left in the game.
But Emery, who had been on the bench with three fouls, drilled his three pointers moments after stepping on the court, and Fredette added two more bombs then a pair of free throws. Suddenly, it was 72-59 with 6:23 left and the starch was out of the Wildcats.
"A big thing that I try to do every game is just create a spark within us, because when we get that fire going, we are a train, an engine, we just keep going, "Emery said.
Emery finished with 15, while Jonathan Tavernari added 14 and seven rebounds. Lindsey Hughey chipped in 16 for Weber State, which was outscored 28-13 at the free-throw line.
"That's a good team. I don't think we are going to play another team as good as them," Lillard said.
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| WSU | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | Pts |
| Lillard | 31 | 8-16 | 3-3 | 1-4 | 3 | 4 | 23 |
| Bullinger | 35 | 3-10 | 2-2 | 2-9 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Hansen | 19 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Hughey | 32 | 6-9 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| Panos | 9 | 0-5 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Session | 31 | 2-6 | 3-6 | 3-4 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| Washington | 10 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Noble | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Morris | 32 | 3-9 | 1-4 | 4-7 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Totals | 240:00 | 24-60 | 13-19 | 16-37 | 10 | 22 | 70 |
Percentages: FG .400, FT .684. 3-Point Goals: 9-21, .429 (Lillard 4-8, Bullinger 1-4, Hansen 0-3, Hughey 4-5, Session 0-1.). Team Rebounds: 37. Team Turnovers: 18 (18 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Washington, Morris 2.). Turnovers: 18 (Lillard 4, Bullinger, Hansen, Hughey 5, Session 4, Washington 2, Morris.). Steals: 8 (Lillard 3, Bullinger, Hansen, Hughey, Session 2.).
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| BYU | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | Pts |
| Fredette | 32 | 5-13 | 10-10 | 0-2 | 7 | 1 | 23 |
| Tavernari | 32 | 5-10 | 3-4 | 0-7 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| Haws | 23 | 1-5 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Emery | 22 | 5-8 | 1-2 | 0-3 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| Miles | 14 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Magnusson | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zylstra | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anderson | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Morgan | 11 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Abouo | 13 | 0-4 | 5-6 | 2-3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Davies | 11 | 3-3 | 4-4 | 2-4 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Hartsock | 19 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Loyd | 19 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Totals | 240:00 | 25-51 | 28-33 | 8-31 | 12 | 16 | 87 |
Percentages: FG .490, FT .848. 3-Point Goals: 9-16, .562 (Fredette 3-5, Tavernari 1-2, Emery 4-6, Abouo 0-2, Hartsock 1-1.). Team Rebounds: 31. Team Turnovers: 11 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Fredette ,Abouo, Hartsock). Turnovers: 11 (Fredette 2, Tavernari, Haws 2, Emery, Miles, Morgan, Hartsock). Steals: 11 (Fredette, Tavernari 2, Haws 2, Emery 2, Abouo, Davies, Hartsock, Loyd).
Weber State keeps it close until the last seven minutes, but falls by 17 in Provo.
» BYU's Jimmer Fredette and Weber State's Damian Lillard tie for game-high honors with 23 points apiece.
» Weber State wins the rebounding battle, 37-31.
