Cougars too tough in win over Wyoming

UW-BYU boxscore

PROVO, Utah -- Wyoming did a decent job on Jimmer Fredette, the Mountain West Conference’s leading scorer, but saw freshman Tyler Haws go off for a career-high 24 points, as No. 13/14 BYU stopped the Cowboys 81-66 Wednesday night in the Marriott Center.

It was the 14th straight win for BYU and the 10th straight win against the Cowboys. The Cougars are 19-1 for the first time since opening the 1987-88 season 20-1.

Jackson Emery scored 15 points and Fredette added 11 points for BYU (4-0 Mountain West). Fredette went into the game leading the MWC at 19.7 points a game.

Adam Waddell had 15 points to lead Wyoming (8-11, 1-4), which has lost three straight. Arthur Bouedo added 13 points for the Cowboys. Wyoming’s leading scorer, Afam Muojeke (17.9 ppg), went down with a knee injury early in the game and he did not return. The extent of Muojeke’s injury is not known at this time.

“I thought we played pretty well tonight," Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. "I was really proud of our guys; tonight wasn’t a let down. We had a hard time attacking the zone in the second half and couldn’t get any balls to go in.”

BYU forced 17 turnovers, out-rebounded Wyoming 40-33 and tied the second-longest winning streak in school history -- three short of the record, also set in 1987-88.

“I was really pleased with our team tonight," BYU coach Dave Rose tonight. "Wyoming did a good job of taking us out of what we normally like to do, but we made some adjustments that helped us. Our zone was good and we rebounded well, so I’m happy with our performance and ready to move onto what’s next."

The Cougars led by eight at halftime, then ran off 12 straight early in the second half and led by double figures the rest of the way.

The Cowboys, one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, continued to struggle, making just 14 of 26 attempts.

“We shot ourselves in the foot with our missed free throws," Schroyer said.

Haws, who had scored 20 points twice this season for his previous career high, hit 8 off from the field and 4 of 5 3-pointers.

“I think he is going to be the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year with the way he is playing," Schroyer said. "He is a very underrated rebounder and he can constantly knock down the threes. He reminds me a lot of Travis Hansen.”

BYU opened the second half on a 15-5 run, holding the Cowboys to two field goals in the first seven minutes. The Cowboys struggled to get shots and missed the few they got as BYU scored 12 straight, starting with a 3-pointer by Haws early in the half.

JayDee Luster got Wyoming back within 64-54 on a layup with 7:30 left and had a chance to cut the margin to single digits but missed the foul shot. The Cougars survived the rally and quickly put the game away.

“I think this is the best team I have seen in a long time," Schroyer said of BYU. "They are very unselfish and play with a lot of team unity. They are a very good basketball team. I think they have the potential to make it through the first few rounds of the NCAA Tournament this year.”

Wyoming will now have a few days off before returning to action on Jan. 27 at home against Utah.