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Fredette carries BYU over Utah

Feb 13, 2011 - 2:07 AM Provo, UT (Sports Network) - Jimmer Fredette, the nation's leading scorer, recorded 15 of his 23 points in the second half, as the seventh-ranked BYU Cougars held off the Utah Utes, 72-59, in a Mountain West Conference clash at the Marriott Center.

Charles Abouo tied career highs with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars (24-2, 10-1 MWC), who are off to their best start in school history. Jackson Emery added 17 points, five assists and six steals.

"That was a knock-down, drag-out game," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "I think that's what we expected. The last game up on the hill was a fast-paced game, up-and-down the floor. Utah did a great job of controlling the pace of this game. For most of the game, it looked like a game that would be played in the 50s. We made some plays late."

Will Clyburn finished with 18 points for the Utes (10-15, 3-8), who have lost five in a row. Chris Kupets tallied 14 points off the bench in defeat.

With the score tied at 48, Fredette took over by scoring 12 consecutive points. Fredette got the surge started with a three-point play and later made a shot from beyond the arc. Brandon Davies capped a 14-0 BYU run with a jumper to make it 62-48 with just over six minutes to play.

Utah responded with six straight points to make it an eight-point game, but that was as close as the visitors got the rest of the way.

"I felt if we could hold Fredette to 12 each half, then we could manage this game," Utah head coach Jim Boylen said. "I knew that if we controlled the pace of this game, it would be to our advantage. I feel like we did that tonight, however, we had a lot of turnovers and they played great zone defense."

The Cougars led by as many as seven in the first half and took a 31-30 edge into the break.

Emery's personal 5-0 flurry early in the second half gave BYU a 38-32 lead. The Cougars' margin reached eight, 48-40, on Emery's layup with nearly 12 1/2 minutes to go.

But Clyburn responded with his own 8-0 run to tie the game. He made a pair of three-pointers and a jumper during the stretch to make it 48-48 with under 10 minutes remaining.

Game Notes

The Cougars have won nine of the last 10 meetings in the all-time series with Utah and that has allowed the team to take a slim 127-125 advantage over the Utes. In the first meeting of the season between the two squads last month in Salt Lake City, BYU blew the doors off the hosts at the Huntsman Center in a 104-79 final. Fredette scored 47 points in that game...BYU went 20-of-24 from the foul line, while the Utes went 4-of-8 from the charity stripe.