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Young, BYU top Colorado State to continue home success

Feb 22, 2007 - 6:22 AM PROVO, Utah (Ticker) -- Keena Young and Brigham Young are good everywhere but nearly unbeatable at home.

Young scored 24 points and Lee Cummard added 20 as the 22nd-ranked Cougars survived a poor shooting night to post their eighth straight win, a 76-67 victory over Colorado State in a Mountain West Conference clash.

Austin Ainge scored 13 points for BYU, which shot just 45 percent (25-of-56) from the field and 2-of-17 on 3-pointers but improved to 16-0 at home this season and won its 23rd conference game in its last 29 attempts.

"I thought it was a good team win," Cougars coach Dave Rose said. "We defended well, rebounded well and got a good win despite not shooting the ball that well. Every game takes on its own personality. Tonight was a grind-it-out type of game."

The Cougars entered as the conference leader in points (78.3), rebounds (37.8) and assists (16.5). They continued their stellar play on Wednesday, winning their 30th straight home contest to tie Air Force for the nation's longest streak.

Coming off an impressive performance in last Wednesday's win over New Mexico, Young shot 10-of-15 from the floor. Cummard was 5-of-7 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.

"You can see improvement in Keena," Rose said. "He is a hard worker. He knows how to attack bigger guys. At times, he made some great moves. Lee gets himself in position to make big plays. He hit some big free throws in the second half."

Controlling their own destiny, the Cougars entered the game with a 1 1/2-game lead over the Falcons and Nevada-Las Vegas and can secure the regular-season conference title by winning their last three contests.

Jason Smith scored 20 points for the Rams (15-11, 5-9), who shot 51 percent (26-of-51) and committed 20 turnovers.

"Turnovers really killed us," Colorado State coach Dale Layer said. "You can't give BYU 20 extra possessions and win here in the Marriott Center."