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Plaisted leads BYU in rout of Air Force

Mar 2, 2008 - 6:26 AM PROVO, Utah (Ticker) -- Trent Plaisted scored 20 points to lead Brigham Young to a 76-57 victory over Air Force on Saturday in Mountain West Conference action.

Jonathan Tavernari scored 12 points and Lee Cummard added 10 for BYU.

The Cougars (23-6, 12-2 Mountain West) improved their home winning streak to 46 games, the longest active streak in the nation.

"I think everyone in this league plays better at home," Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said. "BYU really got things going tonight and they play confidently at home."

At 23-6, the Cougars are off to their best record since 1992-93 when they were also 23-6 after 29 games. Only two teams at BYU have ever exceeded the team's current record while four others have equaled that mark.

BYU scored the final six points of the first half and the first 10 of the second half to turn a 25-24 deficit in the first half to 40-25 with 17:20 remaining in the game.

Cummard capped the 16-0 run with a pair of technical foul shots, as Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds was whistled by the officials after he displayed his frustration following a dunk from Plaisted.

After Evan Washington ended the Falcons' scoring drought with a jumper, the Cougars went on a 15-3 run to push the lead to 55-30 with 10:44 remaining.

"We were competitive in the first half, but in the second, we were very good at being the aggressor and putting on the attack to get the results we needed," BYU coach Dave Rose said.

BYU shot 49 percent for the game - including 55 percent from the arc - to grab its 18th double-digit win of the season.

On the other hand, the Falcons, who rank among the top teams in the conference in 3-point shooting at 38 percent, finished just 1-of-12 from the arc for the contest.

"Overall, I thought we played well in the first half, but we got out of control and couldn't control BYU in the second half," Reynolds said. "We just couldn't make our shots."

Andrew Henke paced Air Force (14-13, 6-8) with 14 points and was the only Falcon in double figures.