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Rose, Ainge help BYU crush No. 25 UNLV

Feb 4, 2007 - 2:13 AM PROVO, Utah (Ticker) -- Mike Rose and Austin Ainge both flashed their long-range ability.

Rose scored a career-high 27 points and Ainge added 17 as Brigham Young posted an easy 90-63 Mountain West Conference triumph over No. 25 UNLV, which had its five-game winning streak halted.

Despite the win, the Cougars (17-6, 7-2 MWC) remained tied with Air Force, which also won on Saturday, for the top spot in the conference standings.

The win also helped BYU push its home winning streak to 28 games, which is tied for the second longest in the nation. The Cougars are 14-0 at the Marriott Center this season.

In the opening half, BYU held a slim two-point edge with 13:18 remaining before pulling away for good behind an impressive 25-10 burst for a 41-24 advantage at the 5:49 mark.

"They got on top of us early, and we didn't respond in a way that we could change the momentum back," Runnin' Rebels coach Lon Kruger said.

A 6-3 senior, Rose connected on four of his five first-half 3-pointers during the run. He made eight shots from the arc overall, tying his own record set in 2003-04 as a freshman.

"It's fun to be in the zone," Rose said. "There's no other feeling like it."

"You get someone who goes 8-for-10 from the perimeter, and that's a special night," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "Mike had a great night."

In his collegiate debut, Mike Rose drained eight 3-pointers in an 88-54 victory against Southern Utah here on November 21, 2003.

The Cougars continued to apply the heat after intermission as Ainge netted nine points during a 14-6 surge, extending the lead to 63-40 with 12 1/2 minutes left.

"We really wanted to work on the inside but had a lot of opportunities from outside the perimeter," Dave Rose said.

Trent Plaisted had 11 points and nine rebounds and Keena Young scored nine for Brigham Young, which has won 12 of its last 14 contests.

Jo'Van "Wink" Adams scored 14 points and Joel Anthony chipped in 12 for the Runnin' Rebels (19-5, 6-3), who shot just 36 percent (21-of-58) from the floor.

"We have to learn from this, make progress and get better," Kruger said. "We didn't win many battles (Saturday). It was a total domination by BYU. They got us on our heels early, and they just kept getting better."