• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Plaisted, BYU advance to Mountain West semis

Mar 9, 2007 - 3:20 AM LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Ticker) -- Trent Plaisted got Brigham Young off to a good start in the Mountain West Tournament.

Plaisted scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the No. 23 Cougars posted a 77-64 quarterfinal victory over TCU.

Mike Rose had 16 points and Jimmy Balderson added 10 for top-seeded BYU (24-7), which has won three straight games and next will face Wyoming in the semifinals on Friday.

The Cowboys posted a 67-62 victory over second-seeded Air Force on Thursday.

Plaisted shot 9-of-12 from the field and Rose was 4-of-9 on 3-pointers for the Cougars, who are 8-6 all-time in this tournament with a title in 2001.

"Trent has been really consistent for us all season," BYU coach Dave Rose said.

BYU shot 49 percent (30-of-61) and is now 20-0 this season when holding an opponent to under 70 points.

"It took a little bit of time, but we finally figured out that some of our perimeter guys were going to be open," Dave Rose said. "When the Frogs were sagging in a little bit, we were able to hit a few jump shots, especially in the second half."

Kevin Langford scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds for No. 8 seed TCU (13-16), which shot only 39 percent (21-of-54) and trailed 36-26 at halftime.

"In the second half, I thought TCU did a good job of playing together," Rose said. "We hit some shots and were able to get a little bit of a lead and then ride that lead in."

Femi Ibikunle had 13 points and four rebounds for the Horned Frogs, who were crushed on the boards, 46-24.