BYU continues push towards Mountain West Tournament title
Sports Network | March 14, 2008
Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Coming off the most lopsided win in the history of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, the 24th-ranked BYU Cougars continue their drive towards the title as they take on the San Diego State Aztecs in the semifinals at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
As if rolling through the MWC regular season with 14 wins in 16 tries were not enough, the top-seeded Cougars took it to another level last night when they crushed Colorado State in an 89-62 decision. The 27-point margin of victory was the largest ever in the nine-year history of the tournament, the team's 65.2 percent shooting from the field also setting a new standard.
As for the fourth-seeded Aztecs, they didn't have it as easy when they lined up against a tough Air Force squad yesterday, barely getting by with a 53-49 victory in the quarterfinals. One of two teams to have won this tournament twice, SDSU last took home the crown in 2006 with a victory over Wyoming in overtime.
Last season, the Cougars let another one slip away as they fell to UNLV in the championship game, 78-70. It was the second loss to the Rebels in the title tilt for BYU, which took home the trophy in 2001.
These two teams split a pair of meetings during the regular season, with the Aztecs winning at home on February 23rd by a score of 69-65 and the Cougars posting a 59-56 decision at the Marriott Center a month earlier. As a result, the all-time series stands at 41-21 in favor of BYU.
The winner of this game goes up against the winner of the Utah/UNLV matchup for the tournament championship tomorrow night.
The Aztecs shot only 35.9 percent from the field yesterday and were 5-of-18 behind the three-point line, but the squad was nearly perfect at the charity stripe (20-of-22) and that's what put it over the top against the Falcons. Ryan Amoroso tallied 15 points as he sank 9-of-10 at the line and Lorrenzo Wade added 12 points with his 10-of-11 effort. Richie Williams contributed 12 points and five assists and, ironically, didn't make a single trip to the free-throw line in his 35 minutes of the floor. Wade, who is making 68.5 percent of his foul shots, leads the team in scoring this season with his 15.0 ppg and is also first with 107 assists. Amoroso adds 11.0 ppg and is tops with 6.6 rpg, yet it is still difficult for the team to get by without Kyle Spain who was a huge part of the offense before being suspended.
The reward for Colorado State snapping a 17-game losing streak on Wednesday was having to face off against the best team in the conference on Thursday, and that didn't exactly work out in the Rams' favor. Lee Cummard, the MWC Co- Player of the Year, posted 18 points and seven assists for the Cougars yesterday, while Chris Collinsworth recorded a double-double off the bench with his 12 points and team-best 10 rebounds. Sam Burgess checked in with 13 points, Jonathan Tavernari 12 and Trent Plaisted 11 points, with the big man also being tabbed for seven of the team's 13 turnovers. Cummard has been as steady as they come this season, averaging 15.8 ppg on a stellar 45.8 percent shooting from three-point range and an even more impressive 57 percent from the floor overall. Add to that his 113 assists and 6.5 rpg and it was easy to see why he was considered one of the best in the MWC. With Plaisted (15.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Tavernari (13.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) ready to take over at any moment, Cummard knows he doesn't have to do it all for the Cougars to win.
