#16 Cougars hold off Cowboys 85-63

			1		2		Total
	(16) BYU	40	45	85	Final
	Wyoming	28	35	63

The Cowboys made things interesting in the second half but in the end the #16 BYU Cougars were just too strong as they went on to win to win 85-63. Wyoming started poorly once again and found themselves in a 0-10 deficit early. At halftime the Cougars led 40-28 and were up by 15 in the second half before the Cowboys narrowed the gap to eight points with 10 minutes left.

Desmar Jackson showed why he is the future of the program by scoring a career high 26 points. Outside shooting has been weakness for Desmar but he has been working hard and it showed when he nailed four of five three pointers. He had only made four total three pointers coming into the game. As a team the Pokes shot 42% from long range - 6 of 14. Amath M'Baye also hit his first career three pointer on his only attempt. Djibril Thiam had 12 points and 7 boards and was the only other scorer in double figures for the Cowboys.

Tyler Haws and Jimmer Fredette both scored 22 points each to keep the Cougars ahead and make sure they keep up with New Mexico. The Cougars are currently a half game out of the lead in the Mountain West. Haws and Fredette were a combined 15 for 15 on free throws and the Cougars hit 20 of 24 as a team. BYU had a 43-31 rebound advantage and kept Wyoming from scoring many second chance points. Jonathon Tavernarni had 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

The Cowboys have the week off to prepare for a roadtrip to Utah. The Pokes will look to break their seven game losing streak and sweep the Utes on Saturday February 27th at 4:00PM MST.

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Desmar Jackson is the man - 26 points a new career best. His improving outside game is a great sign for the future.

Cowboy Low: Arthur Bouedo followed his 17 points on Wednesday with 0 points on 4 shots in 26 minutes. Consistency is a big weakness for Bouedo. He needs to step up every night if he wants to see the floor consistently next season.

Cowboy Foe: Tyler Haws got it done with 22 points and 8 boards. Plus his name isn't Jimmer.

Preview: BYU at Wyoming

BYU Cougars at Wyoming Cowboys
Arena-Auditorium
4:00PM
TV: The Mtn

BYU is coming to Laramie and they are hungry for a Mountain West title. The Cougars (24-3, 9-2) trail New Mexico by just a half game for the top spot in the Conference. Meanwhile the Wyoming Cowboys (9-17, 2-10) are stuck in a six game losing streak and are headed for the pigtail game of the MWC tournament.

BYU was dominant to start the season but recent losses to New Mexico and UNLV and have shown that there are chinks in the Cougars armor. Jimmer Fredette has been incredible this season averaging 21 points and 5 assists. After a battle with mono a few weeks ago he is back at full strength and coming off a 36 point performance at Colorado State. Jonathon Tavernari and Jackson Emery have also been vital to the success of the Cougars over the last two weeks.

Wyoming is in danger of falling to .500 at home on Saturday. With a loss the Pokes would be sitting at a 9-8 home record. That isn't great but it's an improvement over their 0-9 record on the road. Desmar Jackson has been the leading scorer for Wyoming over the last month. The freshman guard out of Ohio has a nice mix of size and speed but needs to get stronger and improve long range shooting to become a true threat in the conference. Arthur Bouedo is coming a 17 point performance on Wednesday the best game of his Wyoming career.

	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
BYU	24-3	82.7	63.7	15-0	7-3	W2
WYO	9-17	73.4	75.7	9-8	0-9	L6

Cowboys can't hang with Cougars

Tyler Haws career best 24 points led the BYU Cougars to a 81-66 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys Wednesday night. With the victory BYU improves to 19-1 (4-0) and is just one win away from matching the best start in program history. The game was close for the first 10 minutes before the Cougars opened up a 41-33 halftime gap and never looked back.

Despite an unspectacular night shooting from the floor the Cougars used a 40-33 rebounding advantage to win this one without too much stress. Jackson Emery had 15 points five rebounds and four steals. Jimmer Fredette has one of his lesser games this season but still put 11 points and six rebounds.

A rough season for the Cowboys (8-11, 1-4) could take a steep nosedive as leading scorer Afam Muojeke went out with a knee injury after colliding with Haws halfway through the first half. Muojeke will have an MRI on Thursday to find out the extent of the damage. Adam Waddell stepped for the Pokes with a team high 15 points as well as four rebounds and two blocks. Arthur Bouedo found his stroke again as he hit five shots for 13 points. Jaydee Luster added nine points and six assists.

The Cougars have now won 10 in a row against the Cowboys. The Pokes have not defeated the Cougars since February 12, 2005.

BYU faces a tough challenge this weekend as they travel to San Diego to face a Aztec team that is tough as nails at home. Wyoming has a week off to licks their wounds and prepare for the Runnin' Utes who visit on the 27th.

Box Score

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Adam Waddell continued his strong conference play with 15 points. He has scored in double digits four out of his last five games.

Cowboy Low: Amath M'Baye had 6 of the Cowboys 17 turnovers. No way to stick with a team like BYU when you cough up the rock.

Cowboy Foe: Tyler Haws brought his "A" game tonight - 24 points and 6 rebounds.

Cowboys head to Cougar Town

Provo is nothing like the TV show

Wyoming Cowboys at #14 BYU Cougars 6:00pm MST
Marriot Center
TV: The Mtn

The Wyoming Cowboys are up next in line for chopping block of the BYU Cougars. Or are they? The #14 Cougars are 18-1 (3-0 MWC) and winners of thirteen in a row. After a 44 point rout of Colorado State Rams over the weekend the Cougars appear to be the class of the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming (8-10, 1-3 MWC) is winless on the road this year and the youthful roster is still trying to figure out how to play as a team.

With everything going so well for the Cougars this could be a classic scenario of BYU looking ahead in their schedule? With tough road tests ahead (1/23 @ SDSU and 1/27 @ New Mexico) BYU needs those head to head wins to stay ahead of the Aztecs and Lobos. The Cougar lone loss came against the Utah State Aggies (13-6), a talented but not elite level team.

This game should feature plenty of offense as the top two offenses and individual scorers in the Mountain West will be on display. BYU's Jimmer Fredette is averaging a hair shy of 20 points a game including a school record 49 versus Arizona earlier thise season. After coming down with mononucleosis a few weeks ago Fredette appears to be hitting his stride again despite not being at 100%. Afam Muojeke leads the Pokes with 17.9 points a game and has been playing some of his best ball over the last couple weeks.

This would be a tough game for Wyoming to upset BYU but you never know what can happen in the Mountain West. The Cougars swept the season series with the Cowboys last year.

	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
WYO	8-10	78.1	74.6	8-6	0-4	L2
BYU	18-1	83.9	61.9	11-0	5-1	W13

Utah LB will decide today

Toloa'i Ho Ching has narrowed his list of schools down to two and stated that he will make his decision on December 7th according to an article on Totalbluesports.com. The 6'0 225 OLB from Sandy, UT (Alta HS) is a three star prospect according to Scout.com.

Wyoming made a scholarship offer along with BYU and Wisconsin. Ching never seemed very interested in UW and never made an official visit. In September Ching made an official visit to Madison and liked what he saw there. He will give a verbal commitment to either BYU or Wisconsin.

While it hurts losing Ching it never seemed he would end up in Brown and Gold. Considering the fact that he is LDS, my hunch is that he ends up in Provo next year.

Coach Christensen has been pretty busy meeting with recruits lately and should be able to put this scholarship to good use.

Mountain West Matchups

Here are the other matchups in the Mountain West this weekend.

Air Force at #19 BYU
1:30PM MST
TV: CBS College

This is my matchup of the week in the Mountain West. Air Force boasts a stellar defense and BYU has a potent offense. The Falcons nearly knocked off TCU and forced Utah in overtime earlier this season. I say that BYU shows it weakness on defense and Air Force comes out of Provo with a win.

San Diego State at #23 Utah
2:00PM MST
TV: Versus

San Diego State was one quarter away from winning their fifth game of the season before the Cowboys went on a tear. Now they must defeat Utah and UNLV on the road if they want to earn a bowl bid. Utah is looking to redeem themselves after getting by TCU last week. I'd love for the Aztecs to get the win but it probably won't happen.

Colorado State at New Mexico
4:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

Not much reason to watch this one unless you like watching bad teams. New Mexico is winless but have been showing signs of life in recent games. CSU is coming off a bye week and hasn't won in two months. Hopefully the Rams won't win and get hot just in time for the Border War.

ESPN Game Day heads to TCU

#4 TCU hosts #16 Utah this Saturday and ESPN College Game Day will be there for the ride. Well they will be there before the game (game is actually shown on CBS College). This is the third time this season (and second time in a row) that ESPN has followed a been to a Mountain West game. This ties them with the Big 12 for most appearances this season.

TCU needs to win by a decent margin if they hope to keep their BCS buster hopes alive. An impressive win followed by some key losses by other teams may be enough to get the Horned Frogs in the title game. That is a very slim chance but you never know what will happen in college football.

Game time is at 5:30pm MST.

Other Mountain West matchups this weekend:

#22 BYU heads to winless New Mexico.

Hopefully BYU will blow out the Lobos in a similar fashion to the win over the Cowboys last weekend. The Lobos have been playing better as of late but this one shouldn't be close. Max Hall should have a field day throwing against the New Mexico Secondary.

Noon MST

TV: The Mtn

UNLV heads to Air Force

The Rebels still have a bowl berth possibility but by only the thinnest of margins. The Rebels (4-6) need to upset the Falcons (6-4) at home this week and then beat San Diego State in their final regular season game on November 28th. The Falcons have a stingy defense and will give UNLV problems. The triple option of AF should enjoy working against the Rebels 111th ranked run defense.

4:00 PM MST

TV: The Mtn

BYU stomps Wyoming

Talk about a hot start. BYU scored on their first possession and their second. Actually the Cougars were able to score on their first eight possessions as they embarrassed the Wyoming cowboys on their home turf at War Memorial Stadium 52-0 Saturday.

Cowboys fans were certain their would do better than last years 44-0 defeat last year in Provo but somehow they took a step backwards and have been shutout 96-0 by BYU the past two years.

Max Hall was a boy wonder for the BYU passing attack while throwing for 312 yards and four touchdowns. As a reward Coach Bronco Mendenhall gave him most of the second half off. BYU improved to 7-2 (4-2 MWC) on the season and redeemed themselves after losing to TCU last week.

The Cougars racked up 543 total yards compared to 223 for the Cowboys. McKay Jacobson returned for the first time in a month and had three catches for 100 yards including a 79 yard touchdown pass from Hall. J.J Di Luigi pulled in five receptions for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

Wyoming 4-5 (2-3 MWC) never got on track during the game and only had one drive that threatened to put some points on the board. With time expiring in the first half Austyn Carta-Samuels over threw a open reciever in the endzone and the Cowboys ended the half down 31-0.

The Cowboys who are usually great with ball control turned the ball over three times with backup QB's Robert Benjamin and Karsteen Sween each throwing a pick. Benjamin also added a fumble in the third quarter.

Next week BYU travels to winless New Mexico while Wyoming heads to San Diego in battle between two teams that are hoping to earn bowl eligibility.

Preview: BYU at Wyoming

#25 BYU at Wyoming
12pm MST
TV: The Mtn


Series history: BYU leads 42-30-3

Last year: BYU shutouts Wyoming 44-0 in Provo. Ugly performance by the Cowboys as they gave little challenge to the Cougars.

Point Spread: BYU by 13

There is no love lost between these two teams and don't expect anything to change soon. The Cowboys fans certainly don't make the Cougars feel very welcome when they come to Laramie. That hasn't stopped the Cougars from dominating this series lately. The Cowboys haven't beaten the Cougars since a 13-10 home victory on October 18, 2003.

Wyoming: For the second game in a row the Cowboys (4-4, 2-2) blew a victory with a weak second half performance. Wyoming led Utah 10-3 at halftime but gave up 19 unanswered points and took the loss. The offense which was cruising during the beginning of October has only scored 10 points in the last eight quarters. The Cowboy defense has been doing a good job of containing their opponents but is now longer getting any turnovers like earlier in the season.

QB Austyn Carta-Samuels has been effective for the Pokes but no one has else stepped this season and shown they can be a be a big time play maker and take some of the load off. WR David Leonard is having a great season with 52 receptions but is averaging only 8.7 yards per catch.

BYU: With the bye week the Cougars (6-2, 3-1) are rested and hopefully can forget the 38-7 loss to TCU off their minds. Thanks to the some losses by other teams the Cougars moved back in to the rankings and now sit at #25.

Senior QB Max Hall has led the offense for three seasons has completed 170 passes for 2231 yards so far this season. His favorite target has been Dennis Pitta with 38 catches for 533 yards. The Cougars also will have WR McKay Robinson back on their roster this weekend as he returns from a hamstring injury. Robinson is the only real deep threat on the team and can really open up the field for the Cougars.

Harvey Unga brings a power running game is the leading rusher in the Mountain West and is averaging just a tick under 100 yards per game. Unga has found the endzone 10 times already this season.

Why Wyoming will win: The Cowboys are 3-1 at home with their only coming against #2 Texas. The weather will good and the Cowboys will be playing in front of a home crowd for the first time in nearly a month. Max Hall has thrown 11 interceptions so far this and by taking advantage of those mistakes the Cowboys can really throw a wrench into the Cougars season.

Why BYU will win: The high powered Cougar offense will just be too much the young Cowboy team. The Cougars are rested and want to blow out Wyoming just like TCU did to them two weeks ago.

Prediction: Upset special here the Cowboys pull a few surprises and earn a victory in front of the home crowd: 28-24.

The Mtn Preview: BYU at Wyoming

James Bates shows off his Tennessee roots and gives us way too much information on High School. He also discusses the BYU-Wyoming game a little. At least he isn't wearing the orange creamsicle blazer he had on last week.

Cross Country Championships this weekend

The Mountain West Cross Country Championships take place in Provo, UT this weekend hosted by BYU.

Men: 8k course starts at 10a.m.

Women: 6k course starts at 11a.m.

Both races will have the BYU Cougars and New Mexico Lobos contending for the title. BYU's Mens team has won 10 out of the last 11 titles. The Cougars are currently ranked #7 in the nation. The Lobos are ranked #19 in the nation and have Jacob Kirwa and Rory Fraser the only returning top 10 finishers from 2008.

In the women's race #20 New Mexico will look to defend their title against #21 BYU. The Cougars are led by Senior Angela Wagner the 2008 MWC Cross Country Female Athlete of the Year.

Good luck to the Cowboy and Cowgirl teams competing this weekend.

Full release from the MWC.

Mountain West Mondays

Recapping all the Mountain West Action over the weekend.

TCU @ BYU

This was the game of the week in College Football. It was a great game unless you are a BYU fan. The Horned Frogs jumped out a 21-0 lead and never looked back. The only bad news is that TCU beat BYU so bad in the 38-7 win that it knocked the Cougars out of the Top 25 rankings. The win vaulted the Froggies to #6 in the BCS standings.

Box Score


San Diego State @ CSU

A tale of two halves here. CSU looked like they finally going to a win and break their four game losing streak when they were up 21-7 heading into the half. Ryan Lindley and the Aztecs took to the air for 459 yards and six touchdowns as they roared back with 35 points in the second half to end up winning 42-28. A promising start to the season has been derailed for Rams.

Box Score


Air Force @ Utah

Past games have been very close and this game didn't disappoint. The Utes had problems all game long with 6 fumbles but only losing two. The Falcons forced a 16-16 tie with a 48 yard field goal that sent the game into overtime. Utah ran for a TD in their first possession of OT then the defense stepped up and smothered the Falcons on a 4th and 2 to earn a hard fought 23-16 victory.

Box Score


UNLV @ New Mexico

It really doesn't matter who coaches the Lobos - it is the same result. The Lobos are now 0-7 following the 34-17 loss to the Rebels. You never know what will happen but chances are pretty good now that New Mexico will finish with an 0-12 record this season.

Box Score

Great MWC Matchups this Weekend!

While the Pokes have the weekend off you can tune in and scout the competition. You can preview the Cowboys upcoming opponents for the rest of the season by watching just three games this Saturday.

Game of the Week

#10 TCU @ #16 BYU
5:30pm MST
TV: Versus

ESPN College Game Day is making big news by coming to Provo. This is only the third time the GD crew has been in attendance for a game hosted by a Mountain West team. The fact that ESPN can't even broadcast the game makes it even more impressive. Best game in College Football this weekend.

TCU has their BCS dreams on the line. A loss here will sink the Horned Frogs and the MWC. The Cougars are looking to return the favor at TCU ruined their season last year.

Prediction: TCU 27 - BYU21


Air Force @ #19 Utah
2:00pm MST
TV: Versus

Air Force has one of the top defenses in the nation. Will they be able to stop the Utes and their powerful offense? Utah will become the third MWC team to become bowl eligible with a victory. These games have been close every year and don't expect anything to change.

Prediction: Utah 17 - Air Force 10


San Diego State @ Colorado State
2:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

The Cowboys better study this game and figure out a way they can beat the Aztecs and Rams if they want to play in a bowl game this year. CSU has lost 4 in a row and is win less in the Mountain West this year. The second half of their schedule is much easier now and they need this victory at home.

Prediction: CSU 31 - SDSU 21


UNLV @ New Mexico
6:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

This game is all about pride. If New Mexico wants to try and get a win this season this is their best chance. UNLV need this win to try and stay with the middle tier of teams in the Mountain West.

Prediction: UNLV 37 - New Mexico 17

Making the Rounds - 10/21/09

Making the Rounds: New from around the Mountain West Conference.

As seen on Mountain West Connection.

Air Force: The Falcons want to add some balance to their offense.

BYU: The Cougars still have the loss to TCU from last year on their mind.

Colorado State: The Rams can relate to the Aztecs state.

New Mexico: Greg Barlow will be handling coaching duties for the Lobos this weekend.

San Diego State: The basketball arena has a new name and a new scoreboard.

TCU: The Horned Frogs have a new Athletic Director.

UNLV: The Rebels want to try something different in the red zone. Scoring.

Utah: The student group support MUSS keeps growing at Ute games.

Wyoming: The Cowboys and Cowgirls are getting ready for the start of basketball season.

Mountain West Standings - 10/18/2009

Mountain West Conference Standings
(updated 10.18.2009 at 12:26 AM PDT)

Overall - W L

TCU Horned Frogs 6 - 0 * #8
BYU Cougars 6 - 1 * #16
Utah Utes 5 - 1 #18
Air Force Falcons 4 - 3
Wyoming Cowboys 4 - 3
Colorado St. Rams 3 - 4
San Diego St. Aztecs 2 - 4
UNLV Rebels 2 - 5
New Mexico Lobos 0 - 6

Conference - W - L

BYU Cougars 3 - 0 *
TCU Horned Frogs 2 - 0*
Utah Utes 2 - 0
Air Force Falcons 3 - 1
Wyoming Cowboys 2 - 1
San Diego St. Aztecs 0 - 2
New Mexico Lobos 0 - 2
Colorado St. Rams 0 - 3
UNLV Rebels 0 - 3

* = Bowl Eligibile
# = BCS Ranking

Mountain West Players of the Week


Congrats to Brian Hendricks on a setting a Wyoming single game record with tackles against Air Force on Saturday. This is the fifth time this season that a Cowboy has been named Player of the Week. Hendricks join P/KP Austin McCoy, PK Ian Watts and Austyn Carta-Samuels (twice).

Release from the Mountain West Conference

Oct. 19, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

Max Hall (BYU), Brian Hendricks (Wyoming) and Jeremy Kerley (TCU) are Mountain West Conference Players of the Week for games through Oct. 17. Hall earns the Offensive Player of the Week honor, while Hendricks garners the Defensive Player award and Kerley receives Special Teams recognition. This marks the third player of the week honor for Hall this season (seventh career), while Kerley collects his second (both season and career). It is the first career accolade for Hendricks.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

MAX HALL, BYU
Senior, Quarterback, Mesa, Ariz./Arizona State
Max Hall accounted for 393 yards of offense and four touchdowns in No. 19 BYU's 38-28 win at San Diego State. Hall completed 27-of-39 attempts for a season-high 346 yards and three touchdowns through the air while adding a career-best 47 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown on the ground. The senior quarterback scored his rushing touchdown as time expired in the first half to give BYU a seven-point lead at the break. Hall connected on two touchdown passes on key third-down plays in the second half to keep the Cougars in front, helping BYU convert 15-of-21 third-down plays in the game overall. The Mesa, Ariz., native spread the ball around to nine different receivers and did not throw an interception for the second straight game.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

BRIAN HENDRICKS, WYOMING
Sophomore, Linebacker, Burlington, Colo./Burlington HS
Brian Hendricks forced a fumble and registered a Wyoming single-game record with 23 total tackles (11 solo) in a 10-0 loss at Air Force. The sophomore linebacker's 23 stops, which also tied an MWC single-game record, shattered a Cowboy mark that had stood since 1972 when Frank Erzinger made 21 tackles against New Mexico. Hendricks' biggest stops came midway through the second quarter with Air Force having a first-and-goal at the Wyoming 10-yard line. The Burlington, Colo., product made tackles on both first and second down, then helped the UW defense force a fourth-down incomplete pass to maintain a 0-0 tie going into the half. Hendricks led a Cowboy defensive effort that held the Falcons to a season-low 10 points and just two yards through the air, the second-fewest passing yards in league history. Wyoming also limited Air Force to 269 yards total offense, 90 yards under its season average. Hendricks becomes only the third Cowboy in 113 seasons to record 20 or more tackles in a single game.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

JEREMY KERLEY, TCU
Junior, Punt Returner, Hutto, Texas/Hutto HS
Jeremy Kerley registered 103 yards on three punt returns with a touchdown in No. 8 TCU's 44-6 win over Colorado State. The junior's 69-yard punt return TD late in the second quarter put the Horned Frogs on top, 17-6, heading into the break. His other two returns also set up TCU scores, accounting for 13 points overall. Kerley, who hails from Hutto, Texas, averaged 34.3 yards per return in the game.

Mountain West Mondays

Mountain West Mondays

Welcome to the first installment of Mountain West Mondays. We will use this section to get you caught up from news all around the Conference.

So all of the news on Monday will relate to the other nine teams in the Mountain West.


Wyoming at Air Force
Air Force shutouts Wyoming at home 10-0. Defensive battle for both teams. The Falcons solidfy themselves as the #4 team in the Mountain West.


Box Score


Colorado State at TCU
TCU shows what their offense can do when the field isn't covered in snow and it's 15 degrees out. The Horned Frogs are now bowl eligible and still undefeated this season. TCU 44 - CSU 3.

Box Score


BYU at San Diego State
The Aztecs came out and surprised the Cougars with their tough play. This one had the possiblity of being a huge upset before BYU settled down and won their sixth game of the season. The Cougars are also bowl eligibile. BYU 38- SDSU - 28.

Box Score

Utah at UNLV
Amazing stat: both teams totaled 327 total yards on offense. Bad news is that the Utes put 35 points to the Rebels 15. This game was essentially over in the first half.

Box Score


New Mexico
The good news is that Lobos achived something they haven't all season: they didn't lose. Unfortunately they had to wait for their bye week to accomplish this feat. When they do face UNLV this weekend they be without head coach Mike Locksley who can been suspended without pay for 10 games for punching WR Coach J.B. Gerald.

Locksley says he used "poor judgement". Really? I guess he was just trying to take after Tom Cable.


MWC RECAP VIDEO