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Press ReleasePROVO -- Cougar fans were introduced to the 2009-2010 BYU Men's Basketball team Wednesday as the Blue Team beat the White Team 66-64 during the Papa John's Cougar Tipoff in the Marriott Center.
"This was the next step to what we're looking forward to in the next couple of weeks against Bradley," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "You get under the lights, get officials in the gym, get people in the gym and it changes things."
The evening featured the annual scrimmage where the Cougar squad faced off against each other and fans got their first look at the team.
Jimmer Fredette led the Blue squad with 22 points shooting 7-for-13 from the field. Sophomore Charles Abouo also contributed 16 points.
The White team was led by Jonathan Tavernari and Jackson Emery who each scored 14 points.
The White team came out strong, hitting its first three shots and holding the Blue team scoreless through the first three minutes of the game. The Blue team's first basket came from a Fredette floater in the paint.
Jonathan Tavernari had the hot hand early, shooting 3-for-3 in the opening minutes of the game. Fredette responded with two straight threes for the Blue squad.
"It's now time for us to get better," Rose said. "Every day I can see improvement."
With less than a minute left in the game and the Blue team up 64-59, Tavernari hit a three-point basket to bring the White team within two points. After a defensive stop, the White squad regained possession and Tavernari made a shot off the glass with 10 seconds left to play to tie the game at 64-64. But Fredette refused to let the game go into overtime, making a jumper in the lane at the buzzer.
There were several highlights in the game including a Jackson Emery breakaway dunk and a Brandon Davies and-one dunk in traffic.
Perhaps the best play of the game came with three seconds to play in the first half when Lamont Morgan Jr. snuck a pass through two defenders to find a wide open Chris Miles open under the basket for the dunk.
Fans in attendance got a sneak peak at BYU freshmen Davies and Brock Zylstra who each scored six points. Salt Lake Community College transfer Logan Magnusson also made his Cougar debut, adding six points on two three-pointers in the second half.
At halftime of the Blue and White game the BYU Women's basketball team was introduced and the fans enjoyed watching Cougar players team up with fans to participate in the Mad Dog Cycle Two-Ball Shoot. Rose also addressed the crowd discussing his expectations for the team.
The Cougars will play exhibitions at home on Nov. 5 against Trinity Western at 7 p.m. and Nov. 10 against Central Washington at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on BYU TV.
The Cougars will begin regular season play at home against Bradley on Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on The Mtn.
(Courtesy BYU Athletic Department)
