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Frogs Fall To No. 23 BYU In MWC Quarterfinals, 77-64
March 8, 2007
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LAS VEGAS (AP) - Trent Plaisted scored 22 points and 23rd-ranked BYU defeated TCU 77-64 Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament. The top-seeded Cougars (24-7), coming off their first outright conference championship since 1987-88, also got nine boards from Plaisted and 16 points from Mike Rose. Conference player of the year Keena Young, the Cougars' leading scorer and rebounder, had eight points and eight rebounds. With point guard Austin Ainge leading the way, the Cougars used a dizzying display of speed and athleticism to put away from the Horned Frogs, who never led. TCU (13-17) got 23 points from Kevin Langford and 13 from Femi Ibikunle but only two from Brent Hackett 48 hours after he scored a career-best 24 points in a play-in win over New Mexico. Rose sank four 3-pointers in a 5-minute span - a fifth was waived off after the official thought it hit the shot clock before dropping through the hoop - to help the Cougars break it open at 57-41 midway through the second half. The Cougars, who have won 11 of 12, overcame careless ballhandling early on and an uncharacteristic poor shooting percentage from long range with an enormous advantage on the boards before settling into a rhythm and doing everything they wanted. They outrebounded the Horned Frogs 46-24, including 28-7 in the first half, but they were bedeviled by 10 first-half turnovers that kept it close until a 10-4 spurt gave them a 36-26 halftime lead. TCU, which overcame a 14-point deficit in their win over the Lobos, couldn't duplicate that comeback against the taller, quicker and faster Cougars, who repeatedly broke the Horned Frogs' press for easy buckets.
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