Dec. 21, 2007

PROVO, Utah (AP) -Jonathan Tavernari scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half to lead Brigham Young to a 70-55 win over Southern Utah on Friday night.

The win extended the 21st-ranked Cougars' home winning streak to 38 games, the longest active streak in the nation.

The game also marked the return of former BYU coach Roger Reid, who coached the Cougars for seven full seasons before being fired seven games into the 1996-97 campaign. Reid is in his first year as coach of the T-Birds (2-10).

Also returning was Reid's assistant coach Austin Ainge, who started at point guard for the Cougars last season.

A 9-2 run midway through the second half gave the Cougars (10-2) a 53-37 lead, the largest of the game. The T-Birds pulled within nine points with 5:50 left, but could get no closer.

Both teams took a while to heat up, and 5 minutes into the game BYU led just 3-2. Once BYU got warm, Sam Burgess' consecutive baskets spurred a 9-0 run by the Cougars, giving them a 28-15 lead with 2:54 remaining in the half.

The T-Birds used a deliberate passing game that burned most of the shot clock to keep the score down. The Cougars came into the contest averaging 80 points.

Davis Baker and Geoff Payne led Southern Utah with 15 points each.