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Cougars K.O. New Mexico, 71-56
Araujo paces BYU with 19 points, 13 rebounds.
March 13, 2003
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Rafael Araujo scored a game-high 19 points along with 13 rebounds to lead No. 2 seed BYU past No. 7 New Mexico 71-56 in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament Thursday afternoon. Araujo was 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Also for the Cougars (23-7), Mark Bigelow scored 14 points, while Travis Hansen added 11 points. For New Mexico (10-18), senior guard Ruben Douglas, who was averaging 32.1 points in conference regular-season play, was held to 18 points along with 11 rebounds and five assists in playing the first 39 minutes of the game. Douglas, the conference's Player of the Year, was 5-of-19 from the field after being swarmed all afternoon by the BYU defense. After the Cougars led 35-30 at halftime, the Lobos took a brief 32-31 lead with 14:54 left, but it would be their last. BYU then ran of the game's next 14 points and never trailed again. New Mexico would not come closer than 47-37 with 8:17 left. The Cougars biggest lead was 68-50 with 1:48 left. BYU outscored New Mexico 15-3 in points off turnovers and had nine steals, while the Lobos' had none. Also, the Cougars shot 24-of-51 from the field for 47.1 percent, while the Lobos were 21-of-52 for 40.4 percent. From the free-throw line, the Cougars were 19-of-23 for 82.6 percent, while the Lobos were 8-of-13 for 61.5 percent. New Mexico led for most of the first half, building four five-point leads, the last at 18-13 with 4:51 until halftime. But the Cougars ended the half on a 12-2 run, taking their first lead at 21-20 with 1:07 left in the half. In the half, Douglas was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting from the field.
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