Fredette held to 21 as BYU routs TCU

PROVO, Utah -- Jimmer Fredette scored 21 points and Jackson Emery hit five 3-pointers to lead No. 9 Brigham Young to an 83-67 victory over Texas Christian on Tuesday night.

The victory was the eighth straight for the Cougars, who improved to 18-1 overall and 4-0 in the Mountain West Conference.

Ronnie Moss led TCU (10-10, 1-4) with 27 points.

BYU went on a 12-0 run to take a 25-7 lead with 10:40 left in the first half. Kyle Collinsworth sank two free throws to start the run, and Fredette kept it going with a twisting shot in the lane. Fredette then hit two 3-pointers, including one from 30 feet to cap the spurt.

TCU fought back with a 9-0 run, but reserve Stephen Rogers got rolling for BYU with six points in three minutes for a 38-21 lead. Emery hit his third 3-pointer for a 41-21 cushion with 4:23 remaining.

BYU led 47-30 at halftime thanks to a 22-13 rebounding advantage and 54.5 percent (18 of 33) shooting. The Cougars went 6 of 11 from beyond the arc.

TCU tried to get back in the game early in the second half with consecutive 3-pointers from Nikola Gacesa, Greg Hill and Garlon Green that pulled the Horned Frogs within 55-43.

But Fredette came right back with a three-point play to bump BYU's lead to 15. After a dunk by Collinsworth, Fredette scored BYU's next seven points for a 62-47 lead.

Emery followed with his fifth 3-pointer.

Fredette, who entered as the nation's leading scorer at 26.1 points per game, scored 47 points at Utah last week. This time, he shot 6 for 16 from the field and 7 of 8 at the free-throw line.

The night otherwise belonged to Emery, who was honored before the game for breaking Danny Ainge's school career steals record (195) set in 1981.

AROUND THE NATION

ALABAMA KNOCKS OFF KENTUCKY -- At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Ben Eblen grabbed a loose ball and made one of two free throws with 2.8 seconds left to help Alabama preserve a 68-66 victory over No. 12 Kentucky. The Wildcats, who had nearly erased a 20-point deficit, rebounded the missed foul shot but couldn't get a good shot off at the buzzer. Terrence Jones dribbled across midcourt and heaved a wild 3-pointer in traffic that caromed high off the backboard. The Crimson Tide (11-7, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) had lost the last five meetings with Kentucky and had been 2-7 against ranked teams under coach Anthony Grant.

PAUL LEADS ILLINOIS -- At Champaign, Ill., Brandon Paul scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half to lead No. 23 Illinois past Michigan State, 71-62. The Illini (14-5, 4-3 Big Ten) led 53-43 on a 3-pointer by Paul with 13:08 to play. But they had to hold off a late Spartans charge, getting seven free throws from four players to build a two-point edge to 65-57 with 5:25 left.

HOYAS' FREE THROWS SINK SETON HALL -- At Newark, N.J., Austin Freeman scored 28 points, and No. 23 Georgetown went 8 of 9 from the free-throw line in the final 2:11 as the Hoyas held on to beat Seton Hall, 80-75. The win was the second in three days in New Jersey for the Hoyas (14-5, 3-4 Big East), who had lost three straight before beating Rutgers on Saturday. Jeff Robinson had 21 points for the Pirates (8-11, 2-5), who have lost five of six. Seton Hall took advantage of a sudden shooting slump by the Hoyas with a 19-2 run that gave it a 52-45 lead with 12:13 to play.