PROVO — It was billed as the battle for first place in the Mountain West Conference, with the winner remaining on top of the league and the loser tumbling into third place.
Turned out, it wasn't much of a battle at all. That's because BYU was firing a howitzer while UNLV arrived at the Marriott Center with a peashooter. The Cougars broke a school record by drilling 15 3-pointers (on 15-for-22 shooting) and slaughtered the Runnin' Rebels, 90-63, Saturday afternoon.
"We thought it was going to be a dogfight," said senior guard Mike Rose, who poured in a career-high 27 points. "You don't expect that to happen, but we'll definitely take it."
Rose scorched the nets by knocking down eight 3-pointers (on 8-for-10 shooting from 3-point range), tying his own school record set in his first game as a Cougar freshman in 2003.
"He could have thrown them in left-handed," guard Austin Ainge said of Rose's performance. "He could have kicked them in. He was unconscious. Mike was turning and firing and they were going in. It was a crazy night."
"When you get somebody going 8-for-10 (from 3-point range), it's a special night," said BYU coach Dave Rose, who is Mike's uncle. "We got great play out of Mike. I like it when guys come off the bench and give us a lift."
With the victory, the Cougars improved to 7-2 in the MWC (17-6 overall) to keep pace with Air Force (7-2), which whipped Wyoming on Saturday. UNLV dropped to 6-3 in league play.
A few weeks ago, when the Cougars visited the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, BYU enjoyed an 11-point lead in the first half but ended up losing to the Rebels, 83-75.
Saturday, the Cougars — thanks in large measure to a barrage of 3-pointers by Rose, who drained five 3s in the first half — led 49-34 at intermission.
This time, instead of relinquishing the lead, BYU simply built on it, outscoring UNLV 12-2 to open the second half and seizing a 61-36 advantage.
"It was total domination by BYU," said Runnin' Rebel coach Lon Kruger. "They got us on our heels early, and they just kept getting better."
Mike Rose missed all four of his 3-point attempts last Wednesday at Utah, but that obviously didn't shatter his confidence.
"I came in excited," Rose said.
The senior from Houston knocked down his first five attempts from 3-point range before missing. In the second half, the 15,899 fans in attendance were begging him to shoot more.
"When the crowd tells you when you catch the ball near midcourt to shoot it, you know something's going on," Rose said.
Rose tied his 3-point shooting record with less than a minute left in the game — fittingly, it was BYU's final points — and the crowd went nuts.
"It was one of those nights where everything fell for us," Ainge said.
The runaway victory capped an amazing week for the Cougars. Last Saturday, BYU defeated nationally ranked Air Force at home in front of a crowd of 22,700. Wednesday, the Cougars halted a 12-game losing streak at the Huntsman Center against Utah.
"Our guys responded well to the big, emotional win we had earlier in the week," Dave Rose said.
Then came the rout of UNLV, which came in ranked No. 25 in the coaches poll. "We figured this was a make-or-break week," Mike Rose said. The Cougars are making shots, and breaking the hearts of their opponents.
Going into Tuesday night's game at Wyoming, BYU is riding a four-game winning streak. The Cougars are getting outstanding play from everyone up and down the roster.
"The strength of this team," Dave Rose said, "is the team itself."
NOTES: BYU also extended its homecourt winning streak to 28 games, the second-longest active home win streak in the nation. Air Force has also won 28 straight at home ... BYU has won four of its nine MWC games this season by more than 20 points ... Saturday's win marked the Cougars' largest margin of victory in MWC play since a 29-point victory over Colorado State in 2004.
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com