PROVO -- Jonathan Tavernari scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and No. 25 BYU pulled away with a late rally then held off UNLV 77-73 on Wednesday night in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
The Cougars (15-1) won their eighth straight with an 11-2 run over the final 5 minutes to regain the lead and then hung on at the free throw line.
BYU ended a three-game losing streak against UNLV (12-3).
Cougars' leading scorer Jimmer Fredette, who has been out sick, finished with seven points -- 14.6 below his average.
Tre'Von Willis led UNLV with 24 points.
Oscar Bellfield had eight points and nine assists for the Rebels, who have lost two straight since a 12-1 start.
Noah Hartsock had 17 points, Tyler Haws scored 12 and Jackson Emery finished with nine points, including a jumper with 26 seconds left that put away the Rebels.
BYU made 19 of 24 from the free throw line while holding the Rebels to just 12 foul shots.
After shooting 27 percent in the first half with just two 3-pointers, the Cougars regained their touch in the second, going 14 of 27 and making 6 of 11 from beyond the arc.
UNLV had an early run to take the lead in the second half, then after BYU rallied to get back in it, the Rebels used their quickness and outside shooting to go up again 69-64 with about 5 minutes left, but that's when BYU took over with an 11-2 run.
Emery started it with two free throws, Michael Loyd Jr. leaped over everybody for a layup and then Tavernari hit a 3-poitner to put BYU up 71-69 with about 2:45 left.
Willis tied it with two free throws, then Loyd sped through the lane for another layup to put the Cougars back ahead. Willis saved the Rebels from a turnover on the next possession by running down a loose ball, but couldn't get to it after losing control with about a minute left as he and the ball went out of bounds.
BYU got it back and scored on a jumper by Emery with 14 seconds to go for a 75-71 lead.
BYU led 33-32 at halftime despite making just 11 of 41 shots. The Cougars overcame their shooting woes with 14 offensive rebounds and by going 9 of 9 from the free throw line.
Top 25
* NO. 1 KANSAS 71, CORNELL 66: At Lawrence, Kan., Sherron Collins had career-high 33 points and made nearly every key play down the stretch, helping No. 1 Kansas pull out a gutty win over Cornell.
Kansas (14-0) overcame a rare off night from the field -- 36 percent -- and shoddy defense in the first half, making just enough plays down the stretch to extend its 51-game home winning streak.
Cornell (12-3), the two-time Ivy League champion, kept the fast-breaking Jayhawks grounded by turning it into a grind.
Ryan Wittman had 24 points for Cornell.
* NO. 6 VILLANOVA 99, DEPAUL 72: At Villanova, Pa., Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points and Maalik Wayns had 18 for Villanova.
The Wildcats (13-1, 2-0 Big East) won their 34th straight game at their campus home, the Pavilion. Villanova's last loss there was against DePaul three years ago to the day.
The Blue Demons (7-8, 0-3) never put up a fight in their second straight loss to a top 15 conference opponent.
* NO. 7 SYRACUSE 74, MEMPHIS 57: At Syracuse, N.Y., Wes Johnson had 19 points and Kris Joseph added 15 in the second half for Syracuse.
It was the final nonconference game of the season for Syracuse (14-1), which was coming off an 82-72 home loss to Pittsburgh.
Roburt Sallie led Memphis (10-4) with 17 points,.
* NO. 8 WEST VIRGINIA 86, RUTGERS 52: At Morgantown, W.Va., Kevin Jones scored 19 points to lead West Virginia.
The Mountaineers (12-1, 3-0 Big East) bounced back from a 15-point loss and theirs lowest point total of the season at Purdue with their second-highest output and perhaps most complete game.
Rutgers (9-5, 0-2) was held to its lowest point total of the season and lost its third straight game. Jonathan Mitchell led the Scarlet Knights with 17 points.
* NO. 10 MICHIGAN STATE 54, NO. 17 WISCONSIN 47: At East Lansing, Mich., Chris Allen scored 16 points and Draymond Green had 11 for Michigan State.
The Spartans (12-3, 2-0 Big Ten) did not trail, but they could not put the pesky Badgers (12-3, 2-1) away in a closely contested defensive struggle.
Jon Leuer scored 18 of his 21 points after halftime to keep Wisconsin in the game.
* MARQUETTE 62, NO. 12 GEORGETOWN 59: At Milwaukee, Jimmy Butler made two free throws with 7.5 seconds left and Marquette finally won a close game.
Chris Wright missed a 3-pointer that would tied it with 1 second left for the Hoyas (11-2, 2-1 Big East).
Marquette (10-5, 1-2) lost two games in the closing seconds to Top 10 teams in the past 10 days and was 0-4 in games decided by four points or less.
* NO. 16 TENNESSEE 88, CHARLOTTE 71: At Knoxville, Tenn., Wayne Chism scored 18 points to lead shorthanded Tennessee.
The Vols (11-2) were without Tyler Smith, Cameron Tatum, Brian Williams and Melvin Goins, who combine to average 32.2 points, 14.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. Coach Bruce Pearl indefinitely suspended the four after they were arrested Friday on gun and drug charges.
In their place, Pearl used a rotation of his only six scholarship players available and three walk-ons against the 49ers (10-4).
* NO. 21 TEMPLE 73, SAINT JOSEPH'S 46: At Philadelphia, Lavoy Allen had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Ryan Brooks added 13 points as Temple followed its most lopsided loss in 17 years with a victory in the Atlantic-10 opener for both teams.
Michael Eric had a career-high 13 points for the Owls (12-3).
West
* COLORADO STATE 83, WYOMING 73: At Laramie, Wyo., Andy Ogide scored 22 points as Colorado State stopped Wyoming in the conference opener for both schools.
The Rams (10-5, 1-0 Mountain West) led the entire way and used strong outside shooting to hold off a late Wyoming charge.
The Cowboys (7-8, 0-1) used two 3-pointers by Arthur Bouedo to cut the Colorado State lead to three with 4:30 remaining, but the Rams responded with 3-pointers from Adam Nigon and Dorian Green and outscored Wyoming 15-8 down the stretch.
Adam Waddell led Wyoming with 18 points. Bouedo added 15 and JayDee Luster 13.
Nigon had 16 points for Colorado State. Green added 15 and Travis Franklin 10.
The Rams shot 50 percent (29 of 58) from the field and outrebounded the Cowboys 40-33, including 15 offensive boards that led to a 23 second-chance points.
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