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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- BYU's Jimmer Fredettte and Jackson Emery were seeing double teams, forwards Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies were in foul trouble and Chris Collinsworth was still in street clothes with a nagging ankle injury.
No problem.
The 21st-ranked Cougars simply called on bench players Stephen Rogers and Logan Magnusson, and they came up big with career highs. Rogers, a sophomore junior-college transfer who hadn't made a 3-pointer in his BYU career, hit 3 of 4 in the first half and finished with 13 points while Magnusson added 11 points in BYU's 78-57 win over Hawaii on Saturday night.
"They did a great job," Fredette said. "They hit some big shots. That's what our team has to do."
Rogers and Magnusson combined for 20 of BYU's 43 points in the first half after averaging 3.6 combined entering Saturday's game Fredette, a preseason All-America, still finished with 16 points as BYU improved to 8-0 on the season. But it wasn't easy with Hawaii coming at him with a triangle-and-two defense.
"We'll see different looks every time we play," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "The more that the guys become involved in the offense, the more difficult it will be to game-plan for us. Tonight we did a really good job of spreading the ball around."
Rogers entered the game having missed all seven attempts from beyond the arc this year, but gave the Cougars a spark after Hawaii pulled within 23-19 with 6:55 left in the first half. He hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 of BYU's next 14 as the Cougars extended their lead to 37-25.
"I'm happy for Stephen because he shoots the ball really well in practice," Rose said. "It's taken a while for him to have a breakout game. Hopefully this will give him a lot of confidence and teammates will start to have confidence in him."
Hawaii coach Gib Arnold, son of former BYU coach Frank Arnold, started three freshmen and a sophomore on Saturday for the game, which was at a neutral site in name only, just 45 miles from Provo.
"Boys can win at home, but it takes men to win on the road and the sooner we can make those boys into men the better we'll be," Arnold said. "It was important to get those guys in there and let them see what it's like to play in a real road environment."
Hiram Thompson led Hawaii with 13 points and Joston Thomas and Joaquim Vander each scored 12 for the Warriors, who have lost two straight after starting 5-0.
The Warriors stayed close early thanks to a big difference at the free-throw line. Hawaii made 11 of 12 foul shots while BYU was 3 of 5 in the first half
BYU needed Rogers and Magnusson when Hartsock and Davies found themselves in early foul trouble. Hartsock picked up his third personal foul with a little more than 8 minutes remaining in the first half and his fourth personal early in the second. Davies had two personal fouls in the first half.
"Nobody really panicked," Rogers said. "We kept our composure and kept playing."
Fredette eventually found some breathing room and scored on back-to-back layups to increase BYU's lead to 41-25 with 1:20 left in the half. He put things out of reach midway through the second with six straight points.
With BYU in the midst of an eight-game road trip, it helped Rose to be able to rest Fredette with the game in hand.
The Cougars face Vermont on Wednesday in Fredette's home town of Glens Falls, N.Y., then are back at Energy Solutions Arena next Saturday against Arizona.
The big question will be how Fredette handles the Vermont game, where an appearance at his high school will be part of his duties.
"It's going to be great," Fredette said. "I'm looking forward to it. I grew up there and I'll be playing in front of all the fans you loved for your whole life and are really close to. It should be special."
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
