ALBUQUERQUE -- Dave Rose finished his coach's show around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and took an exhilarating walk out of The Pit that entails a long journey up a steep concrete path.

The third-year BYU coach Rose ultimately knows that the success of this season will hinge on what happens a few weeks from now at the NCAA tournament. But his joy in leaving New Mexico with a 70-69 overtime win also could be considered his best win as a head coach.

If the success of being a head coach is measured on winning tough games in hostile environments against good opponents, and doing that by putting people in the right spots and giving them the confidence to thrive, then Rose and his staff worked some voodoo last night.

Trent Plaisted, of all people, drained two free throws with 5.7 seconds left for the victory in the highly emotional sold-out arena.

"I don't want to say it was luck because I had a lot of confidence going up and shooting those free throws," said the 53-percent shooter. "They went in for it, and that's not always the case a lot of times. Those are big shots, probably two of the biggest shots of my whole career."

It was possibly the biggest moment of the season. BYU improved to 22-6 overall, 11-2 in the Mountain West Conference and still has a one-game edge over UNLV in the standings.

The Rebels won at home against San Diego State, finishing up shortly before the Cougars, but UNLV will likely have to settle for second place.

BYU is chasing a second consecutive regular-season title and has three MWC games left, two at home -- where they've won 45 in a row -- and then at TCU. The Cougars have won there the last two years, and it tends to be a Cougar lovefest when they go to Fort Worth, Texas.

BYU survived the loss of two key players. Starting point guard Ben Murdock was gone a minute into the second half. He said he was contesting a shot when he landed on someone's foot. He has a sprained left ankle that was wrapped in ice as the team left the arena.

He's hopeful to be part of Saturday's game against Air Force.

Meanwhile, Lee Cummard (14 points, seven rebounds) imitated last Saturday at San Diego State and fouled out with a minute left.

It was something the BYU bench debated, and referees took four minutes to unravel. Ultimately, the scorer's table deemed itself right (for what it's worth, the Daily Herald had Cummard for five fouls as well, though Cummard thought a foul with 2:31 remaining shouldn't have been placed on him.)

"It was tough to not be on the floor, but all that matters was we won," Cummard said.

BYU did it with Jimmer Fredette running the offense. The freshman had a steal with 20 seconds left that took away UNM's chance to win the game, and gave the Cougars one of their own. But Fredette, after a timeout, gave it right back. He played 27 minutes and scored seven points.

In a game with 46 foul calls, and lots of free throws (BYU went 19-of-28; UNM was 14-for-22), it came down to BYU making 7-of-8 in overtime for all of its points.

UNM had the most critical stat, however, going 3-of-21 from 3-point range. The nation's best team beyond the arc (43 percent) hit two quick ones in a stretch that produced a 55-47 lead with seven minutes left.

It was 58-50 UNM when the Cougars rallied. They have yet to lose consecutive MWC games under Rose.

So what that the Lobos (22-7, 9-5) had a six-game winning streak and 18,018 fans cheering them on?

BYU rallied for 12 of the next 14 points.

What it finally came down to was the guy who takes and misses the most free throws, Plaisted, feeling darn good about being in his situation.

He half-joked afterward that he was going to "get some death threats" upon leaving the arena. Like many MWC venues, The Pit wasn't polite to him about his foul shooting or his wife, Lacey, who was arrested a few months ago for DUI (prescription medication after knee surgery).

Plaisted made the first attempt, tying the score at 69, and UNM called timeout.

"He was really confident, told everybody, 'I've got it,' " Rose said.

He came back to the floor, wiped the bottom of his shoes, stretched and swished a second attempt.

Plaisted made 9-of-15 shots and went 5-for-9 from the foul line.

Rose was awfully proud of that, along with the defense placed on J.R. Giddens.

That may sound crazy, Rose concedes, because the 6-5 UNM senior had 30 points. That's the most against the Cougars this year, and coming just after Lorrenzo Wade's 28 for San Diego State on Saturday.

"But he needed 26 shots," Rose noted, as Giddens made 12.

He was also 6-for-13 from the line. He felt the pressure early in the second half, leading 35-33 when he went to the line for three attempts.

He missed them all, the third one an airball.

Just like UNM's 3-point inefficiency, some of the credit goes to the Cougars and some is chalked up to good fortune.

Whatever, the Cougars all left happy.

"Now we'll just go home and get ready for the next one," Plaisted said.