This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Santa Clara, Calif. • Moving forward, when BYU guard Chase Fischer is listed as "questionable," it probably means he is going to play spectacularly well.
Banged up after suffering a shoulder stinger in practice Tuesday and not knowing whether he would play, let alone effectively, on the Cougars' Bay Area road swing this weekend, Fischer not only played but had 22 points in each game as BYU swept San Francisco and Santa Clara.
The senior was even better on Saturday against the Broncos, adding five rebounds and six assists to his 22 points in the 96-62 win after being a game-time decision against USF.
"It has been tough, for sure," Fischer said. "There was a lot more pain during the San Francisco game. Luckily I didn't get it hit or twist it wrong. Today was more like any game. ... It got a little more tough as the game went on because I hit it a couple of times. But it has been good. Our training staff got me back, and I am on some anti-inflammatories. I am still playing with a little bit of pain, but nothing I couldn't play through."
Fischer was 6 of 9 from the field, including a 3-for-4 effort from 3-point range, and added 7 of 8 free-throw shooting as BYU's guards riddled Santa Clara's defense, which was overly aggressive on the perimeter.
Coach Dave Rose was impressed.
"It just helps your whole team chemistry when you get guys that everyone knows are hurting, and it is hard, and they just gut it out," he said, referencing freshman Zac Seljaas' gutty play as well. "They are tough guys. And Chase has been really good and consistent for us the last month and a half, two months."
Fischer said he wasn't "overly concerned" about the injury because the same kind of thing happened to him last summer.
He has made a 3-pointer in 16 consecutive games, but he added another element to his game — the ability to drive and score — in the offseason to become one of the top players in the conference.
"It was just how they played us," he said Saturday. "San Franciso was the same way. They were hugging me out by the 3-point line, and we kinda got in our little offense where we are attacking from the top with our guards. When guys are hugging me that much and not giving me space for the three, I can attack the rim. I kinda knew that coming in, which was why I was attacking and getting aggressive driving to the hoop."
Fischer, who played a team-high 35 minutes, also contributed defensively in holding Santa Clara to 31.3 percent shooting. He said he won't soon forget his final trip to the Bay Area.
"For me personally, I have always like San Francisco's and Santa Clara's gyms, shooters' gyms for sure," he said. "And Nick [Emery] likes them, especially. We were in a good groove. We were sharing the ball really well and I think that's why a lot of shots fell."
Twitter: @drewjay —
Big weekend
How guard Chase Fischer fared in BYU's games Thursday and Saturday
Opponent Pts Rebs Asts Shooting
San Francisco 22 1 1 6 of 12
Santa Clara 22 5 6 6 of 9