This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • When coaches say you can't make shots you don't take, they could have been referring to BYU guard Brock Zylstra's experience the past two games.
After missing the only shot he took on Thursday at Loyola Marymount and going scoreless for the first time this season, Zylstra made up for the lack of production on Saturday in the Cougars' 81-56 win over San Francisco at the Marriott Center.
Zylstra made all eight shots he took and was 6-for-6 from 3-point range, finishing with 22 points while adding six rebounds, three assists and a steal for good measure.
"When guys on our team get the opportunity, we just all seize it, and so the bigs were doing a good job of passing the ball, same with the guards," Zylstra said. "… It is just part of our team's motivation to pass the ball, and score when you are open."
With USF doubling Noah Hartsock (14 points) and Brandon Davies (12 points) almost every time they touched the ball, Zylstra got open a lot, and he made USF coach Rex Walters pay.
"Now your fourth option — and I hope Zylstra doesn't take offense to this — becomes very, very important," Walters said. "He had a lot of catch-and-shoots, and he can make tough ones. He can make fadeaways, he can make them coming off inbounds."
Zylstra pretty much put the dagger in the Dons when he drilled three straight treys in the first half to send BYU on a 14-0 run.
"Brock was really good tonight," coach Dave Rose said.
"The one thing you really get excited about as a coach is when a player is playing that well and his teammates continue to find him and get him open looks. That's kind of a special night for a guy not to miss a shot."
Overall, the Cougars were 12 of 19 from 3-point range (63.2 percent), their best conversion rate of the season from beyond the arc.
BYU guard Brock Zylstra's last two games
Date Opponent FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA Pts
Jan. 5 Loyola Marymount 0-1 0-1 0
Jan. 7 San Francisco 8-8 6-6 22