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Consistency has been the buzzword for BYU's season thus far, a bugaboo that reared its head once again as the Cougars led Weber State by only two at halftime.
The Wildcats were shooting 67 percent from the field and 42 percent from behind the arc, but BYU settled in for the second half and found calm in guards Chase Fischer and Kyle Collinsworth, edging their in-state opponents 73-68 Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Fischer, who scored 10 points in the first half and 11 in the second to lead the Cougars with 21 points along with five rebounds, said it's tough to find a steady game plan when teams such as Utah and Weber State change the style of play night after night.
"Basketball is kind of a cruel game sometimes, but it was good to us tonight," Fischer said. "I made it a point for myself to be consistent and I think as a team we put two solid halves together and got a hard-fought win."
Weber State came out firing in the first half, forward Zach Braxton cleaning up in the paint for eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, and guard Jeremy Senglin sinking two shots from behind the arc on his way to eight points
Senglin finished the game with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 4 of 7 from behind the arc. BYU coach Dave Rose describing the Wildcats' recent play as "like a video game."
"When you consider some of the issues we're going through as a team, to be able to come in here today and win that game is really big," Rose said. "Hopefully we can kind of springboard with this and get our team rolling."
BYU woke up as the final first-half minutes ticked down, finishing on an 11-2 run keyed by some timely turnovers without a lot of rebounds to go around.
"I think we just got stops and we were able to get clean rebounds and get out and run and get into the stuff we wanted to run," Collinsworth, who dropped 15 points and 10 assists, said. "Tempo swung our way and our defense stepped up big for us."
The Cougars' run carried into the second half with an immediate 6-0 run.
"Personally I'd love for us to start the game better, but I think we're a really good second-half team," Fischer said. "It's good to know you have that in your pocket if you're down at half or if you're struggling, we can get it rolling in the second half."
The Cougars allowed Weber State into it at the end, holding a slim 71-68 lead with 10 seconds to go — but a pair of Collinsworth free throws iced the game on a day the Cougars shot only 54 percent from the line.
Rose remarked he's slowed practices way down for the Cougars, but that he expects a "barnburner" against Utah State on Wednesday.
Consistency, it appears, will have to pick up the pace.
"I think we can crank this up a little bit more and hopefully be able to get back to scoring six, seven, eight baskets in transition," Rose said. "That will really help us."
Twitter: @BrennanJSmith Storylines
R Chase Fischer scores 21 points and Kyle Collinsworth adds 15 as BYU holds off Weber State.
• The Cougars end the first half on an 11-2 run and extend their lead with a 6-0 run after the break.
• Jeremy Senglin scores 20 points to lead the Wildcats, who trailed 71-68 with 10 seconds remaining.