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Provo • Already up 10, the win firmly in the hand of the Cougars, Kyle Collinsworth drove baseline as several defenders collapsed. The senior forward emerged from under the hoop and rifled off a one-handed pass. The ball zipped beyond the arc to the hands of true freshman Zac Seljaas, who admitted afterward he was perplexed to not see Collinsworth simply lay it in.
Don't fault the youngster. He was in a zone of his own. The former Bountiful High star rose off the floor and drilled his seventh 3-pointer, the final exclamation point of his career-high 25-point night.
The Seljaas 3-pointer also added to Collinsworth's expanding legacy at BYU. So Seljaas nailed another 3, appeasing the Marriott Center faithful who yearned for another Collinsworth triple-double. The senior star upped his NCAA record to eight triple doubles in BYU's 98-85 win over Central Michigan Friday night in Provo.
"The student section was yelling at me pretty loud," Collinsworth said. "That one was for them."
Five Cougars scored in double figures, neutralizing what was a historic shooting night for the visiting Chippewas. BYU and Central Michigan combined to make 31 3-pointers Friday, but the 17 made by the Chippewas set a new Marriott Center record for 3's made in a game.
"Very few teams that we'll play shoot more 3-point shots than 2-point shots," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "This team was one of those. They were true to that tonight."
The Chippewas stuck to what they do best, even despite a cold start. But 10 made 3-pointers in the first half brought Central Michigan back from a double-digit deficit to enter halftime knotted with the Cougars 44-44. Rose said Central Michigan had its way with the Cougars in the first half.
BYU needed not just a spark in the second half, but a sustained run.
It was Seljaas, the lanky, 6-foot-7 sharpshooter, who provided it. After Central Michigan forward John Simons put the Chippewas up 56-54 with 13:53 remaining in the second half, Seljaas found a groove — one he wouldn't leave the rest of the evening.
He scored 11 straight points in two minutes, putting BYU up 65-57. A few minutes later, Seljaas drilled his sixth 3-pointer of the night, putting BYU up 10. On his way down the court, he stuck his tongue out.
"A first-year guy in a time when we really needed it," Rose said of Seljaas. "You'd have to go back a ways and find a freshman performance like that. It was a good one — ranked up there with some of the best I've seen."
The Chippewas continued to cut into BYU's growing lead from beyond the arc. A 3-pointer by Rayshawn Simmons trimmed the lead to 81-75 with just over four minutes remaining. BYU responded with a 7-0 run highlighted by Kyle Davis and Collinsworth.
There was still work to be done. Collinsworth said the idea of another triple double didn't creep into his mind until he saw nine rebounds and nine assists on the video board. Off a late missed Chippewa 3-point attempt, the senior snatched his 10th rebound.
And with one minute and four seconds left, he ditched what would've been an easy layup to feed a true freshman's seventh 3-point basket Friday.
"It all worked out," said Seljaas.
Twitter: @chriskamrani Storylines
R Five Cougars score in double figures (Seljaas, Fischer, Davis, Collnsworth, Emery) in the win
• Central Michigan set a new Marriott Center record for 3-pointers made in a game with 17
• Kyle Collinsworth notched his NCAA record eighth career triple double