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Provo • Having lost a chunk of momentum and, possibly, a chunk of national respect last Saturday against Portland, the BYU Cougars have returned to practice with a new plan to handle a two-game road swing.
It's called teamwork.
Coach Dave Rose said it lacked in the 69-68 win over Gonzaga and the 84-81 loss to the Pilots, noting that the Cougars assisted on just 11 of 27 field goals against the Zags and 10 of 27 against Portland.
"I think we were totally prepared as far as what we understood the [Portland] game would be," Rose said. "I don't think that we approached it the right way as far as a team is concerned. Ten assists in the game? We play our best when we are assisting between 23-20 [baskets]. Guys wanted to do it, but I think we wanted to do it maybe more on our own than relying on each other. There is a fine line right there. You gotta be really aggressive. We played hard enough, we competed hard enough. We just were out of sync, as far as our team was concerned."
Rose said they will need to find that chemistry quickly, because Thursday's game against improved Loyola Marymount (9-9, 2-5 WCC) suddenly looks more difficult than it did a week ago. The Lions won at San Francisco and Santa Clara last week, their first Bay Area road sweep in 24 years. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. MST at Gersten Pavilion.
"We've got our hands full," Rose said. "They are a good team that plays well at home, especially, and just got two big road wins. I am sure they have a lot of confidence right now."
Point guard Kyle Collinsworth played well against Gonzaga with 20 points on 9-for-18 shooting and just two turnovers, but struggled against the Pilots, going 4 of 17 from the field and losing the ball five times.
"I am going to put a big emphasis on getting guys shots — an over emphasis, every game," Collinsworth said after practice Tuesday. "And not just getting guys shots, but getting everyone going, as a leader and a point guard — just making sure guys get going and I find them where they like to shoot."
Bench help needed
Rose was unhappy with how BYU's bench players performed in the Pacific Northwest. Zac Seljaas, Jordan Chatman, Jamal Aytes and Corbin Kaufusi combined to go 8 for 28 from the field, with eight turnovers and no assists.
Rose noted that Kaufusi played relatively well and rediscovered his groove after losing his starting position to Nate Austin eight games ago.
"I think he struggled at first, but I think he is playing well now," Rose said of the 6-foot-10 sophomore. "He actually had a good weekend on the road for the minutes that he played. As a whole, though, our bench was not very good. … As a group our bench needs to get better, but I think Corb is really kinda coming along in that role for him."
Can't do that
The Cougars lost a possession against Portland when guard Nick Emery attempted to call a timeout while airborne and falling out of bounds. Players haven't been able to do that since 2006, but Rose (and reporters) incorrectly assumed Tuesday that rule had been one of those that had changed while Emery was on his mission.
"He was still surprised," Rose said. "I had to explain it to him. That's probably our fault, we should have covered everything possible to cover. Some things get past you, I guess."
Briefly
Collinsworth on Tuesday was named one of 60 NCAA basketball athletes as a candidate for the 2-015-16 Senior CLASS Award, an award recognizing achievements in community, classroom, character and competition. … Austin leads in offensive rebounds in school history (269), passing Kenneth Roberts. Emery has more 3-pointers than any freshman in BYU history (45), passing Mark Bigelow.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU at Loyola Marymount
P Thursday, 9 p.m. MST
TV • TWC SportsNet