This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Provo • Their 21-point halftime lead all but gone, the BYU Cougars looked at each other during the second half of Wednesday's NIT opener against UAB and figured there was one good thing about the way the pace was going.
"I think we reminded each other that they were more tired than we were," said guard Kyle Collinsworth, who would go on to record his sixth triple-double of the season, 12th of his career.
Sure enough, the Cougars kept pushing the ball at every opportunity, and the visitors eventually ran out of gas. Looking like it deserved the No. 2 seed in the NIT, BYU took a 97-79 win over the Conference USA regular-season champion in front of 8,420 at the Marriott Center.
"We competed well, played together well and shared the ball well," said BYU coach Dave Rose, after praising the crowd for giving the home team a lift when it needed it. "It was a good win."
The Cougars improved to 24-10 and will host third-seeded Virginia Tech in the second round at the Marriott Center on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The Hokies fought past Princeton in overtime in Blacksburg, Va., Wednesday night; the No. 1 seed in the quadrant, St. Bonaventure, was upset by Wagner, meaning BYU will get another home game in the third round if it can take down Virginia Tech.
Wednesday's win "was up and down, like a roller-coaster ride," said Collinsworth, who said he didn't know he was close to the triple double because the game was so intense midway through the second half. He finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Chase Fischer added 27 points, mostly on 7 of 16 3-point shooting, and Nick Emery chipped in 22.
"I was honestly exhausted in that second half," said Fischer, who kept shooting anyway and scored 11 straight BYU points when the Cougars were pulling away for the second time.
Having trailed 51-30 at the half, UAB decided to make a game of it in the second half. The visitors chipped away at BYU's big lead, and when Robert Brown hit a jumper with 10:40 remaining, the score was 70-66. Brown had all but two of his game-high 29 points in the second half and was a one-man wrecking crew for the Blazers. Chris Cokley added 13.
"They put a heckuva run on us in the second half," Rose said.
Their lead cut to four, the Cougars got baskets from Emery, and Collinsworth and a 3-pointer from Zac Seljaas to right themselves. Brown ended the 7-0 run with a couple more free throws for UAB, but Fischer took over with his personal 11-2 run, and when Emery added a 3-point play with 4:54 left, the Cougars' lead was back to 21 and the crowd was at full-throat.
Home court advantage "is huge," Fischer said. "Tonight, we had a really good crowd, and I am sure it will only get better on Friday."
The Cougars played one of their best first halves of the season. UAB coach Jerod Haase substituted early and often — sometimes five players at a time — to combat the lethargic start for the Blazers, to no avail.
The Cougars shot 57 percent and were hot from the opening tip. Emery had 17 in the first half, and Fischer chipped in 11 before the break, making 3 of 7 3-pointers.
Leading 37-26, the Cougars hit a mild lull when Collinsworth went to the bench late in the half, but UAB had six straight empty possessions and couldn't take advantage. The Cougars ended the half on a 14-4 run.
But UAB opened the second half on a 17-7 run to get back in the game, and set up an entertaining final 15 minutes.
"It was up and down, but it showed us tonight we could weather the storm when the other team makes a run," said Collinsworth, who nearly brought the house down in the first half when he took a fastbreak lob from Emery and posterized a UAB defender with a dunk.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Storylines
P Kyle Collinsworth records his 12th career triple double and sixth this season with 19 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
• UAB cuts BYU's 21-point halftime lead to four midway through the second half, then fades again despite 29 points from Robert Brown.
• Chase Fischer leads BYU with 29 points, including seven 3-pointers.
BYU 97, UAB 79
UAB (26-7)
Baxter 1-1 1-2 4, Norton 3-10 0-0 8, Cokley 5-9 3-3 13, Brown 8-15 8-8 29, Lee 3-7 0-0 7, Watts 1-4 0-0 2, Williams 3-8 1-2 10, Mehinti 0-0 0-0 0, Madison 0-0 0-0 0, Smallwood 0-1 0-0 0, Sullivan 2-5 2-2 6, Love 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 15-17 79.
BYU (24-10)
Fischer 10-20 0-1 27, Emery 9-17 1-1 22, Collinsworth 8-13 3-5 19, Davis 4-7 2-2 11, Kaufusi 2-4 2-2 6, Seljaas 3-5 0-1 8, Guinn 0-0 0-0 0, Chatman 0-1 0-0 0, Shaw 0-0 0-0 0, Austin 2-2 0-0 4, Hartsock 0-0 0-0 0, Aytes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-69 8-12 97.
Halftime—BYU 51-30. 3-Point Goals—UAB 12-29 (Brown 5-9, Williams 3-7, Norton 2-7, Baxter 1-1, Lee 1-3, Smallwood 0-1, Watts 0-1), BYU 13-30 (Fischer 7-16, Emery 3-6, Seljaas 2-4, Davis 1-2, Chatman 0-1, Collinsworth 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—UAB 27 (Cokley 7), BYU 41 (Collinsworth 10). Assists—UAB 17 (Mehinti, Sullivan 3), BYU 26 (Collinsworth 12). Total Fouls—UAB 13, BYU 12. A—8,420.
NIT Glance
Tuesday's First Round
South Carolina 88, High Point 66
Florida State 84, Davidson 74
Ohio State 72, Akron 63, OT
Creighton 72, Alabama 54
Washington 107, Long Beach State 102
Florida 97, North Florida 68
Valparaiso 84, Texas Southern 73
San Diego State 79, IPFW 55
Saint Mary's (Cal) 58, New Mexico State 56
Wednesday's First Round
Wagner 79, St. Bonaventure 75
Georgia 93, Belmont 84
Monmouth 90, Bucknell 80
George Washington 82, Hofstra 80
Virginia Tech 86, Princeton 81, OT
Georgia Tech 81, Houston 62
BYU 97, UAB 79