Collinsworth's 10th career triple-double leads BYU past LMU

BYU at LMU Box Score

LOS ANGELES – Kyle Collinsworth’s 10th career triple-double led the Cougars in a 91-80 victory over Loyola Marymount Thursday night at the Gersten Pavilion.

After a slow first half, Collinsworth finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, five steals and two blocks. It was the tenth triple-double of his career to add to his NCAA record and his fourth of the season. Kyle Davis also had a big night, recording his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Nick Emery chipped in a BYU-high 24 points, shooting .500 from deep, while Chase Fischer added 20 points on the night for the Cougars. Zac Seljaas also knocked down four treys for 12 points.

BYU trailed 50-40 at half but came out of the break hot and regained the lead with a 23-11 edge in the first seven minutes to lead 63-61. They used a 13-1 in the final five minutes to pull away.

“When we got this lead it was really important we could finish and get our guys in a positive mind," head coach Dave Rose said. "The best part would be to not get behind and be in front the whole time. You can never really predict how these things are going to go and if you get yourself into that situation it’s good to now we can get out of it.”

The Cougars started the game going back and forth with the Lions, with a Fischer 3-pointer knotting things up at 13-13 with five minutes gone in the half.

After an LMU three, Fischer hit back-to-back shots from behind the arc to put BYU up 21-18 at the 13 minute mark.

Emery finished two layups in two straight possessions to bring the Cougar lead to 31-26 with 10 minutes to play in the first half.

A Seljaas 3-pointer at the three minute mark ended a six minute scoring drought for the Cougars, accompanied by a 20-0 LMU run that put BYU down 46-34.

A quick couple of baskets from Collinsworth and Davis in the last two minutes helped BYU get back into striking distance to end the half at 50-40.

Fischer finished the first half with 15 points, shooting 4-10 from 3-point range. Emery also contributed eight points, with Davis adding six points and eight boards for the Cougars in the half.

Emery started the second half on fire, knocking down three shots from deep in the first five minutes of the half to decrease the BYU deficit to 59-57.

After an LMU basket, BYU went on a 14-5 run, capped by threes from Fischer and Seljaas, to give the Cougars a 71-66 lead with 10 minutes to play.

Both teams traded baskets before a 6-0 LMU run gave the 79-78 lead back to the Lions with five minutes to go.

The Lion lead didn’t last long, as the Cougars responded with a crucial 13-1 run, including buckets from Seljaas, Emery, Davis and Collinsworth to end the game with the final score 91-80.

BYU will travel to Malibu to face Pepperdine this Saturday, Jan. 23, at 5 p.m. PST. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and can be streamed on byutv.org. Cougar fans can also listen to the game on the Cougar IMG Sports Network (KSL 1160 AM or 102.7 FM) or on BYU Radio and Sirius XM 143.