LAHAINA, Hawaii – BYU men’s basketball fell 92-87 in double-overtime against No. 15 San Diego State Monday night in the first round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational.
"I thought it was a really hard-fought game," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "Probably a great basketball game to watch back and forth. We had a hard time getting the lead and got the lead late and had a hard time protecting the lead. I congratulate Coach Fisher and his team on a hard-fought win, and wish them the best in the rest of the tournament and throughout the season. For us, we'll have to bounce back from a disappointing loss and hopefully be ready to play tomorrow morning."
Kyle Collinsworth finished with 21 points, six assists and three steals, while Tyler Haws finished with a game-high 26 points on the night. Anson Winder contributed 14 points and five rebounds, while Isaac Neilson followed up with 12 points and two blocks. Chase Fischer added 11 points of his own.
After the Cougars (3-1) fell behind 11-0 to start the game, BYU responded with five consecutive points with a Fischer 3-pointer at the 16:54 mark and Collinsworth’s 2 of 2 trip to the charity stripe. SDSU (4-0) extended its lead to 15-5 but was answered by a Neilson three-point play and a bucket from deep to cut BYU’s deficit to 18-11 with 13:23 remaining in the half.
The Cougars reeled off a 15-6 run to tie it up at 26 apiece at the 7:30 mark. The run included a layup and 3-pointer from Winder and two Haws shots from beyond the arc. Following Fischer’s second 3-pointer to cut BYU’s deficit to 31-29, Neilson added a block and drew a charge in the same possession with 4:52 remaining. With 1:13 left in the half, Collinsworth drove down the lane to bring BYU within four at 37-33, but the Cougars trailed 41-33 at the half.
Winder led the team with seven points at halftime with Haws, Neilson and Fischer adding six points each. Collinsworth added five points and three assists at the half.
Haws opened the second half with a jumper to pull the Cougars within six points. Collinsworth followed it up with two layups and a 3-pointer to keep BYU’s deficit at 48-42 with 16:05 remaining. Neilson’s second three-point play of the game and Collinsworth’s putback layup capped a 7-0 BYU run to bring the Cougars within one at 48-47 at the 13:52 mark.
San Diego State pushed its lead back up to 59-51 until Haws responded with consecutive shots from deep to bring BYU within two at 59-57 with 8:26 left in the game. After trading baskets, Haws’ fifth 3-pointer tied the game for the third time at 67 with 1:37 remaining to send the game into overtime.
BYU got its first lead of the game in overtime at the 4:24 mark with Haws’ trip to the free-throw line for the 69-68 lead. SDSU regained a quick two-point lead, but was answered with BYU’s 7-0 run that included a Winder 3-pointer, a Collinsworth layup and a Haws jumper to take a 76-71 lead with 1:35 left. The Aztecs answered with five-straight points to send it into double overtime at 76.
The Aztecs scored the first four points in double overtime to lead 80-76. Haws’ jumper at the 3:30 mark tied it at 80, but BYU came up short as San Diego State put together a 7-0 run to extend its lead to as many as eight before the game ended with a final score of 92-87.
BYU will play Chaminade on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. HST (2:30 p.m. MST) at the Lahaina Civic Center. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast on the Cougar IMG Sports Network on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM.