BYU vs. LMU Game Notes and Quotes
LOS ANGELES – Junior Kyle Collinsworth recorded his fifth triple-double Saturday at LMU (8-17, 4-9) with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to set an NCAA record for triple-doubles in a season and lead BYU (18-8, 8-5) to an 87-68 victory in Gersten Pavilion. The win is also head coach Dave Rose's 250th career win, good enough for second all-time on the BYU wins list.
"[Collinsworth] was special tonight," Rose said. "It was from the tip, the very first possession, he was determined to give the effort we all needed in this game."
The Cougars struck first when Collinsworth scored off a nice feed from Tyler Haws on the first possession of the game. Collinsworth also scored the next four points before Chase Fischer hit a 3-pointer and Haws sunk a jumper to give BYU an 11-6 lead. The Lions responded with a 10-0 run to lead 16-11, capped by a dunk from Evan Payne.
A Skyler Halford 3-pointer ended the run and Collinsworth completed a 3-point play on the following possession to cap a 6-0 lead that regained the lead for the Cougars at 17-16. The teams traded 3-pointers before BYU made six-consecutive shots to fuel a 9-0 run and increase its lead to 36-25. The Cougars’ biggest lead during the half was 11 at 38-27 and finished the half up 10 at 40-30.
Collinsworth looked primed for his fifth triple-double through the half, finishing with 14 points, four assists and four rebounds while shooting 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Corbin Kaufusi played big under the bucket, recording a career high in blocks in the half with three. In the first half, the team shot 51.9 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the free throw line while holding LMU to 35.5 percent from the field.
The Lions came out of the break strong, opening 4 of 4 from the field while the Cougars shot 3 of 10, and cut the BYU lead to six. Haws nailed a 3-pointer and hit a couple jumpers to build the lead back to 11 at 51-40. Halford made another 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 14-point lead at 58-44. A couple minutes later, LMU used a quick 5-0 run to cut the lead to nine but that would be the closest the Lions would get the rest of the way.
With just under seven minutes left, and needing only one assist for the record, Collinsworth kicked it out to Halford who hit the 3-pointer to give Collinsworth the record and push the BYU lead to 13 points. The Cougars used another 9-0 to continue to build their lead to 79-59, capped by an Isaac Neilson putback for their largest lead of the game.
Beyond the record, Collinsworth tied a career high and set a season high in points with 23. Haws recorded 22 points for his 10th consecutive game with 20 or more points. After not playing in four of the last five games, Josh Sharp started and played 28 minutes and contributed seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kaufusi finished the game with the career high in blocks with three and tied a career high in rebounds with six.
"Kyle has an unbelievable game that sets a record, that is absolutely amazing," Rose said. "But I hope we're not to the point where that's how he needs to play in order for us to be successful. I love that he's on it, he's doing it, but hopefully we can grow a little bit and we need to take those types of efforts and use them to continue winning."
BYU returns to the Marriott Center for a three-game homestand beginning with a big matchup with Saint Mary’s Thursday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Network, KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM and BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143.