LOS ANGELES – Kyle Collinsworth’s 10th career triple-double led the BYU 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 10th 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. The Cougars used a 13-1 in the final five minutes to pull away.
BYU 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 3, 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 8 points, with Davis adding 6 points and 8 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 pull BYU to within 59-57.
After an LMU basket, BYU went on a 14-5 run, capped by 3s from Fischer and Seljaas, to give the Cougars a 71-66 lead with 10 minutes to play.
The teams traded baskets before a 6-0 LMU run gave the 79-78 lead back to the Lions with five minutes to go.
But 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, Calif., to face Pepperdine 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.
Stats: byu-lmu-box
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