Collinsworth's 12th career triple-double leads BYU past UAB in NIT opening round

PROVO — Kyle Collinsworth’s career at the next level hasn’t been written, and it remains a mystery even in the final postseason of his BYU career.

But his collegiate career? That’s one for the record books — literally. And he added another chapter to it Wednesday night.

Collinsworth extended his NCAA record with the 12th triple-double of his career as BYU ran past Alabama-Birmingham, 97-79 in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament at the Marriott Center.

The Cougars went ahead by as many as 21 points, then saw its lead evaporate to as few as four, then led by 22 in the span of the second half that Collinsworth simply described as “up and down like a roller coaster ride.”

“We got up, and were up by 20 at halftime, then all of a sudden it was a six-point game, then all of a sudden we were up 20,” Collinsworth said. “It showed us a lot tonight that we were able to weather the storm. We’ve had games where people have made runs, and we’ve lost those games.

“It was good to see that we could weather the storm, and actually build back the lead to where it was.”

The senior from Provo High finished with 19 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to extend his NCAA record mark.

Collinsworth equalled his six triple-doubles from a year ago, a mark that tied him with LSU’s Shaquille O’Neal and Drexel’s Michael Anderson.

Even that all-time NCAA mark was one Collinsworth thought he could equal, though.

“People said we lost a lot of shooters, but I know Chase was still here, our bigs got better, and Nick was a big edition to shoot and make plays,” he said. “I think we added even more rebounds with the bigs. I had not doubt I could do it.”

He knew he could do more — even if he wasn’t always thinking about it. When the crowd erupted after he grabbed his 10th rebound for the historic mark, Collinsworth glanced at the scoreboard and “kind of figured” what had happened.

“I tried not to think about it a lot this year,” he said. “Last year, I think people made it that way. Now I just play, and if it happens, it happens.

“I just play my game, and it makes it easier when you have guys that can shoot like Chase and Nick, and bigs that can run.”

Nick Emery scored a team-high 17 of his 22 points in the first half for BYU (24-10), which advanced to host Virginia Tech in a second-round game Friday in Provo. The Hokies (20-14) defeated Princeton, 86-81 in overtime of their opening-round NIT game earlier Wednesday.

Chase Fischer scored 16 of his team-high 27 points in the second half for BYU, and Kyle Davis supplied 11 points and five rebounds for the Cougars.

“These guys really competed hard physically, even when their hearts weren’t always into it. Physically, they competed hard, and they encouraged each other," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "There’s a good feel with this team.

“We were really disappointed coming home Tuesday last week. But these last two practices were really like mid-season practices; it really felt like they were done playing.”

UAB’s Robert Brown led all scorers with 29 points, all but two in the second half, and Chris Cokley supplied 13 points and seven rebounds for the Blazers (26-7), the Conference USA regular-season champions.

Collinsworth used a pair of jaw-dropping dunks — one off a rim-rattling alley oop from Emery — to pace a 7-2 run and help the Cougars pull away for a 25-12 advantage with 11:46 left in the first half.

“That’s why playing at home is nice: when you make plays like that, it gives us momentum,” Collinsworth said. “We can feed off the crowd.”

BYU assisted on 12 of its first 13 made baskets, including six early assists from Collinsworth. Corbin Kaufusi added back-to-back buckets, including a follow-up dunk, to give BYU a 41-26 lead with 2:51 in the half and the Cougars traded buckets with UAB the rest of the way en route to a 51-30 halftime advantage.

The Cougars assisted on 26 of 38 made shots, led by Collinsworth’s 12 dimes but also getting five assists from Emery and four from Fischer.

“Our guys competed well. We shared the ball, and we were efficient offensively,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “I’m happy for the guys, and I look forward to moving on and playing Friday.”

But the Blazers would not go away quietly.

Virginia Tech transfer Brown pulled UAB within six, 65-59 on a jumper with 12:59 left to play, capping a run of three-straight shots from the field for the Blazers. Brown, the team’s lone senior who had just two points in the first half, erupted for 20 in the opening nine minutes of the second half.

“He’s capable of that, but it happened so fast; all of a sudden, he had nine points,” Collinsworth said of Brown, who had 13 points and five rebounds the last time BYU faced Virginia Tech in Salt Lake City. “He’s a great player, and credit them for finding him and running through him on the offense.”

But the freshmen put a stop to the run. Emery’s steal-and-score followed by Zac Seljaas’ 3-pointer from the corner gave BYU a 75-66 margin going into the final 10 minutes. Fischer started off the game hot, making two of his first 3-point attempts, but went into a brief lull.

Then, when his team needed him most, he woke up again. The senior from Ripley, West Virginia, canned a triple with 8:09 to play, then scored in transition on the next possession to give BYU an 82-68 lead with 7:30 left to deflate the Blazers’ comeback bid.

“Every shooter will tell you that you’re going to have good looks that you miss, and I had some open looks that I’m frustrated that I missed,” said Fischer, who finished 10-of-20 from the field with seven 3-pointers. “But you just have to keep shooting; if I don’t shoot them, it’s not going to go in.

“Kyle, Nick and Zac both found me, and I got some space. I was exhausted in the second half of the up-and-down paced game. It’s tough shooting threes when you’re really winded, but I kept shooting.”

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