BYU vs. Gonzaga Notes & Quotes

BYU vs. Gonzaga Game Story

BYU vs. Gonzaga Box Score

Player Notes

• Kyle Collinsworth finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. He had his fifth straight game in double figures and scored 20 or more for the third time in his last four games. The double figure scoring game was his 91st passing Ken Roberts for 11th most at BYU.
• Collinsworth passed Roland Minson and Jay Cheesman for 17th on BYU’s career scoring list with his 20 points tonight. Collinsworth also passed the 1,400-point mark and now has 1,414 career points. Tonight was Collinsworth’s 112th game started which ties Mekeli Wesley for the 11th most at BYU.
• Kyle Davis recorded his seventh double-double of the season as he turned in 12 points and 11 rebounds. He added a career-high 4 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists. Davis has now scored in double figures 17 of 18 games this season.
• Nate Austin finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. Tonight was Austin’s 134th game played tying Noah Hartsock for fifth most in BYU history.
• Austin’s second block sealed the victory over Gonzaga. His blocks tied him with Mekeli Wesley with the 12th most blocks in BYU history.
• Chase Fischer scored 18 points and added a team-high 4 assists to go with a rebound and a steal. It was Fischer’s seventh straight game scoring in double figures.
• Nick Emery’s first points and first 3-pointer of the night came with 1:38 left in the game and gave BYU a 69-67 lead. He finished with those 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.
• Emery’s 3-pointer tied him with Jimmer Fredette for the second most 3-pointers made by a freshman in BYU history. He now trails Jonathan Tavernari by one 3-pointer.
• Corbin Kaufusi finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds and a block.

Team Notes

• BYU head coach Dave Rose won his 270th career victory and is now 2-3 at Gonzaga. 
• It was BYU’s second road win of the season with both coming in WCC play.
• BYU is now 4-1 in WCC play and currently in third place, but even in the loss column with Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.
• BYU is 4-0 in January.
• The comeback from 13 points down was the largest deficit erased in a win since coming back from 14 down against Saint Mary's in Provo in 2014.
• For the sixth straight game, BYU started Collinsworth (18 season/112 career starts), Fischer (18/51), Emery (13/13), Davis (18/18) and Austin (7/60). The Cougars are 6-1 with those starters.
• An 8-1 run put BYU back within three at 25-22 with six minutes left in the first half. Davis scored two buckets, Chatman hit a jumper and Fischer made two free throws.
• The final 10 points combined by both teams in the first half all came from the free-throw line over the final four minutes of the first half.
• An 8-0 run to cut lead to five at 54-49 with 10:30 left in the game, Collinsworth scored 6 points and Austin added a layup.
• BYU’s first made 3-pointer came at the 8:33 mark of the second half from Fischer and it cut the lead to 56-54. BYU finished with three 3-pointers and had been averaging 9.4 per game on the season.
• Another 8-0 run gave BYU a brief 64-63 lead for the first time since the 14-minute mark of the first half. Collinsworth scored five points in the run and Fischer added three on a three-point play.
• BYU made 12 of 14 from the free-throw line for 85.7 percent. The only misses came in the final 18 seconds, but the Cougars were able to hang on for the victory.

Quotes

BYU head coach Dave Rose

“The story of the game is the effort our guys gave, consistent effort through a lot of offensive frustration. We didn’t shoot the ball our best tonight. Defensively we were dialed in. Our game plan was simple but it was pretty good.”

“It goes to our big guys. Those big guys offset a little bit of what their big guys were doing and our guards made enough plays late down the stretch to get us over the hump.”

Collinsworth sitting out a lot of the first half:

“We talked earlier in the week about limiting his minutes, we didn’t know that this would be the way it would be limited. I told him this thing is set up for him to go play 20 minutes and take control of this game and that’s what he did.”

Fischer’s play:

“He played the majority of the game and hit that first three that was big. Chase hit that one and from there Kyle hit one and Nick hit a huge one right in front of our bench.” 

Defense:

“It was a real effort defensively. We made it tough, but they all complemented each other.” 

Chase Fischer

What it took to win:

“It’s a lot of heart, a lot of will. It’s really easy when you’re on someone else’s court to give up and blow the game out to 20, KC played unbelievable in the second half and we just never gave up, we kept fighting and sometimes you grind it out and that’s what we did.”

Compared to last year:

“Totally different feel than last year’s win. We were leading the whole game and this year it was a weird, weird game. We got down early and we cut it down. It’s a little more tiring to play like that and everything has to go right. Some things went our way and Nate made a huge play and there were big plays made and things aligned tonight.”

Play you’ll remember:

“Nate Austin’s block for sure. Wiltjer had Kyle on his hip and Nate came out of nowhere and blocked it and saved it. We all thought the game was over, but we knew when there was .9 left and Nate at the line it was kind of tough to make a shot from there. Nate’s block was unbelievable. He shows so much heart and he’s a big part of what we do and he’s a great teammate and his play was something I’ll remember from my college career.”