BYU Cougars Drive Past UAB 97-79 In NIT Opener

After gaining a 21-point halftime lead, the BYU Cougars secured a 97-79 home victory over Conference USA regular-season champions the UAB Blazers in the NIT opening game at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Wednesday night.

BYU Cougars Drive Past UAB 97-79 In NIT Opener

“I think we reminded each other that they were more tired than we were,” said BYU guard Kyle Collinsworth, who would go on to record his sixth triple-double of the season, 12th of his career. He finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists.

Collinsworth was right, as the Cougars continued to push the ball at every turn, while the Blazers eventually ran out of steam.

Chase Fischer added 27 points for the Cougars, and Nick Emery scored 22.

“We competed well, played together well and shared the ball well,” said BYU coach Dave Rose, after praising the crowd for giving the home team a lift when it needed it. “It was a good win.”

After the Cougars led 51-30 at halftime, UAB slowly began cutting down the lead in the second half. Robert Brown hit a jumper with 10:40 left to shrink BYU’s lead to 70-66. Brown scored a game-high 29 points, only two of which came in the second half. Chris Cokely added another 13 for UAB.

Brown ended his 7-0 run with a couple more free throws for UAB, but Fischer then countered with his own 11-2 run, to which Emery added a 3-pointer with 4:54 left to bring the Cougars’ lead back to 21.

“We competed well, played together well and shared the ball well,” said Rose, after praising the crowd for giving the home team a lift when it needed it. “It was a good win.”

BYU (24-10) will next host third-seed Virginia Tech in the second round of the NIT at the Marriott Center on Friday night.

Caption: LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 07: Kyle Collinsworth #5 of the Brigham Young Cougars is guarded by Eric McClellan #23 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference Basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 7, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gonzaga won 88-84. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)