Kyle Collinsworth drives to the hoop against Utah State. Collinsworth continues to lead the Cougars on and off the court. (Natalie Bothwell)
Senior guard Kyle Collinsworth recorded his eighth career triple-double and freshman Zac Seljaas turned in a career night to propel BYU to a 98-85 victory over Central Michigan on Friday night in Provo.
Seljaas led all scorers with a career-high 25 points while senior guard Kyle Collinsworth recorded his eighth triple-double to extend the NCAA career triple-double record. Collinsworth finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
But Collinsworth was happier for the freshman after the game.
'He's always been able to do this,' Collinsworth said.'He's finding a rhythm and figuring things out and it's paying off.'
Both teams were playing great and Central Michigan was dangerous from the three-point line. BYU led most of the first half, but CMU came back to erase a 10-point deficit and tie the game going into halftime. BYU head coach Dave Rose felt great about the win and the direction the team is heading, but he's still looking for things to click.
'I want us to really find consistency,' Coach Rose said. 'Seven, eight, nine guys who we know what we're going to get from them every night.
The Cougars and Chippewas started a little flat-footed in the second half, but BYU quickly took off behind offensive efforts from Seljaas and senior guard Chase Fischer, who finished the night with 23 points. BYU tried out a five-guard lineup for the first time this season to spread the floor and handle CMU's shooters.
Seljaas came in as part of the five-guard lineup and caught fire scoring 11 points in a row. The true freshman finished with 25 points, five rebounds and three assists. Seljaas only took seven shots all season before last Saturday's game in Boulder against the Colorado Buffaloes. The freshman guard has 43 points over the last two games and is shooting 69 percent from beyond the arc.
'I just, with this team, found my confidence,' Seljaas said. 'They gave their confidence to me and it pushed me to be better.'