Fischer leads BYU past Seattle Pacific

BYU vs. Seattle Pacific Game Notes

BYU vs. Seattle Pacific Box Score

BYU vs. Seattle Pacific Facebook Photo Gallery

PROVO, Utah – Junior Chase Fischer led a balanced BYU attack Saturday as the Cougars beat Seattle Pacific 75-44 at the Marriott Center. Fischer finished with a game-high 21 points and added four assists and two steals.

"I'm pleased with what happened tonight. I'm pleased we were able to get so many guys in,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “I thought everybody who came in added something positive to the game. We had an opportunity to gain some experience and learn, and we're looking forward to Friday's game."

Tyler Haws added 15 points and a game-high four steals and Anson Winder contributed 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Corbin Kaufusi anchored a strong BYU defense with three big blocks and eight rebounds. In his return to the court after an ACL injury suffered at the end of last season, junior Kyle Collinsworth showed flashes of his pre-injury self in limited minutes. He scored two points while handing out four assists, grabbing three rebounds and one steal.

As a team, the Cougars shot 50 percent from the field, 32 percent from three and 83 percent from the line for the game. Twelve of the 13 players who entered the game for BYU scored and 10 Cougars recorded at least one steal. BYU also dished out 17 assists, while forcing 24 Falcon turnovers.

Haws got the Cougars on the board first with a layup off a nice feed from Collinsworth. After falling behind 9-6, Collinsworth sparked a small 8-3 run to put BYU back in control. The junior guard got up and threw down a big dunk to start the run and forced two quick jump balls on defense.

The Falcons hung tough with the Cougars for a good part of the first half before Chase Fischer and Frank Bartley IV sparked another BYU run, this time a 9-0 run to push the lead to 29-19. The Cougars maintained the double-digit lead going into halftime 40-30 thanks to a jumper by Fischer as time expired.

Haws and Fischer led a balanced BYU attack with 11 and eight points in the half, respectively. Fischer also led the team in assists with three and steals, tallying two. The Cougars shot 51 percent from the floor while eight players scored in the first half. BYU recorded nine steals as a team in the half coming from eight different players. Freshman Dalton Nixon led the Cougars on the boards with four.

BYU came out strong in the second half and built on their lead. An early run, fueled by two Fischer 3-pointers, pushed the Cougar lead to 58-38. During the run, BYU forced four Falcon turnovers in the span of one minute. Kaufusi anchored the strong second half defensive performance, recording all three of his blocks in the half.

"I thought we did a good job of protecting the rim tonight," Rose said. "We played well on defense and just needed to finish some of our plays a little better."

Fischer led the Cougars with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting in the second half, while Winder scored all 11 of his in the half, going 5 of 7.  BYU recorded six assists, six blocks and seven steals in the half. Haws accounted for three of the seven steals.

The Cougars open up their regular season Friday, Nov. 14 against Long Beach State at 5 p.m. at the Marriott Center. The game will be televised on BYUtv and can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Network, KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM and BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143.