UH basketball team blown out by BYU
Brigham Young guard Kyle Collinsworth recorded a triple-double and the Cougars pulled away from Hawaii late in a 90-70 decision at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon.
UH (7-3) led by nine points midway through the first half and hung tough for about 30 minutes, but the Cougars (7-2) blew it open in the last 10 minutes. Collinsworth had 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to become the third Rainbow Warriors opponent on record to achieve a triple-double, and the first for BYU since 1988.
BYU guard Tyler Haws scored 30 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field and 10-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Another guard, Chase Fischer, added 20 points, five rebounds and five assists for the highest-scoring team in the country, which also outrebounded UH 49-30.
For UH, forward Aaron Valdes led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Roderick Bobbitt added 15 points, seven assists and five steals. Guard Garrett Nevels scored 12 and Isaac Fleming had seven off the bench.
Valdes dunked it on a turnover and feed from Bobbitt to get UH within 54-48 with 11:36 to play. Bobbitt followed with a reverse layup to make it a four-point game.
But BYU of the West Coast Conference capitalized on some UH turnovers from there and the Rainbow Warriors didn’t have the firepower to answer late.
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The Cougars shot 57.7 percent in the second half to 38.2 percent for Hawaii. For the game, the ‘Bows shot 38.9 percent to 48.3 percent for BYU.
UH starting swingman Negus Webster-Chan missed the game with what was said to be a “sprained ankle,” according to a UH official.
The first half was one of extreme runs. UH scored the first seven points of the game, gave up eight straight to BYU, and the teams proceeded to score in spurts. The Rainbow Warriors led 26-17, but were then outscored 20-4 to close the period.
BYU led 37-30 at the break, despite 12 points from Valdes on 5-for-6 shooting.
The Cougars made it five straight in the series and 34-14 overall head-to-head between the former WAC rivals.
