Collinsworth and BYU End LMU’s Season

March 8, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Kyle Collinsworth (5) shoots against the Loyola Marymount Lions during the first half in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

BYU crushed the prospect of a second straight WCC tournament run for LMU when the Cougars defeated the Lions by a score of 85 to 74.

The Cougars came out of the gate on a tear, as the Cougars got to a 30-14 lead in the first 11 minutes of the game. However, LMU battled back to bring the score to 43-36. The Lions stuck around for most of the second have, but BYU maintained their lead and cruised to victory.

BYU received a monster game from Kyle Collinsworth, who scored 23 points – a career high for him – and grabbed 16 rebounds. Anson Winder was the Cougars leading distributor today three assists. Tyler Haws and Winder both were able to finish in double figures along with Collinsworth with 22 and 16 points respectively.

Anthony Ireland played his last game ever as a Lion today, and scored 19 points to lead the Lions in his farewell. He also chipped in four rebounds and four assists in his final game. Gabe Levin was electric for LMU today, scoring 18 points off seven of 12 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds in the loss. Evan Payne and Nick Stover also reached double-digit points with 15 and 12 respectively.

Keys to the Game Checklist

BYU

(Check) Control Ireland and Payne

Although the Lions backcourt duo combined for 34 points, they only combined to shoot 9 of 26 from the field.

LMU

(X) Slow the game down when possible

The game was pretty up-tempo the whole time, with each team shooting 60-plus shots.

Player of the Game

Kyle Collinsworth

Collinsworth dominated the game with 23 points and 13 rebounds tonight. His ability to drive to the basket at will made the difference for BYU today.

Moving Forward

With the win, BYU advances to the semifinals where they will meet the USF Dons.

As for LMU, there season is over and Anthony Ireland and Alex Osborne have officially played their last games as a Loyola Marymount Lions.