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Provo • First halves are starting to agree with BYU.
Two nights after scoring 48 points in the first half against Santa Clara, the Cougars put 51 on San Francisco at the Marriott Center on Saturday.
Then again, that's what the Cougars do against the Dons.
It was the first time BYU has scored more than 50 points in a first half since scoring 57 at San Francisco on Jan. 3, 2015.
Leading the way was freshman Zac Seljaas, who was 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half en route to 14 points. The Cougars were 8 of 16 from 3-point range, while the Dons were 4 of 11 in the first half.
Triple-double trouble?
After BYU fans shouted for players to shoot the ball whenever they took a pass from triple-double machine Kyle Collinsworth on Thursday, coach Dave Rose acknowledged that focus on the stat could be an issue in close games.
"It could get really awkward if you get those things late in a game and execution is a huge issue," Rose said. "It is quite amazing, though, what we are seeing. It is hard to have an effect like that on a college basketball game, no matter who you are playing or where you are playing. It takes a really rare talent to be able to rebound at that clip and assist at that clip and score at that clip."
Lots of turnover
BYU's roster always has a turnover because of the LDS Church missions. San Francisco also seems to have a lot of new faces every year.
Only five members of the team who faced BYU last season were on the court on Saturday night, led by Tim Derksen and Devin Watson.
No fewer than 11 USF players are newcomers, most notably junior guard Ronnie Boyce III, who averages 17.5 points per game in league play off the bench.
Coach Rex Walters' roster includes players from 10 states and two foreign countries, Serbia and Australia. Only Stokley Chaffee (Pleasanton), Randy Cruzet (Milpitas) and Watson (Oceanside) are from California.
Briefly
Officials for Saturday's game were Deron White, Tom Spitznagel and Ryan McDaniel ... BYU led the series 13-6 prior to the game, but San Francisco had won just one of the past 10 meetings. … BYU's starting lineup was Nate Austin, Chase Fischer, Kyle Collinsworth, Nick Emery and Kyle Davis for the fifth-straight game.
Twitter: @drewjay