Las Vegas, NV – The top two seeds of the West Coast Conference tournament both advanced to the championship game which will be held this evening at 6pm local time. Top-seeded St. Mary’s pulled away from BYU quickly, then held on for a 76-69 victory. Second-seeded Gonzaga pulled away late from a hot-shooting San Francisco squad in a 84-73 Bulldog win. That sets the stage for a rubber-match between the two WCC powerhouses, after they split their season series.
In the opener St. Mary’s was led by 23 points from Alex Ducas who connected on 4-of-7 from deep, and 6-3 freshman point guard Aidan Mahaney who added 18 points, three rebounds and three assists. The Gaels went on an early 10-point run to take a 20-8 lead. After the Cougars cut their deficit to seven points, St. Mary’s went on another 10-point run to close the half with a 37-20 lead. The Gaels would extend their lead to 26-points (56-30) before BYU went on a 10-point run of their own to cut the deficit to 16 points. The Cougars, helped by a boisterous contingent of fans, competed better from that point and got to within eight points (64-56) on three Gideon George free throws with 4:49 remaining. The Cougars cut it to six (68-62) on a layup from Spencer Johnson (13 points) and got within three points (72-69) before the Gaels closed out the win.
Anton Watson scored 13 of Gonzaga’s first 22 points in the first seven minutes as they took an early 12-point lead. The Dons stayed close, helped by three 3-pointers from point guard Khalil Shabazz and three inside baskets from 7-2 reserve center Saba Gigiberia. USF was down only seven points at the under 4-minute time out. Shabazz, who ended the half with 14 points made another three-pointer, but Gonzaga’s reserve center 6-10 Ben Gregg (12 points) connected on his third first-half three-pointers to give the Zags a 43-35 halftime lead. Watson ended the half with his 13 points as his time was limited after committing his second personal foul.
San Francisco kept the game close with their three-point shooting. A three from Marcus Willliams was the Dons’ 12th of the game and brought them within two points (56-54). Gonzaga then started to pull away, helped by two 3’s from Rasir Bolton and another by Gregg, eventually taking a 76-64 lead with four minutes remaining. The Zags coasted from there in the 84-73 win. Watson finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, Drew Timme added 17 points and eight boards and Julian Strawther scored 15 points. Shabazz continued his excellent play for the Dons, finishing with 26 points on 6-of-15 from deep. San Francisco shot 14-of-37 (37.8%) from three-point range in the game.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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