National Basketball Association
Gonzaga 91, Brigham Young 75
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Where: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials:
# Michael Greenstein, # Michael Irving, # Tommy Nunez Jr.
Attendance:
8585
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 7 Gonzaga 91, BYU 75: Kyle Wiltjer recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulldogs won their third consecutive West Coast Conference tournament title by exacting revenge from the Cougars.
Kevin Pangos scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half while Gary Bell Jr. and Domantas Sabonis scored 15 points apiece for Gonzaga (32-2), which was playing in its 18th straight WCC final and won for the 13th time during that span. Przemek Karnowski added 12 points for the Bulldogs, who shot 53.7 percent.
Kyle Collinsworth scored a career-high 28 points as BYU (25-9) lost for the second straight season in the WCC final, and must hope it did enough to impress the NCAA selection committee. Tyler Haws scored 15 points while Skyler Halford added 13 before leaving with a leg injury with 29.6 seconds left for the Cougars.
Gonzaga led by as many as nine in the first half and enjoyed a 46-37 lead after Bell drilled a 3-pointer and Pangos, the WCC Player of the Year, followed with a bucket before settling for a 48-42 lead at the break. BYU center Corbin Kaufusi was on the bench with three fouls to start the second half, so the Bulldogs turned to the 7-1 Karnowski, who scored nine of his team's first 12 points to help Gonzaga increase its lead to 60-52 with 14:36 remaining.
The Cougars scored the next five points before the Bulldogs restored their eight-point lead and after BYU coach Dave Rose was whistled for a technical with 11:33 to play, Pangos made both free throws and Sabonis' bucket with 10:56 remaining made it 71-59. Haws' basket cut the deficit to 71-65 with 8:57 left, but the Cougars couldn't get any closer as Bell's 3-pointer stretched the lead to 76-65 with 7:35 remaining and Pangos' 3 increased the margin to 84-71 with 2:41 to go.
GAME NOTEBOOK: BYU defeated Gonzaga 73-70 on Feb. 28 to snap a pair of win streaks for the Bulldogs - 41 at home and 22 overall. ... Collinsworth, who extended his NCAA record with his sixth triple-double of the season Monday, recorded eight rebounds and five assists. ... Gonzaga, which leads the nation in field-goal percentage at 52.4, improved to 47-15 in the WCC tournament and is expected to receive a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Top Game Performances
Brigham Young |
|
Gonzaga |
Kyle Collinsworth 28 |
Scoring |
Kyle Wiltjer 18 |
Kyle Collinsworth 5 |
Assists |
Kevin Pangos 5 |
Corbin Kaufusi 9 |
Rebounds |
Kyle Wiltjer 10 |
Kyle Collinsworth 9 |
Free Throws Made |
Domantas Sabonis 7 |
Kyle Collinsworth 1 |
Steals |
Gary Bell Jr. 2 |
Corbin Kaufusi 1 |
Blocks |
Kyle Dranginis 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Brigham Young
|
75 |
40.3 |
6-15 |
15-20 |
12 |
40 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
Gonzaga
|
91 |
53.7 |
8-12 |
25-37 |
15 |
32 |
3 |
7 |
6 |