No. 1 Gonzaga 66, Loyola Marymount 48: Elias Harris had 21 points and eight rebounds as the top-seeded Bulldogs pulled away in the second half of the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals in Las Vegas.
Kevin Pangos contributed 14 points for Gonzaga (30-2), which will play second-seeded Saint Mary’s in Monday’s final. Gonzaga leading scorer Kelly Olynyk was held to eight points, ending a streak of 26 straight games in double figures.
Anthony Ireland finished with 19 points in his final college game and Nick Stover added eight points and seven rebounds for ninth-seeded Loyola Marymount (11-23), which won one regular-season conference game before taking three straight in the tournament.
The Lions had two points and six turnovers in the first seven minutes, but came alive with a 9-0 run that put them ahead 14-9. The lead changed hands seven more times over the final 7:29 of the first half, with Gonzaga taking a 27-26 lead into the locker room.
Gonzaga finally gained separation with a 14-0 run that extended the lead to 46-31. The Lions could get no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gonzaga has been in every WCC tournament championship since 1998. … The Bulldogs entered the game third in the nation in field-goal percentage at 50.5. They shot 39.1 percent in the opening half before finishing at 43.5. …. The Lions were the lowest-seeded team to advance to the tournament semifinals since they did so in 1997.
Loyola Marymount | Gonzaga | |
Anthony Ireland 19 | Scoring | Elias Harris 21 |
Bruce English 2 | Assists | Kelly Olynyk 4 |
Nick Stover 7 | Rebounds | Elias Harris 8 |
Anthony Ireland 6 | Free Throws Made | Elias Harris 8 |
Taylor Walker 3 | Steals | Mike Hart 3 |
Nick Stover 1 | Blocks | Elias Harris 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Loyola Marymount | 48 | 30.6 | 5-20 | 13-19 | 6 | 27 | 1 | 9 | 16 |
Gonzaga | 66 | 43.5 | 5-14 | 21-31 | 12 | 37 | 3 | 8 | 13 |