BYU routed in WCC Tournament final on No. 6 Zags' home-away-from-home


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LAS VEGAS — With about 15 minutes left in the second half of the West Coast Conference tournament final, Gonzaga fans began chanting “this is our house” inside the Orleans Arena.

And the Zags proved it.

“What makes it are the Gonzaga fans,” Zags coach Mark Few said. “They have 100 percent made this tournament and made us successful. They have it circled on every calendar up there.

“It’s like a home game, very impressive, and we’re so indebted to the people who save up so they can come here and make it that kind of atmosphere.”

Gonzaga closed the first half on an 11-2 run, opened the second half on a 16-2 spurt, and never looked back en route to a 74-54 rout of BYU for its sixth-straight WCC tournament title in Las Vegas.

“They’re a great team, and they have great players and are really well-coached,” BYU wing Elijah Bryant said. “They hit a lot of shots. That’s what led to the 40-8 run.

“We weren’t able to hit shots. They hit more shots and got the win.”

Killian Tillie led Gonzaga (30-4) with 22 points and six rebounds, and Zach Norvell Jr. supplied 17 points and four rebounds for a Zags team that produced four double-digit scorers, including Johnathan Williams’ 10 points and 13 rebounds.

“They had a tremendous tournament, and tonight, they were a handful for us,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “It’s tough when games get one-sided that way, but from top to bottom, our guys showed what they are — they hung there, and even made a run. It never challenged the game, but it changed the momentum of the game, which is really tough to do against a team that gets it going like that.”

Yoeli Childs led the Cougars (24-10) with 20 points and eight rebounds, and Elijah Bryant added 11 points and three boards.

Gonzaga's Josh Perkins passes under BYU's TJ Haws (30) during the first half of the West Coast Conference tournament championship NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, March 6, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo, Isaac Brekken)
Gonzaga's Josh Perkins passes under BYU's TJ Haws (30) during the first half of the West Coast Conference tournament championship NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, March 6, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo, Isaac Brekken)

Payton Dastrup came off the bench for 11 points and four rebounds for BYU, which advanced to its first WCC tournament final since 2015 by upsetting No. 20 Saint Mary's in a late semifinal Monday.

Childs was named to the all-WCC tournament team, along with tournament MVP Tillie, Williams, Saint Mary’s star Jock Landale and James Batemon of Loyola Marymount.

BYU has not won a conference tournament championship sine 2001, when the Cougars were founding members of the Mountain West.

The Zags, on the other hand, were playing in their 21st-straight WCC tournament final, having won eight of the last 10.

“I’m proud of these guys and I couldn’t be happier for them,” Few said. “It never gets old.”

BYU couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start.

After Jahshire Hardnett’s hard drive to the basket just 30 seconds into the game, Childs went on a personal 8-0 run to give the Cougars a 10-8 lead with 15:43 left.

Rui Hachimura scored five-straight points while the Cougars went 0-of-4 during a four-minute dry spell to give the Bulldogs an 18-14 lead with 10:48 left in the first half. But BYU responded with a 7-0 run of its own that included a deep 3-pointer from Bryant, and no team led by more than one possession until Silas Melson’s 3-pointer from NBA range highlighted an 11–2 run that gave the Zags a 38-29 halftime lead.

“We had a lot of confidence going in, and for the first 17 minutes or so, it was a real battle,” Dastrup said. “Both teams were really competitive offensively and defensively.

“But they seemed to flip a switch and create some havoc for us and for them.”

Childs had a game-high 18 points and four rebounds at halftime. But the rest of his BYU teammates combined for 11 points and seven rebounds, including seven from Bryant.

But thanks to a combination of Hachimura and Williams, the former Bingham High standout was held to just two points in the second half.

“It was all him; J3 did a great job inside,” Tillie said, referring to Williams. “He was guarding him, being physical, and he struggled all night scoring over him.”

The Zags opened the second half on an 8-0 run, and BYU could never recover. Gonzaga held the Cougars scoreless from the field until Bryant’s jumper with just over five minutes into the half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Tillie and Silas Melson gave the Zags a 55-31 lead during a 18-2 run over the first seven minutes of the half.

The Zags’ lead stretched as high as 30 points in the second half. Payton Dastrup scored five-straight to start a 10-0 run that cut BYU’s deficit to 65-43 with seven minutes remaining, but it was too little and too late for the likely NIT-bound Cougars.

“We were all sharing the ball and I think we played great together this tournament,” Tillie said.

WCC All-Tournament Team

Player Pos School
MOP — Killian Tillie F Gonzaga
Johnathan Williams F Gonzaga
Jock Landale C Saint Mary’s
Yoeli Childs F BYU
James Batemon G Loyola Marymount
as voted on by media

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