BYU stuns top seed Gonzaga

SPOKANE, Washington – Eric Mika had 29 points and 11 rebounds to help BYU upset No. 1 Gonzaga, 79-71, on Saturday night, ending the Bulldogs’ quest to go undefeated in the final game of the regular US NCAA season.

Nigel Williams- Goss scored 19 points for Gonzaga (29-1, 17-1 West Coast), which was seeking to become the first team since Kentucky in 2014-15 to finish the regular season without a loss.

Mika’s basket with a minute left gave BYU (21-10, 12-6) a 7371 lead.

Gonzaga lost the ball on its next two possessions, and Corbin Kaufusi had a putback and Mika hit two free throws to put the game out of reach.

The last team to finish the entire season undefeated was Indiana in 1975-76.

Gonzaga came out fired up and jumped to an 18-2 lead in the first five minutes, making 7 of 10 shots.

The Zags cooled off and three consecutive 3-pointers by BYU’s T.J. Haws cut Gonzaga’s lead to 26-22.

Mika’s basket cut Gonzaga’s lead to one point before the Bulldogs closed with a 10-5 run to take a 41-35 lead at halftime.

Zach Collins’ putback gave Gonzaga a 58-46 lead midway through the second.

A technical foul on Gonzaga helped BYU cut its deficit to 58-53, and seemed to spark the Cougars. A pair of 3-pointers by Nick Emery cut Gonzaga’s lead to one, and Mika’s basket gave the Cougars their first lead at 61-60.

The teams traded baskets until Mika put the Cougars ahead for good.

In Tucson, Arizona, Thomas Welsh scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and No. 5 UCLA dominated the offensive boards to beat No. 4 Arizona, 77-72, in a Pac12 showdown Saturday night.

“That’s what Tommy does,” UCLA coach Steve Alford said. “Tommy can rebound the ball and Tommy can shoot the ball about as well as any center in the country. ... Obviously, there’s a lot of guys on our team get a lot of recognition and Tom is due some recognition because he’s a special player.”