Zags’ defeat could be costly
Hot BYU keeps up its NCAA hopes
SPOKANE, Wash. — Kyle Collinsworth scored 20 points as BYU beat No. 3 Gonzaga 73-70 on Saturday night, ending the Bulldogs’ school-record 22-game winning streak and perhaps costing them a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Byron Wesley scored 17 points to lead Gonzaga (292, 17-1 West Coast Conference), which also snapped its 41-game home winning streak — the longest in the nation.
Skyler Halford added 14 points and Chase Fischer 13 for BYU (23-8, 13-5), which has won six in a row to preserve its NCAA tournament hopes.
After trailing by 10 points earlier in the second half, Gonzaga used a 20-11 run to pull to 71-70 on Eric McClellan’s free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining.
The Cougars inbounded the ball to Ryan Andrus, who was fouled immediately and made both free throws for a threepoint lead with 1.5 seconds left.
Kyle Wiltjer’s shot from beyond mid-court then bounced off the rim as time expired.
The win was BYU’s first against an opponent ranked third or higher since beating No. 2 UCLA in November 1981.
Gonzaga was seeking to become the first team to go through the WCC regular season undefeated since the league’s recent expansion to 10 schools. The Bulldogs hadn’t lost since being beaten by Illinois on Dec. 8, 2012.
With the score tied 36-all at halftime, BYU opened the second half with a 9-4 run to build a 45-40 lead. The Cougars didn’t trail again.
Gonzaga made only five of its first 15 shots in the second half, and Tyler Haws scored seven consecutive points for the Cougars to extend the lead to 60-50.
Wesley’s basket cut BYU’s lead to 66-61 with 3:32 left before Collinsworth replied with a three-point play to push the lead back to eight.
Gary Bell Jr. made a 3-pointer as Gonzaga pulled to 69-64 with 1:52 left.
After a BYU turnover, Wesley was fouled on a drive and made both free throws to cut BYU’s lead to three. The Cougars ran down the clock and Collinsworth scored on a putback to make it 71-66 with 14 seconds left.
In the first, BYU jumped to an 11-2 lead as Gonzaga made just one basket in the first 6 minutes.
After Domantas Sabonis scored three baskets to bring the Zags within three, Skyler Halford’s 3-pointer pushed BYU’s lead to 17-11 midway through the first.
Gonzaga found the range and Wiltjer’s basket cut BYU’s lead to 27-26. But the Cougars went up 33-28 behind two baskets by Collinsworth.
Gonzaga scored the final three baskets of the first half, tying it at 36 at halftime.