If Gonzaga goes, it’s on top
Bulldogs pull away to win a sixth straight WCC tournament in perhaps their farewell.
GONZAGA 74 BRIGHAM YOUNG 54
VEGAS — Gonzaga seemed headed for a dog fight with Brigham Young to get a sixth straight West Coast Conference title. Once the Bulldogs took off, there was no stopping them.
Racing out for dunks and three-pointers in transition, No. 6 Gonzaga overwhelmed BYU during a massive run to blow out the Cougars 74-54 on Tuesday night for its sixth straight WCC tournament title.
“That’s probably as good a run I’ve been a part of in 28 years at Gonzaga; definitely in 19 years as head coach,” Mark Few said. “Fantastic defense that led to great offense. It was just a thing of beauty.”
Gonzaga (30-4), the regular-season champion, locked into a defensive battle with BYU (24-10) for most of the first half. The Bulldogs revved it up at both ends and turned it into a title-game rout, reeling off a halftime-spanning 36-6 run to win their 17th overall WCC title.
Killian Tillie had 22 points, Zach Norvell Jr. added 17 and the Bulldogs held BYU to 35% shooting to win their 17th straight conferLAS ence tournament game.
The dominant title performance should boost Gonzaga’s chances for a high NCAA tournament seed and possibly a go-out-on-top end to the team’s dominance in the WCC — Gonzaga is in talks to join the Mountain West Conference, possibly next season.
“They were a handful for us,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “It’s tough when things get that lopsided.”
Yoeli Childs had 20 points to cap a stellar tournament for BYU.
Heading into the tournament, Gonzaga appeared to be on course for another showdown with No. 22 St. Mary’s in the title game.
Gonzaga, the tournament’s top seed, did their part, beating Loyola Marymount and San Francisco to reach the title game for the 21st straight season.
BYU got in the way of the No. 2-seeded Gaels. The Cougars shot 61% and Childs had a career-high 33 points, lifting them to an 85-72 victory.
Gonzaga women repeat as champs
Jill Barta scored 32 points and hit six free throws in the final 43 seconds of a 7971 win over San Diego as the Bulldogs repeated as WCC tournament champions.
Gonzaga (27-5) earned its eighth WCC tournament title and fourth in six years. Barta, the WCC player of the year, was 10 for 10 on free throws and 10 for 19 from the field.