Williams ‘MOP’s court with foes

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It did not matter what time in the game it was or where Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams was on the floor. Xavier had no answer for him. Williams, a dead ringer for Giants receiver Brandon Marshall, averages 10 points per game and delivered 19 points in Gonzaga’s 83-59 dismantling of Xavier in Saturday night’s West Region final at the SAP Center.

“He’s been balling out all year,’’ Gonzaga’s Silas Melson said. “I’m happy they gave him most outstanding player, because Xavier couldn’t handle him — on offense, on the boards, on defense. He’s solidified himself as one of the best bigs in the country.’’

The 6-foot-9 Williams was a force around the glass with eight rebounds and had several put-back baskets. He shot 8-of-12 from the field and had three blocked shots.

“He did a lot around the rim,’’ Xavier coach Chris Mack said. “His damage for the most part was three feet in and in — offensive rebounds, post-ups, tip-ins, finishing at the bottom of the zone against our zone.’’

Imagine if Williams had made his free throws instead of going 2-for-8 from the line. His stat line would have been even more dominant.

“He goes 2-for-8 from the freethrow line and in general when a guy’s not a great free-throw shooter, doesn’t make his free throws, he’s not a great 3-point shooter, and we wanted him to stay away from the basket,’ Mack said. “But unfortunately for us, he did a great job. He goes left and he gets to the rim and he’s athletic and he’s long. He’s a talented player. He’s really good.’’

Gonzaga senior guard Rem Bakamus had high praise for Williams’ hard work.

“He puts in so much time and he played his butt off non stop,’’ Bakamus said. “It just all came together for him tonight, shots were falling and he was in attack mode from the get-go. He was on the boards like a madman. He deserves it.’’

Williams called it “just a crazy feeling to be able to go to the Final Four.’’