Gonzaga beats Saint Mary’s in West Coast final
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Nigel Williams-Goss scored 22 points, Przemek Karnowski added 15 and No. 4 Gonzaga won its fifth straight West Coast Conference Tournament title by beating No. 19 Saint Mary’s 74-56 Tuesday night.
Gonzaga (32-1) was not particularly sharp in the WCC semifinals, beating Santa Clara by nine to reach the title game for the 20th straight season.
The Zags got their mojo back in a dazzling first half against Saint Mary’s, then had to hold on after a shaky start to the second.
Gonzaga shot 50 percent and had a 38-22 advantage inside, staking claim to a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Saint Mary’s (28-4) fought back after an ugly first half, but couldn’t overcome a 21-point deficit for its third loss to the Zags this season.
Calvin Hermanson had 14 points and Jock Landale 10 for the Gaels, who must wait out selection Sunday for the second straight season.
Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s in the WCC final has become an annual tradition.
The conference’s top two teams have met in the title game seven of the past nine years, with the Zags winning six titles, including the past four.
Gonzaga won the two regular-season meetings this year fairly easily, beating the Gaels 79-56 in Spokane, 74-64 in Moraga.
The Zags won their first 29 games of the season before a home loss to BYU, which Saint Mary’s beat by 31 after hitting 13 3-pointers in the WCC semifinals.
The Gaels didn’t have the same shooting touch against Gonzaga’s smothering defense, needing nearly 11 minutes just to crack double figures scoring. Saint Mary’s was discombobulated offensively throughout the first half, hitting 6 of 28 shots and turning it over 10 times while scoring 18 first-half points.
MOUNT ST. MARY’S 71, SAINT FRANCIS 61
In Emmitsburg, Md., the freshly cut net draped around his neck like a well-fitted scarf, Mount St. Mary’s coach Jamion Christian spoke excitedly about what just might have been the perfect night.
Playing for the Northeast Conference championship at home for the first time in school history, the Mountaineers thrilled a standing-room only crowd by rallying to beat Saint Francis University 71-61 Tuesday night to earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s just really special to be able to do it here in front of your fans with a great group of guys who you love,” Christian said.
Christian never lost faith in that group of guys, even when they fell behind 31-23 at halftime after going 0 for 10 from beyond the arc and getting outscored 20-2 over a seven-minute stretch.
“He came into the locker room and said, ‘We’ve got them right where we want them,” guard Chris Wray said of his coach.
“And I meant that,” Christian said. “I just thought we were in a really good place.”
The top-seeded Mountaineers opened the second half with a 22-3 run that started with five straight points from Junior Robinson and a pair of 3-pointers from Elijah Long.
Mount St. Mary’s (19-15) coasted from there. After the final buzzer sounded, the team piled over each another at midcourt to celebrate its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2014.
Long finished with 24 points, Robinson added 22 and Miles Wilson contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“We worked so hard for this, and for it to end like this is amazing,” Robinson said.
Fourth-seeded Saint Francis (16-16) reached the title game with a 71-70 semifinal win over No. 3 seed Wagner 71-70, a game decided by Keith Braxton’s 3-point shot at the buzzer.
N. KENTUCKY 59, MILWAUKEE 53
In Detroit, Lavone Holland’s body was pressed against the court and he became the base of a celebratory pile of teammates.
Holland scored 20 points to help Northern Kentucky hold off Milwaukee for a 59-53 win Tuesday night in the Horizon League final, putting the school in the NCAA Tournament in its first season of eligibility.
“It has always been a dream of mine to be in one of those piles,” Holland said after getting upright on the court, sporting a championship cap with a clipped piece of a basketball net tied into the back clasp. “And, it’s a dream come true for that to happen after winning a game that puts us in the NCAA Tournament.”
The fourth-seeded Norse (24-10) are in their fifth season of Division I basketball, but had to wait until this year to have a shot to earn a spot in college basketball’s showcase.
“We got another game to play,” Drew McDonald said after finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. “I got the chills just thinking about it.”
Jim McMillan, the first recruit for the school’s inaugural basketball team that debuted during the 1971-72 season, waited in a long line to congratulate Northern Kentucky coach John Brannen on the court after the game below the banner-filled rafters at the home of the Detroit Red Wings.
“Thank you! Thank you!” McMillan told Brannen after giving him a hug. “I’ve been waiting 35 years for this.”
Tenth-seeded Milwaukee (11-24) was a win away from having the most losses in NCAA Tournament history, which has had three 20-loss teams in its history: Cal Poly (2014), Liberty (2013) and Coppin State (2008).
“I think it was an inspiration,” Panthers coach LaVall Jordan said. “I know for people in the Milwaukee community, our university and our city, it inspired a lot of belief when you are down and nobody thinks you can.”
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 79, OMAHA 77
In Sioux Falls, S.D., South Dakota State got 37 points from Summit League Player of the Year, Mike Daum, and the Jackrabbits defeated Omaha 79-77 to win the Summit League championship, sending SDSU to its fourth NCAA tournament in school history. Daum scored 24 points in the second half as SDSU (18-16) held off a furious rally down the stretch.
SDSU used a 9-5 run in the final five minutes to pull away. The biggest lead for either team in the second half was five points.
Daum went 14-for-24 from the floor and continued his torrid scoring pace, averaging 29.3 points per game in SDSU’s three conference tournament wins. The Jackrabbits, who’ve now won six straight, also got 12 points from Chris Howell and 11 from Reed Tellinghuisen.