National Basketball Association
Gonzaga 79, Brigham Young 65
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 24, 2018
Where: Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
Officials:
# Verne Harris, # Eric Curry, # Kevin Brill
Attendance:
18987
By Field Level Media
Sixth-ranked Gonzaga captured the West Coast Conference men's basketball regular-season championship Saturday night, holding Brigham Young to 10 points over the first 11 minutes of the second half en route to a 79-65 victory in Provo, Utah.
The Zags (27-4, 17-1) finished one game ahead of No. 22 Saint Mary's (16-2) to earn the top seeding at next week's WCC Tournament in Las Vegas. Gonzaga will play a first-round winner in Saturday's quarterfinals.
The 17-1 conference run was Gonzaga's third in the last four seasons.
BYU (22-9, 11-7) took third place in the conference and will open the WCC Tournament also next Saturday against the conference's sixth seed.
Gonzaga blew the game open at the start of the second half after leading just 43-38 at halftime. Zach Norvell Jr. had eight points, and Johnathan Williams and Rui Hachimura six apiece in a 26-10 spurt that opened a commanding 69-48 lead 11 minutes into the half.
BYU hit only four of its 18 shots during the runaway, with Yoeli Childs accounting for all four of the makes.
The Cougars never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
All five Gonzaga starters scored in double figures, led by Williams with 16 points. He made eight of his 12 shots.
Norvell totaled 15, Josh Perkins 14, Silas Melson 12 and Killian Tillie 10 among the starters for the Zags, who shot 55.4 percent.
Hachimura added 12 points off the bench for Gonzaga, which won its 11th in a row.
Perkins had a game-high seven assists for the Zags.
Childs recorded a game-high 19 points for BYU, which was held to 38.6 percent shooting and connected on just six of 20 from 3-point range.
The sophomore forward also led all rebounders with eight.
Elijah Bryant had 16 points and Jahshire Hardnett 11 for the Cougars, who had a six-game home winning streak snapped.
The 65-point total was BYU's second-lowest in a home game this season. They were held to 64 in an overtime loss to Saint Mary's in December.
The first half featured three lead changes and was just a two-point game, 38-36, after Bryant connected on a 3-pointer to get the Cougars within two with 2:16 left in the half.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Gonzaga |
|
Brigham Young |
|
Johnathan Williams 16 |
Scoring |
Yoeli Childs 19 |
|
Josh Perkins 7 |
Assists |
Elijah Bryant 3 |
|
Josh Perkins 6 |
Rebounds |
Yoeli Childs 8 |
|
Zach Norvell Jr. 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Yoeli Childs 5 |
|
Josh Perkins 2 |
Steals |
Elijah Bryant 2 |
|
Johnathan Williams 2 |
Blocks |
Yoeli Childs 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Gonzaga
|
79 |
55.4 |
8-24 |
9-11 |
18 |
32 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
| Brigham Young
|
65 |
38.6 |
6-20 |
15-22 |
10 |
25 |
2 |
3 |
8 |