Recapping Saturday’s WCC Games

Dec 1, 2013; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard

(0) attempts a free throw against the Coppin State Eagles during the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs beat Eagles 86-51 Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Here is a recap of Saturday’s busy slate of games in the WCC:

Memphis 60, Gonzaga 54

The Gonzaga Bulldogs lost a tough non-conference road game to the Memphis Tigers.  The Zags had a 42-30 lead with 14:35 left in the second half and a 52-43 lead with 5:16 left in the second half.  However, many missed jump shots shots and turnovers in the final minutes allowed Memphis to come back and win the game.

Sam Dower lead Gonzaga with 18 points, while Przemek Karnowski had 12 points and 3 blocks.  Gerard Coleman had 12 points in the up-and-down game, which was better suited for his style. Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr., were both non-factors on offense.   This win will hurt Gonzaga’s chance to potentially get an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.

Saint Mary’s 69, Pepperdine 67, OT

Stephen Holt scored 29 points as the Saint Mary’s Gaels were able to outlast the Pepperdine Waves in overtime at Firestone Fieldhouse.  Pepperdine was down by 7 points in the final six minutes in the game but Brendan Lane, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds, made the game-tying dunk with 19 seconds left in regulation.  Lane also put Pepperdine up by 1 point with 1:44 left in overtime, but Holt made two free throws to give Saint Mary’s the lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish

Beau Levesque had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Saint Mary’s, while Kerry Carter had an inefficient 11 points.  Brad Waldow was limited to 8 points and 10 rebounds, 9 points under his average.  For Pepperdine, Jeremy Major had 14 points and 4 assists, while Amadi Udenyi had 10 points and 7 assists.  Stacy Davis also added 12 points and 7 rebounds for the Waves.

BYU 68, San Francisco 63

In a very close game throughout, the BYU Cougars were able to stave off the San Francisco Dons to secure second place alone in the West Coast Conference.  Kyle Collinsworth led the Cougars with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Tyler Haws also scored 19 points but it took him 20 shot attempts to do so.  Eric Mika had 13 points and 13 rebounds, while Nate Austin added a career-high 16 rebounds.  Off the bench, Matt Carlino added 11 points and 9 assists (and no turnovers).

San Francisco was led by Tim Derksen who came off the bench to score 17 points on 7/8 shooting.  Mark Tollefsen scored 12 points for the Dons, while Avry Holmes and Cole Dickerson each added 10 points.

Santa Clara 69, San Diego 63

This game was also close throughout but it was back-to-back three pointers by Santa Clara’s Jared Brownridge and Nate Kratch that put the game out of reach for San Diego.  Brandon Clark led the Broncos with 23 points 4 assists, and 4 steals, while Brownridge added 17 points.

San Diego was led by sophomore Duda Sanadze with 23 points and Johnny Dee with 18 points.  Christopher Anderson added 11 points and 8 assists (2 turnovers) for the Toreros in the losing effort.    Worthy of note was Dennis Kramer’s awful game of 2 points and 5 turnovers in 22 minutes.  The Toreros could have won the game with more from Kramer.

Pacific 82, Loyola Marymount 72

Pacific led for most of the second half after a close first half, and the Tigers were able to hold on for a 10 point victory on the road at LMU.  Freshman T.J. Wallace led Pacific with 22 points off the bench, while Sama Taku added 14 points.  Andrew Bock and Trevin Harris had 12 points apiece for the Tigers.  Tony Gill also contributed 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists for Pacific.

LMU was led by freshman Evan Payne, who scored 18 points.  Anthony Ireland struggled despite scoring 17 points, as he was only 5/17 from the field.  Gabe Levin had 15 points while C.J. Blackwell contributed 12 points off the bench.