LAS VEGAS (AP) — Gonzaga seemed headed for a dog fight with BYU to get a sixth straight West Coast Conference title. Once the Bulldogs started soaring, there was no stopping them.
Racing out for dunks and 3-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,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Fantastic defense that led to great offense. It was just a thing of beauty to see.”
Gonzaga (30-4), the regular-season champion, locked into a defensive battle with BYU (24-10) for most of the first half. The Zags 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 WCC overall title.
Killian Tillie had 22 points, Zach Norvell Jr. added 17 and the Bulldogs held BYU to 35 percent shooting to win their 17th straight conference 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 Zags’ dominance in the WCC — Gonzaga is in talks to join the Mountain West Conference, possibly next season.
“Tonight, they were a handful for us,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “It’s tough when things get that lopsided. It’s really tough when they get it going like that.”
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. 20 Saint Mary’s in the WCC title game.
The Zags, 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 percent and Childs had a career-high 33 points, lifting them to an 85-72 victory and into the title game for the first time since 2015.
Gonzaga won both meetings during the regular season, by eight in Spokane and 14 in Provo.
Colonial Athletic Association
College of Charleston 83, Northeastern 76, OT
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Joe Chealey had 32 points and the College of Charleston rallied from 17 points down in the second half to win the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship and earn its first NCAA Tournament berth in 19 years with an overtime win against Northeastern.
Fans mobbed the floor when things ended, swarming a team that looked cooked about an hour earlier.
After rallying to tie, the Cougars caught fire in the extra period. They hit their first four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers by Marquise Pointer to take a 75-69 lead. Northeastern (23-10) could not come back.
The Cougars (26-7) appeared done early in the second half, trailing 42-25 after Vasa Pusica’s 3-pointer with 17:27 to go. That’s when Charleston ramped up the pressure — it forced 14 turnovers the second half — and tied it at 65-all on Chealey’s layup with 10.1 seconds to go.
Charleston got the ball back with the chance to win in regulation, but Chealey’s long 3-pointer hit off the front of the rim.
Jerrell Brantley gave the Cougars their first lead of the game, 67-65, in overtime before Pointer’s first 3 gave Charleston the lead for good. Two minutes later, Pointer did it again as the large, loud crowd at the North Charleston Coliseum exploded in delight.
Northeastern’s last chance disappeared when Pusica lost the ball out of bounds on a drive with 40 seconds to go. Chealey closed things with four foul shots to send Charleston back to the NCAAs for the first time since John Kresse led the school to four appearances in six seasons from 1994-99.
Kresse was seen on the arena video boards screaming and leading cheers down the stretch.
Pusica had 30 points to lead the Huskies, who saw their nine-game winning streak ended. Shawn Occeus added 19 points.
Grant Riller scored 20 points for Charleston, 14 of those after halftime. Brantley finished with 18.
Horizon League
Wright State 74, Cleveland State 57
DETROIT — Grant Benzinger had 19 points and nine rebounds to help second-seeded Wright State beat eighth-seeded Cleveland State to win the Horizon League Tournament title and earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
The Raiders (25-9) will play in college basketball’s showcase for the third time in school history and the first since 2007.
The Vikings (12-23) took their last lead with 7:36 left in the first half and seemed to wear down, playing their fourth game in five days.
Wright State took control late in the first half with a 13-2 run, taking an eight-point lead at halftime.
The Raiders outscored Cleveland State 10-2 early in the second half to pull away.
Loudon Love made his first field goal with 14:42 left to put the Raiders up 44-33. The 6-foot-9, 275-pound center finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, setting the school’s freshman scoring record and single-season mark for rebounds. Wright State’s Cole Gentry and Jaylon Hall scored 11 points apiece.
Kenny Carpenter, playing in his hometown, had 18 points and Tyree Appleby scored 15 for the Raiders.
Northeast Conference
LIU Brooklyn 71, Wagner 61
NEW YORK — Joel Hernandez had 32 points and seven rebounds, and LIU Brooklyn shocked New York City rival Wagner 71-61 on Tuesday night to win the Northeast Conference Tournament title and earn its first NCAA Tournament bid in five years.
Raiquan Clark had 20 points and eight rebounds for the fourth-seeded Blackbirds (18-16), who handed the top-seeded Seahawks (23-9) their first loss this season on their Staten Island campus.
Romone Saunders had 17 points and Devin Liggeons had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Wagner.
LIU Brooklyn never trailed after Hernandez converted a three-point play with 12:05 left in the first half, and the Blackbirds went on a 15-2 run to take a 34-19 lead into halftime.
Wagner cut the deficit to seven three times in the final six minutes, the last time with 59 seconds left, but the Seahawks didn’t score again.
Hernandez made two free throws with 38 seconds left to seal it.
Summit League
South Dakota St 97, South Dakota 87
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — David Jenkins scored 29 points, Mike Daum had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and South Dakota State beat South Dakota to win the Summit League Tournament championship, clinching the Jackrabbits a third straight NCAA Tournament berth.
Reed Tellinghuisen added 18 points and 11 rebounds for SDSU (28-6), which has won 11 straight.
The Jackrabbits shot 48 percent from the field, including 14 for 28 from the 3-point line.
SDSU led by 20 in the second half before South Dakota mounted a challenge midway through the half.
Tyler Hagedorn scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half for the Coyotes (26-8) to help fuel the run, which dwindled South Dakota State’s lead to six with just under three minutes to play.
South Dakota’s leading scorer, Matt Mooney, led the Coyotes with 30 points and seven rebounds.
