Texas Southern: 2014-15 SWAC Men's Basketball Champions

By technical knockout, Texas Southern wins the SWAC.

Before the tournament's championship game is even played.

Texas Southern will play Southern on Saturday night in the SWAC title game, but APR sanctions on Southern's program include an NCAA Tournament ban. That means this final SWAC game is for none of the marbles.

So even if Southern won, it'd be a loss. Texas Southern will be repping the league in theNCAA Tournament, meaning Mike Davis will be back in the Big Dance yet again.

This is an unusual way to get to an auto bid, but with the NCAA putting stricter guidelines on programs graduating players, cumulative grades and grad rates are keeping some schools out of contention each year.

So Texas Southern essentially clinched its bid on Friday when it beat Prairie View A&M 90-77 and Southern moved on to the championship game with a 68-66 win over Alabama A&M.

This isn't a typical SWAC team, either. Texas Southern won at Michigan State (71-64 in overtime!) and won at Kansas State (58-56) this season. The league had gone nearly two decades between road wins in a power confernece game, and then Davis' club went out and got two of them. Remarkable.

When the SWAC title game is played out and finished, we'll update our story here with how the game played out.

Player to Watch: Madarious Gibbs. Texas Southern's senior point guard is a do-it-all kind of player, leading the team in scoring (14.2 PPG) in addition to putting up 4.3 assists and 3.4 boards. He also plays the most minutes on the team and isn't prone to fouling. Since Texas Southern has already taken out two major-conference teams this season -- on the road! -- they know what they're getting from their best player in big spots.

The Vitals:

• Record: 21-12 overall, 16-2 in the SWAC
• Most recent tournament appearance: 2014 (lost to Cal Poly in the First Four as a No. 16 seed)
• Jerry Palm predicts: 15 seed
• RPI: 126
• KenPom ranking: 206
• Sagarin ranking: 204
• Best wins: at Michigan State, at Kansas State.
• Notable stat: 1. That is Texas Southern's non-conference strength of schedule, according to KenPom.com. No matter what team the Tigers draw, they won't be startled or overwhelmed in the scouting session. TSU has played Indiana, Baylor, Gonzaga, Michigan State and SMU this season, in addition to Tennessee, Kansas State and Auburn.
• Closing quip: This is Mike Davis' seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament in 15 years of being a coach, but in one of those years, his first at Texas Southern, the team wasn't eligible for the postseason. So for a guy who was at Indiana, and then UAB, and now Texas Southern, batting .500 on Big Dance showings is pretty remarkable. In a way, he's always been underappreciated; he took over for Bobby Knight at a tumultuous time at Indiana. And that team went to the national title game in 2002. Now he's thriving in the obscurity of the SWAC, with a winning percentage above .600 in his career and a 53-41 record in three seasons with the Tigers.

HOUSTON -- Deverell Biggs stepped in after Malcolm Riley was injured on a flagrant foul and made two free throws with 27 seconds left, Madarious Gibbs added another and Texas Southern beat Southern 62-58 on Saturday in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.

Riley was unable to shoot about being fouled by Trelun Banks, who was ejected.

Riley led the Tigers with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman forward Jared Sam had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Jaguars.

Texas Southern (22-12) had already clinched its bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 90-77 win over Prairie View A&M in Friday's semifinal game, because Southern (18-17) was ineligible for the NCAAs for failing to meet APR requirements.

Tre Lynch missed a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds to go that would have given Southern the lead.

Wyoming: 2014-15 Mountain West Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Josh Adams hit a big 3-pointer with a minute left and Wyoming earned its first trip to the NCAA tournament in 13 years with a 45-43 victory over San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference championship Saturday.

Wyoming (25-9) labored through a physical, defensive-dominated second half, keeping the Aztecs within reach despite going 8:31 without a field goal. The Cowboys made 5 of 22 in the half, but Adams had the biggest one with 1:02 left, a 3-pointer that put Wyoming up 43-41.

San Diego State (26-8) missed two shots and Derek Cooke Jr. hit two free throws to put the Cowboys up four with 7 seconds left.

The Aztecs' Malik Pope scored on a putback with less than a second left, but Wyoming was able to get the ball in cleanly to earn its first conference tournament championship since 1988, as a member of the WAC.

Larry Nance Jr. had 14 points and Adams had 10.

Pope had 13 points and JJ O'Brien added 12 for the Aztecs, who must wait until Selection Sunday to see if they're in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cowboys rode into the Mountain West tournament likely needing to earn the automatic bid after limping to the finish of the regular season.

Wyoming was in decent shape until Nance missed four games due to mononucleosis and lost five of its final eight games as he tried regain his strength.

The Cowboys had won three games since 2006 in the MWC tournament, but edged Utah State in their tournament opener, then upset top-seeded Boise State in overtime in the semifinals.

San Diego State won the two meetings during the regular season, though one of those was when Nance was out.

The Aztecs came out flat in the rematch, missing nine of their first 10 shots as the Cowboys opened the game with a 14-2 run.

Wyoming made 8 of 10 to open, building a 22-13 behind Nance, who had 12 points by halftime.

But for all that went wrong early for the Aztecs, they managed to claw their way back, pulling within 28-25 by halftime.

San Diego State had a repeat start in the second half, missing eight of its first nine shots.

The Aztecs made up for it on defense, forcing the Cowboys to miss their first eight shots before Adams hit a 3-pointer at 11:29. They also did a much better job of keeping Nance in check; Wyoming's leading scorer didn't take his first shot of the second half until the 9-minute mark.

Wyoming's defense was solid, though, allowing the Cowboys to keep San Diego State within reach in the back-and-forth game.

TIP INS

Wyoming: The tournament title was the first in any sport by Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference. ... The Cowboys shot 35 percent.

San Diego State: The Aztecs were in the title game for the sixth time in seven years. ... SDSU went 6 for 24 in the second half and shot 32 percent overall.

UP NEXT

Wyoming plays in the NCAA tournament.

San Diego State has to wait for Selection Sunday to see if it gets a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Iowa State: 2014-15 Big 12 Men's Basketball Champions

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Iowa State's unflappable bunch of comeback kids did it one more time.

Georges Niang scored 19 points, Abdel Nader made the go-ahead foul shots with 48 seconds to go, and the No. 13 Cyclones rallied from a 17-point second-half hole to beat ninth-ranked Kansas 70-66 in the Big 12 Tournament championship Saturday night.

It was the fifth straight game -- including all three in the tournament -- that the Cyclones rallied from a double-digit deficit, prompting Niang to dub them the "Comeback Kids."

Nader finished with 13 points, and Jameel McKay and Monte Morris had 11 each for the Cyclones (25-8), who also knocked off the Jayhawks on their way to winning the title a year ago.

Harvard: 2014-15 Ivy League Basketball Champions

PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Moundou-Missi hit a 15-foot jumper with 7.2 seconds left, Wesley Saunders scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and Harvard beat Yale 53-51 on Saturday in a one-game Ivy League playoff for its fourth straight NCAA tournament berth.

Saunders then kept possession for Harvard on Moundou-Missi's miss by hustling for an offensive rebound, before setting up Moundou-Missi's go-ahead basket.

Yale's Javier Duren missed a running layup at the buzzer as Harvard fans rushed the floor at the Palestra.

Justin Sears scored 13 points and Duren had 12 for Yale (22-10). The Bulldogs missed out on their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1962.

With Harvard (22-7) trailing by one, Saunders hit a driving layup and was fouled, completing a three-point play to give the Crimson a 51-49 lead with 1:27 left. Duren, who went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final 4 minutes, hit two free throws to tie it at 51 with 54.6 seconds.

Yale and Harvard shared the Ivy League title with 11-3 records to set up the playoff to determine the conference's automatic NCAA bid. The Ivy is the only Division I league without a conference tournament.

After Yale took a five-point lead -- matching its largest of the day -- with 14:50 remaining, Saunders scored nine straight points on a three-point play and consecutive 3-pointers to give the Crimson a 36-32 lead.

Saunders, the 2013-14 Ivy League Player of the Year, helped the Crimson extend their lead to 40-32 and then 46-37 with 6:10 left after two more quick jumpers.

But the Bulldogs fought all the way back to take a 49-48 lead with 1:40 remaining when Makai Mason collected a loose ball on the scramble for an offensive rebound and hit a jumper in the lane.

Yale beat Harvard last Friday to clinch at least a share of its first league crown since 2002. But with a chance to secure the outright championship and the automatic NCAA berth, the Bulldogs were upset by Dartmouth in the regular-season finale the following night.

Before the game, both teams were presented with Ivy League championship trophies to hearty cheers from their own fans and lusty boos from the other side.

TIP-INS

Yale: The Bulldogs were involved in another Ivy playoff at the Palestra after sharing the 2002 title with Penn and Princeton. But after beating Princeton in the first game of a three-game playoff, Yale was denied a trip to the NCAA tourney with a loss to Penn in Easton. ... Sears was just the second Yale player ever selected Ivy League Player of the Year and the first Paul Maley in 1987-88.

Harvard: Harvard is the first Ivy League team to reach four straight NCAA Tournaments since Princeton from 1989 to 1992. ... Mondou-Missi scored his 1,000th career point on an inside basket in the final minute of the first half. Harvard shot just 8 for 16 from the foul line.

UP NEXT

Yale: Possible NIT, CBI or CIT bid.

Harvard: NCAA tournament.

Hampton: 2014-15 MEAC Men's Basketball Champions

NORFOLK, Va. -- Reginald Johnson scored 20 points and Hampton used a 13-3 second-half run to help beat Delaware State 82-61 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship on Saturday.

Brian Darden added 20 points and Deron Powers 16 for the sixth-seeded Pirates (16-17), whose semifinal victory on Friday night had only ended about 14 1/2 hours before the championship got underway.

The Pirates will be making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2011.

Amere May scored 20 to lead the sixth-seeded Hornets (18-17). Delaware State, seeking its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2005, eliminated top-seeded and unbeaten North Carolina Central on Friday. But it had no answer when the Pirates got 3-pointers from Darden, Powers and Ke'Ron Brown in the go-ahead burst.

Hampton led 52-43 when it ended. The Hornets got within 61-56 with 4:38 to play, but were outscored 21-5 the rest of the way.

Albany: 2014-15 America East Men's Basketball Champions

ALBANY, N.Y. -- When the final buzzer sounded, Albany's Peter Hooley was mobbed on his home court, fans and teammates reacting in disbelief after his winning 3-pointer.

Just six weeks after his mother had died of colon cancer, the junior star from Australia hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1.6 seconds left, giving the Great Danes a stunning 51-50 victory over Stony Brook on Saturday and the America East tournament title for the third straight year.

"When you've got angels watching, you can do anything," said Hooley of the only 3 Albany made all game.

The Great Danes (24-8) improved to 5-0 in the title game, including a 69-60 win on the road last year over the Seawolves (23-11), who remained winless in four tries in the championship game.

"There are nine teams in our league. Eight are miserable, one is happy. Nobody feels sorry for you when you lose," Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell said. "It comes down to the last five seconds -- that's how hard it is to get to an NCAA Tournament."

Hooley missed eight games in the middle of the regular season to return to his native Australia to be with his dying mother. The team has worn "SH" patches on their left shoulders in honor of Sue Hooley, who died at 52 in late January.

Trailing 50-48 after Stony Brook's Carson Puriefoy missed a free throw with 16.9 seconds left, Albany's Ray Sanders missed a layup with 4 seconds left. But as Stony Brook's Jameel Warneyand Albany's Sam Rowley fought for the rebound, the ball was tipped out from the baseline to Hooley, who was all alone and swished the winning shot.

"You couldn't write this stuff," said Sam Rowley, who led Albany with 14 points. "It's just beyond words. This was just a perfect moment."

Hooley, named the tournament's most outstanding player, returned to the lineup a month ago and was coming off a season-high 21-point performance against New Hampshire in the semifinals.

Hooley averaged 15.5 points in nearly 35 minutes before leaving the team in mid-January. The Great Danes responded by winning every game he missed, including an emotional victory over the Seawolves in the first game without their co-captain.

Albany trailed the entire second half before Hooley's incredible shot, the only 3 made in 10 attempts. Evan Singletary had 11 points before fouling out late and Hooley finished with 10.

Puriefoy paced Stony Brook with 23 points, and Warney had 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Stony Brook leaned hard on Warney to get them going. He delivered 12 points with an assortment of hooks in the paint and along the baseline to give the Seawolves to a 20-16 halftime lead.

The Seawolves finished the half 8 of 25 (32 percent) to Albany's 6-for-29 (20.7 percent) performance as leading scorer Sam Rowley missed all seven shots he attempted and had just two points, and third-leading scorer Evan Singletary failed to score.

Guarded closely by 6-foot-11, 275-pound Richard Peters, Warney shrugged off some serious bumping early in the second half and hit two straight baskets as the Seawolves maintained a 28-22 lead. But he failed to hit another shot in the final 16 minutes, attempting only three in the period as Albany switched to a zone defense to deny him the ball.

The Great Danes rallied late when Puriefoy turned from hero to vanquished loser.

After Puriefoy's third 3-pointer in the closing minutes gave Stony Brook a 47-40 lead with 2:38 left, Singletary responded with a runner in the lane and Sam Rowley hit a pretty hook high off the glass against Warney to move the Great Danes within 49-46 with 61 seconds left.

Two free throws by Mike Rowley narrowed the gap to a single point with 21.7 seconds to go as Puriefoy committed costly turnovers, losing the ball out of bounds twice in the final minute. His final missed free throw proved the costliest mistake of all as the Seawolves missed 3 of their final 4 from the line.

"We played 39 great minutes and then the last minute we just lost," Puriefoy said. "It's definitely tough."

Albany, which started the season 2-6, finished America East play at 15-1 to earn the top seed, its only conference loss coming at home to Stony Brook. The Great Danes had won the previous two meetings between the teams in the postseason.

The teams split the season series and both won on the road, Albany 64-47 and Stony Brook 59-56 a month ago, which snapped Albany's 13-game winning streak, all but one coming conference play.

The Seawolves, the third seed, entered the game on an eight-game winning streak, and their chances of making it nine fell squarely on the shoulders of the 6-foot-8, 255-pound Warney. He leads the country with 23 double-doubles and is the only player in the nation to lead his conference in points (16.4), rebounds (11.6) and blocks (51).

TIP-INS

Stony Brook: Since losing 57-48 to the Vermont Catamounts in early February, Stony Brook had won eight straight, outscoring their opponents by 11.5 points per game. ... Warney is the third player in America East history to win player of the year and defensive player of the year in the same season.

Albany: The Great Danes held New Hampshire to 29 percent shooting in the second half of last Sunday's semifinals to escape with a 60-58 victory. ... In the previous five games, Hooley was shooting 54.5 percent (24 of 44) from the floor and 47.8 percent (11 of 23) from beyond the arc. ... Albany improved to 1-5 when scoring between 50 and 59 points.

UP NEXT

Stony Brook: Awaiting postseason selections.

Albany: NCAA Tournament.

Bongaboi: A Pangya Master From SoCal

Fubuki and Mutsuki from Kantai Collection are grinning at me as I write this new blog entry related to Pangya. Can you imagine if Kaga or Tenryuu or Kongou was made the main character of KanColle? It would spark unrest amongst the fans loyal to their respective shipfus. (Shipfu = ship waifu.) That's why ZUN is against an anime adaptation for Touhou Project, but even that's inevitable.

But let's cut to the chase, readers. At approximately 3:20 a.m. PST, on Mar. 14, 2015, I had finally reached the Master ranks of Pangya Global. It wasn't much, just a nine-hole round of West Wiz on Grand Prix mode on Black Papel 1, the flagship server of Pangya Global. But it was the most important nine holes, as winning this round gave me the experience points I needed to make it to Master E rank.

And there was a lot of buildup to this, too. I had won three rare costume sets from Memorial Gacha: two normal coins and one premium coin (Crimson Berserker Set for Azer, Agent Cecilia Set for Cecilia Classic, Snow Bunny Set for Hana Classic); a fourth Gacha costume set from spinning cubes (the Poster Set for Lucia that I had been chasing for weeks), a duplicate Project G set for Hana that I handed down to my alt, a set of white Under Rim glasses for Lucia that I bought from the Dolfini Shops...and the Candy Club Set that my old golfing friend MS_Aries had. I bought one for my main and alt.

The Candy Club Set on my main jumped up from a D-rank Level 4 to a B-rank Level 5 but since this came at the cost of sacrificing the ranking up of the Handyman Set, it won't move up to A-rank for a while because I want those tools to hopefully be transformed. I'm not going to hog up the Titan Cleansing Powder on those things because I generally don't use the powder, which resets the ranks. I took part in a Tee Time with GM_Melody and was introduced to this thing called a Golden Sweet Yam.

Now what this Golden Sweet Yam does is boost your game EXP by 50% for two hours. However, I decided to save the yams until a later point in time because I really didn't need to go all out to get the EXP to reach the Master ranks. The gap was small enough that the yams were pretty much spared. They are now souvenirs for the time being. I may use them when I am nearing Master D, since I'll be stuck on Master E for a while.

Still, to think that it took me less than two years to reach Master E rank...that's historic. When this Double EXP/Double Pang weekend began, I was 3,000 EXP away from moving up. That was a margin I could make up quickly, since Hana Classic, or, rather, Madoka, has the Cayman SR card and Puff. I could have reached Master E through Weekend EXP boost GP Event tourneys, but I didn't play enough of them. But I did cut into the margin.

I don't know what I will do now at this point regarding Pangya. It looks like now I will have time to do some real world work, maybe some dynasty writing, definitely the grind for FanSided, a doctor's appointment there...The only thing needed now for either Lucia, Madoka or Hana R to complete the character mastery is to secure 100 Tiki Points. I also want Kooh to be on the cusp of that, but she only has 100 games down.

But now that I am now a Master rank, I will allow my alt to finally beat me at some matches, if it happens. It's already been a punching bag long enough. My alt account, which has an S-ranked DuoStar Manapikal Club Set, a Promise Ring and all character remodels reaching 500 games each, is due to have the tables turned. It's now a Pro A and is also about one-sixth of the way towards becoming a National Pro. Not too long ago my main account was a National Pro. Those were the days.

And as a result of my move up, the IGN of Homuhomu2093 is history. Permanently retired. I was/am known as Bongaboi on deviantART, tumblr, the GameRage forums, and now I am known as Bongaboi in-game. A whole lot simpler and more professional. Sort of. This is the IGN that I will use on the long road to becoming a Legend and making Golden Papel my main caddie. (Unless Black Papel or both Elly and Tory arrive before he does, and they have plenty of time.) And it's going to be a fun one.

Lafayette: 2014-15 Patriot League Men's Basketball Champions

EASTON, Pa. -- Nick Lindner was left off the Patriot League's first and second teams. Right now, the Lafayette point guard is looking like the league's best player.

Lindner scored 25 points -- including two game-clinching free throws with 14.5 seconds left -- and the Leopards held off several second-half runs by American to beat the Eagles 65-63 in the Patriot League tournament championship Wednesday night.

Fourth-seeded Lafayette (20-12) became the lowest seed to win the league tournament title -- and its automatic bid to the NCAA tournament -- in its 25-year history.

Lindner scored 71 points in the three tournament games on 24-of-39 shooting and added 16 assists to earn the tourney MVP honors.

"(Lindner) is on one of the biggest runs I've ever seen," Lafayette's Seth Hinrichs said. "He's just carried us the last three games."

After defending champion and sixth-seeded American (17-16) took a 55-53 lead on Marko Vasic's 3-point play with 5:07 left, Lafayette got consecutive 3-pointers from Hinrichs and Zach Rufer to regain the lead for good.

With Lafayette up 61-60, Lindner hit a driving shot with 38 seconds left. After American's John Schoof missed a 3, Lindner made his two free throws to seal it.

Hinrichs finished witih 16 points, and Rufer had five points and five rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench.

"Without (Rufer), we're not winning the game," Hinrichs said.

Rufer hadn't scored that many points since Jan. 2.

"It's something I'm used to," he said of limited minutes. "I've been doing it all year. It's something I just try to get better at."

Vasic and Pee Wee Gardner had 15 points each to lead the Eagles.

Lafayette opened up its biggest lead at 40-27 early in the second half on consecutive 3-pointers by Bryce Scott and Michael Hoffman, but American responded with seven in a row to pull within six on Gardner's basket with 15:47 remaining.

Lafayette then led 48-36 after three consecutive pull-up jumpers by Hinrichs, but American scored nine straight points to pull to 50-47 with less than nine minutes left.

Lindner scored 16 points in the first half to give Lafayette a 34-25 lead at the break.

American had nine field goals and 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

The Eagles led until Lindner hit an open 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Leopards a 17-15 lead with 10:45 to go in the first half. Lafayette led the rest of the half.

Lafayette, which made 13 of 19 shots (68.4 percent) in the opening half, had runs of 11-0 and 7-0 to create a little cushion. Lindner's drive with 1:40 remaining gave the Leopards their biggest lead of the half at 30-21.

TIP-INS

Lafayette: The Leopards last won a league tournament title in 2000, the second of two in a row. They were 0-4 in Patriot League finals before Wednesday.

American: The Eagles finished the regular season with a losing record in league play (8-10) for just the second time since joining the Patriot League in 2001-02 season. Their sixth-place finish also was their lowest in their 14-year affiliation with the league. However, they beat Lehigh in the quarterfinals and second-seeded Colgate in the semis.

UP NEXT

Lafayette: NCAA tournament.

American: Possible NIT or CIT bid.

Gonzaga: 2014-15 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Gonzaga's players were like blurs up the floor, whipping passes, filling lanes, dropping in 3-pointers as their fans roared with each highlight.

These Zags are fun to watch -- and hard to catch once they get out front.

Kyle Wiltjer had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 7 Gonzaga shot its way past Brigham Young 91-75 Tuesday night for the Zags' third straight West Coast Conference tournament title.

"We want to play the fast and can score with the best of them," said Wiltjer, the tournament MVP. "We wanted to just push the pace and did that."

Gonzaga (32-2), the regular-season champion, clinched its 14th WCC tournament by putting on an offensive show in an entertaining rematch of last year's title game.

The nation's best- shooting team during the regular season, the Bulldogs hit 53 percent inside Orleans Arena and made 8 of 12 from 3-point range.

Kevin Pangos had 16 points and five assists while orchestrating an efficient Gonzaga offense that had 15 assists and six turnovers.

Domantas Sabonis and Gary Bell Jr. added 15 points each for the Zags, who are expecting a high seed when the NCAA Tournament selections are announced on Sunday.

"They love each other and just want to keep playing with each other, that's been the base for this team all year," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "They want to keep winning so they can keep playing with each other."

BYU (25-9) tried to match the Zags shot for shot behind Kyle Collinsworth, but never quite caught them after Gonzaga went on an early second-half run to build a 12-point lead.

Collinsworth finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists after posting a triple-double in the semifinals.

Tyler Haws added 15 points for the Cougars, who have to endure an agonizing wait until Selection Sunday for the second straight season.

"There's a committee that makes that decision and If they watched us play, I think they'd feel pretty good about putting us in their tournament," BYU coach Dave Rose said.

The Zags have become a staple in the WCC title game, making their 18th straight appearance, the last 15 under Few

Gonzaga won the regular-season title for the 14th time in 15 years and is guaranteed to make its 17th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

BYU was still hovering around the NCAA Tournament bubble, though its 14-point win over Portland in the WCC semifinal finals boosted its bid.

The Cougars were one of two teams to beat Gonzaga during the regular season, ending the Zags' 41-game home winning streak with a 73-70 victory less than two weeks ago.

Gonzaga shot poorly in the second half of that game -- 1 for 8 from 3-point range -- and started slow in the title game, missing eight of its first 10 shots.

Once they got going, the Bulldogs seemed to take turns scoring.

Wiltjer, who has been bothered by a sore hip and had tape on his left shoulder, did the early damage, powering his way to the rim and hitting a pair of 3-pointers while scoring 12 first-half points.

Sabonis was next, scoring 11 points by bulling his way inside. Bell closed out the first half with a mix of 3-pointers and midrange shots, scoring 12 points to help the Zags to a 48-42 lead.

"When we're in attack mode, there's no doubt what's when we're at our best," Few said.

Collinsworth, BYU's crafty point guard, did his best to keep the Cougars in it by himself, getting into the lane to score and draw fouls. He had 17 points by halftime, hitting 9 of 11 free throws.

Gonzaga turned to Przemek Karnowski down low to start the second half. Getting deep post position, the big man scored on three hook shots and Wiltjer added a 3-pointer to help put the Zags up 71-59.

Gonzaga kept making shots -- 13 of 21 in the second half -- and BYU was unable to chip away at the lead.

"When you get down against Gonzaga they have such a good point guard in Pangos that they know how to control the game, so it's good to get a lead," Collinsworth said. "But it's a game of runs, and we'd make our run but unfortunately weren't able to hold it and get that lead."

---

TIP INS

BYU: The Cougars played without Anson Winder, their third-leading scorer and best perimeter defender, because of a knee injury. ... Rose was called for a technical foul midway through the second half for arguing a call. ... BYU has not won conference title since 2001

Gonzaga: Wiltjer made 7 of 12 shots and all three of his attempts from 3-pont range. ... Karnowski finished with 12 points.

UP NEXT

BYU: NCAA Tournament or NIT.

Gonzaga: NCAA Tournament.