No. 2 Gonzaga survives scare at BYU
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 12 years, 2 months AGO
PROVO, Utah (AP) - Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points, Gary Bell Jr. hit four 3-pointers and No. 2 Gonzaga survived a late Brigham Young rally for a 70-65 victory Thursday night and its 10th outright conference title.
The Bulldogs (28-2, 15-0 West Coast Conference) host Portland on Saturday and a win there could mean Gonzaga's first-ever No. 1 ranking.
Gonzaga led by 11 points with 10:51 left but BYU fought back.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Brock Zylstra, another by Craig Cusick and two free throws by Brandon Davies tied it at 60 with 4:18 remaining.
Olynyk hit a key jumper down the stretch and Kevin Pangos made two free throws to help seal it.
BYU had one final chance with 6.6 seconds remaining and down three points but Gonzaga fouled Craig Cusick before he could attempt a 3.
Tyler Haws had 19 points for BYU (20-10, 9-6).
GONZAGA (28-2)
Pangos 2-13 2-2 7, Bell, Jr. 5-10 1-2 15, Olynyk 7-10 5-9 19, Harris 3-6 5-8 11, Hart 0-1 0-1 0, Dranginis 1-1 0-2 3, Edi 0-0 0-0 0, Stockton 1-5 2-3 4, Karnowski 0-1 0-2 0, Dower 3-3 2-2 8, Barham 0-3 3-3 3. Totals 22-53 20-34 70.
BYU (20-10)
Davies 4-11 4-4 12, Cusick 2-6 4-6 10, Haws 8-18 3-5 19, Carlino 3-11 0-0 7, Zylstra 3-8 1-2 10, Delgado 0-1 0-0 0, Ambrosino 0-1 0-0 0, Sharp 0-0 0-0 0, Winder 1-3 0-0 2, Calvert 0-1 0-0 0, Austin 1-2 0-1 2, Harward 0-0 0-0 0, Kaufusi 1-1 1-4 3. Totals 23-63 13-22 65.
Halftime_Gonzaga 35-31. 3-Point Goals_Gonzaga 6-30 (Bell, Jr. 4-8, Dranginis 1-1, Pangos 1-12, Harris 0-1, Hart 0-1, Olynyk 0-1, Barham 0-3, Stockton 0-3), BYU 6-17 (Zylstra 3-5, Cusick 2-4, Carlino 1-3, Delgado 0-1, Austin 0-1, Ambrosino 0-1, Winder 0-2). Fouled Out_Austin, Kaufusi. Rebounds_Gonzaga 39 (Harris 9), BYU 43 (Davies 11). Assists_Gonzaga 15 (Harris, Stockton 4), BYU 13 (Cusick, Davies 3). Total Fouls_Gonzaga 18, BYU 23. A_19,731.