Brandon Clark, Alec Wintering and the #WCCHoops Slate

Compiled by Curran McCauley
In perhaps their toughest test in the West Coast Conference so far this season, No. 3 Gonzaga remained unbeaten in conference play, easily topping Saint Mary’s in a match-up of teams at the top of the conference standings. Elsewhere, a pair of games went down to the wire, with Portland and Santa Clara both escaping with wins at home while San Francisco cruised past Pepperdine on the Hilltop.

No. 3 Gonzaga 68 Saint Mary’s 47
Despite leading just 27-21 at the halftime break, the Bulldogs cruised past the Gaels, snapping Saint Mary’s nine-game win streak en route to the best start in program history. Gonzaga used a 22-2 run in the second half to sink the visitors. Kevin Pangos (15 pts), Prezemek Karnowski (12 pts) and Kyle Wiltjer (11 pts) also scored in double figures. SMC shot just 2-15 from beyond the arc.

Santa Clara 65 Loyola Marymount 62
Brandon Clark led the Broncos with 29 points, while Jared Brownridge chipped in 20 as Santa Clara managed to recover after blowing an 11-point halftime lead at the Leavey Center. Marin Mornar recorded a career-high in points and a double-double in a losing effort for the Lions (22 points, 11 rebs).

Portland 72 Pacific 69
Reprising his role from the conference-opener against San Diego, Alec Wintering hit a buzzer-beating three pointer to lift the Pilots past Pacific. Kevin Bailey led all scorers with 21 points for the Pilots. Pacific’s Dulani Robinson, who had a team-high 17 for the Tigers, tied the contest at 69-all with eight seconds left after a fade-away three of his own.

San Francisco 71 Pepperdine 59
The Dons had four scorers in double-figures, led by 16 from freshman Devin Watson. USF shot 52.3 percent while the defense excelled in holding the Waves to 37.7 percent, including a 2-13 performance from three-point land. Stacy Davis led all scorers with 23 points in a losing effort for the Waves.

They Said It

“We want to make sure to thank all the athletic teams here tonight. The baseball team was causing so much chaos in the endzone at the end when LMU was shooting free throws. That was great. Evan Payne is a great free throw shooter and he missed two – maybe because of all the noise they were making.” – Santa Clara Head Coach Kerry Keating