Tyler Haws, Brad Waldow and the #WCCHoops Slate

Compiled by Curran McCauley
A Saturday of West Coast Conference basketball action started with a two-overtime thriller and ended with one of the most amazing scoring outputs you may ever see by LMU’s Evan Payne. Meanwhile, Kyle Collinsworth just missed another triple-double and Gonzaga pulled away from Pepperdine for their 40th straight home win. Here is a full look at the conference slate from last night.

Saint Mary’s 69 San Diego 62 – 2OT
In two overtimes, Saint Mary’s outlasted the Toreros. Brad Waldow had 22 points to lead the Gaels while Aaron Bright had 15. Desmond Simmons had eight points and eight rebounds for SMC. Despite an 11-point halftime lead, Saint Mary’s saw their lead completely dwindle with a 17-2 Toreros run. A key offensive rebound from Simmons set up a Calvin Hermanson shot, and the freshman delivered to make it a one point game with 30.9 seconds left in regulation. Bright’s three pointer tied it at 56, setting up overtime. Both team scored just once in the first OT before SMC was able to take control in the second bonus period with an 11-4 run to finish the game.

BYU 84 Pacific 59
Despite leading by just three at the halftime break, BYU pulled away from the Tigers, thanks in part to a near-triple double from Kyle Collinsworth, who had 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, just missing his sixth of the season. Tyler Haws had a game high 20 points for the Cougars, who used a 14-0 run to send Pacific to defeat.

Gonzaga 56 Pepperdine 48
Gonzaga won its 40th straight home game as Kevin Pangos went for 19 points while Kyle Wiltjer and Damontas Sabonis both scored in double figures. The Zags are the first team to reach 26 wins this season. For Pepperdine, Stacy Davis had 13 points but could not reprise their role from January, in which they fell by just two points in Malibu.

Portland 66 Loyola Marymount 63
Portland won its fourth in a row despite letting a 14 point lead get away late. Evan Payne had a game high 23 points for the Lions, including a remarkable 14 points in the last 56 seconds of the contest. His effort fell just short, however as Portland held the Lions to under 40 percent shooting from the field. Kevin Bailey led UP with 14 points and Bryce Pressley chipped in 13 of his own in the win.

They Said It
“That was a great win. When I say it was one of our best wins, I mean one of our best wins in the last five or six years. Coming down here and getting it done in a double overtime game is pretty special.” – Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett