David Taylor, Kyle Wiltjer and the #WCCHoops Slate

By Curran McCauley
On Saturday, Gonzaga survived a scare from Saint Mary’s in Moraga while San Francisco completed a road sweep in Malibu. Santa Clara and Pacific each snapped long losing streaks, returning to the win column in close games. Here’s a closer look at West Coast Conference men’s basketball results from the penultimate Saturday of the regular season.

No. 3/2 Gonzaga 70 Saint Mary’s 60
Gonzaga came back from a 17 point deficit to power past Saint Mary’s in Moraga. Kyle Wiltjer had a double-double for Gonzaga (16 points, 12 rebounds) as the Bulldogs clinched the West Coast Conference regular season title in their 21st straight win. SMC had a 36-19 lead late in the first half, but Gonzaga cut the lead to 40-29 at the half and started the second half on a 10-0 run, setting the stage for the close finish.

San Francisco 56 Pepperdine 54
San Francisco completed a road sweep in Southern California despite a game-high 23 points from Pepperdine’s Stacy Davis. Tim Derksen scored 19 points for USF, who led by as many as 15 points in the first half. A 13-3 run by Pepperdine to open the second half cut the lead to just two at 34-32 with 11:50 remaining and the game remained tight until the final buzzer, as a Jeremy Major half-court heave rimmed out, sending the Dons to a 56-54 win.

Santa Clara 70 Loyola Marymount 63
Santa Clara withstood a comeback attempt from the Lions, who were playing without six players from their regular rotation. Jared Brownridge had a game-high 28 for the Broncos, who snapped a six game losing streak. After trailing by as many as 16 in the second half, LMU cut the SCU lead to just two with 36 seconds left before the broncos hit 5-6 free throws to seal the victory.

Pacific 79 Portland 76
In a game that had nine lead changes, six ties and needed overtime to be decided, Pacific avenged a last-second loss to the Pilots in Portland earlier this season. Despite grabbing their largest lead with just 5:00 minutes to play and holding a 64-56 lead with just 2:16 to play, Portland couldn’t put away the Tigers. Pacific forced overtime thanks in part to two clutch three-pointers from David Taylor. The teams traded jabs in overtime, with the host Tigers coming out on top. Kevin Bailey had a game high 30 points for the visitors, but Taylor led four Tigers in double figures with 18. Pacific out rebounded Portland 34-31 in the win on Senior Day in Stockton.

They Said It
“It was great to fight it out and earn a win tonight. David really stepped up and hit some big shots. To get the win in our final home game is big. Hopefully we can carry it into our final regular season games next week.” – Pacific Head Coach Ron Verlin