Shakeup at top of WCC standings as week three comes to a close

By CURRAN MCCAULEY

Another week of West Coast Conference action saw Saint Mary’s, undefeated to this point in conference, lose its grip on first place with a setback to Pepperdine in Malibu while Gonzaga reclaimed sole possession of the WCC lead with a home win against Portland. Here is a look at the entire Saturday slate on a busy day in the conference that included a nationally televised quadruple-header.

Gonzaga 85, Portland 74
Inside the McCarthey Center in Spokane, A familiar formula worked for the Bulldogs on Saturday night as Kyle Wiltjer chipped in 32 points and Domantas Sabonis added a double-double with 28 points and 17 rebounds to help Gonzaga go to 5-0 in the West Coast Conference. Alec Wintering had 27 points to lead the Pilots in a losing effort. Portland got to within nine points at 50-41, but Gonzaga breezed, leading by as many as 20 in the second half. Gonzaga returns to action on Thursday with a home showdown with BYU. The nationally televised contest (ESPN2) will begin at 6:00 pm. Portland will host San Diego at 7:00 p.m.

Pacific 60, Loyola Marymount 58
The Tigers eked out their first road win of the 2015-16 season as Alec Kobre (19 points, 4-6 from three-point land) and Sami Eleraky (11 points) both scored in double figures. The Tigers saw a first half lead erased with an 11-0 Loyola Marymount run as the Lions took the halftime lead. Similarly to the Thursday’s matchup against Pepperdine, the contest was close late for the Tigers. Tied at 58 with under 90 seconds to play, Jacob Lampkin poured in a layup to give the Tigers the lead and forced a turnover to clinch victory on the ensuing Lions possession, giving Pacific its only steal of the afternoon. Pacific takes on Saint Mary’s at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday in the lone matchup of the week for the two schools. Loyola Marymount travels to San Francisco for an 8:00 pm matchup.

Brigham Young 102, San Francisco 92
After scoring 97 against Santa Clara on Thursday, BYU continued its high scoring ouput against the Dons as Chase Fischer led all scorers with 25 points. Nick Emery, Zac Sejjaas and also had 20+ point efforts while Kyle Davis and Kyle Collinsworth scored in double digits. San Francisco held a 28-23 lead but an 11-3 run aided BYU to a 51-45 halftime advantage. 11-5 Dons run in the second half cut the advantage to seven at 75-68, but USF got no closer. Devin Watson also had 25 points to lead the Dons while Tim Derksen had 20 points, including four buckets from beyond the arc. San Francisco outshot BYU 49 percent to 47 percent, but committed 14 turnovers.

Santa Clara 65, San Diego 53
The Broncos picked up the road win at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego on Saturday night as Nate Kratch (17 points) and Jared Brownridge (12 points) led the way. San Diego fell to 0-4 in West Coast Conference play despite a career high 22 points from Brett Bailey. The Toreros were held to just 38 percent shooting, including just 6-25 from three-point land and were held without a point for a 6:17 stretch during the early part of the second half. San Diego’s leading scorer Duda Sanadze was held to just 13 minutes after missing Thursday’s contest with an illness. Santa Clara hosts Pepperdine at 7:00 p.m. Thursday.

Pepperdine 67, Saint Mary’s 64
The Pepperdine Waves put an end to Saint Mary’s perfect run through the WCC with a thrilling victory on Saturday afternoon behind a career high 24 points from Jett Raines and another double-double for Stacy Davis (what else is new?). Pepperdine is now 7-0 at home and has a signature win to its credit in a year in which expectations are high in Malibu. In a game that featured 13 ties, Raines was able to break the last one with a bucket to make the score 61-59 with 1:43 remaining. Saint Mary’s made its first field goal in six minutes with just 13 seconds left, but Davis was fouled and made his free throws to seal the upset for the Waves. Dane Pineau and Jock Landale each had 16 for SMC, who struggled to find shooting consistency in the second half.

They Said It
“The fact that it was Saint Mary’s and that’s a program that’s been so good, that’s a confidence builder for us. We’re proving that we can play with the best teams in the league. We just have to continue to play for each other and we’ll see the results.” –Pepperdine Head Coach Marty Wilson