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WCC Thursday Round-up: Waves sweep of Gaels gives Gonzaga control of first

Didn't stay up late enough to catch Thursday night's WCC action? We've got you covered.

By Will Maupin
Gonzaga's Silas Melson (0) and Kyle Wiltjer (33) guard Portland's Alec Wintering. Melson and Wiltjer are both Portland natives.
Gonzaga's Silas Melson (0) and Kyle Wiltjer (33) guard Portland's Alec Wintering. Melson and Wiltjer are both Portland natives.
Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

WCC Standings

Rank Team Record
1. Gonzaga Bulldogs 20-5 (12-2)
2. Saint Mary's Gaels 19-4 (10-3)
3. BYU Cougars 18-8 (9-4)
4. Pepperdine Waves 15-10 (8-6)
5. San Francisco Dons 13-11 (6-7)
6. Santa Clara Broncos 9-16 (5-8)
7. Pacific Tigers 7-16 (5-8)
8. Portland Pilots 11-16 (5-9)
9. Loyola Marymount Lions 11-14 (4-10)
10. San Diego Toreros 8-16 (3-10)

Thursday's Scores

Gonzaga Bulldogs 92, Portland Pilots 66
BYU Cougars 114, San Francisco Dons 89
Pepperdine Waves 69, Saint Mary's Gaels 63
San Diego Toreros 71, Santa Clara Broncos 74
LMU Lions 77, Pacific Tigers 72

Storylines

  • Pepperdine picks up season sweep of Saint Mary's. The Waves have now won three straight against the Gaels dating back to last season. Amadi Udenyi came off the bench and poured in a season high 14 points, all of which came in the second half, to spark Pepperdine. Lamond Murray Jr. led the Waves with 16 points. Solid bounce-back win for the Waves who had lost three straight (at BYU, Portland and Gonzaga).
  • Saint Mary's home loss was the first among major East Bay basketball teams this season.

  • Nick Emery's career night sets two BYU records. With 37 points against San Francisco Emery set the BYU record for most points scored in a game by a freshman, previously held by Danny Ainge (36). His 10 made three pointers ties the program's single game record which he shares with teammate Chase Fischer.
  • The Cougars as a whole put up some gaudy numbers. The 114 points scored is the most from BYU against a Division I opponent since February 25, 1993 against Sacramento State. Jordan Chatman scored a career high 11 points and Corbin Kaufusi tied a career high with 10 rebounds. The 17 made three pointers ranks second in program history, passing the previous second best set earlier this season against New Mexico (16).
  • Gonzaga takes care of business and tightens grip on first place. Coming into Thursday the Zags held a half-game lead on Saint Mary's for first place with the Gaels still to visit Spokane. All Gonzaga needed to do was win and first place was theirs. The Zags now have some breathing room thanks to the Gaels loss to Pepperdine, which gave Gonzaga a 1.5 game lead. But, while the Gaels still have to visit Spokane, the Zags still need to visit BYU. Gonzaga's two conference losses this season have come at Saint Mary's and against BYU.
  • Portland natives show well in homecoming. Jesuit High School's Kyle Wiltjer (21 points, 8 rebounds) and Jefferson High School's Silas Melson (13 points, 4 assists, 6-9 FG) returned to their native Rose City and helped Gonzaga take down the homestanding Pilots.
  • The Tigers have an identity crisis. After nearly beating Gonzaga at home, then nearly beating Saint Mary's at home the Tigers finally picked up a signature win by taking down BYU in Provo last Saturday. How was their follow up? Well, they lost to a visiting LMU team that had been in a tailspin over the past two weeks. Interim head coach Mike Burns gets his team fired up for the big games. If he wants to lose that interim tag he needs to get them fired up to play teams like LMU, too.

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