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WCC Thursday round-up: Wild, wild West Coast Conference

Didn't stay up late enough to catch the wild, wild West Coast action last night? We've got you covered.

By Will Maupin
Saint Mary's Joe Rahon guards BYU's Kyle Collinsworth in a WCC game on February 4, 2016 in Provo, Utah.
Saint Mary's Joe Rahon guards BYU's Kyle Collinsworth in a WCC game on February 4, 2016 in Provo, Utah.
Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

Thursday night saw two of the WCC's top four teams suffer losses. Gonzaga moved into the top spot in the standings, half a game ahead of Saint Mary's, and Pepperdine all but fell out of contention for the title. Pacific and San Diego played a game, too, and scored a few points each.

WCC Standings

Rank Team Record
1. Gonzaga Bulldogs 10-2 (18-5)
2. Saint Mary's Gaels 9-2 (18-3)
3. BYU Cougars 8-3 (17-7)
4. Pepperdine Waves 7-5 (14-9)
5. San Francisco Dons 5-6 (12-10)
6. Santa Clara Broncos 4-7 (8-15)
7. Pacific Tigers 4-7 (6-15)
8. Portland Pilots 4-8 (10-15)
9. San Diego Toreros 3-8 (8-14)
10. LMU Lions 3-9 (10-13)

Storylines

  • BYU knocks Saint Mary's out of the driver's seat with 70-59 win. The Gaels entered Thursday as the nation's best shooting offense. A 34.4% shooting performance was not nearly enough to get it done in Provo against the Cougars. BYU's senior duo of Chase Fischer (19 points) and Kyle Collinsworth (17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists) came up big as the Cougars avenged an 85-74 loss to the Gaels in Moraga on New Year's Eve.
  • Gonzaga dominates Loyola Marymount and moves into first place. The Zags may have turned a corner over the past week as the senior backcourt duo of Kyle Dranginis (11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) and Eric McClellan (14 points) have sparked a pair of blowout wins. Thursday's 92-63 road win over LMU showed just how dangerous this team can be when it's not just Kyle Witljer (23 points) and Domantas Sabonis (21 points, 11 rebounds) who are putting in work.
  • Pepperdine's home perfection comes to an end. Portland took a 73-70 win out of Firestone Fieldhouse and all but ended the Waves hopes of picking up their first WCC regular season title since 2002. Stacy Davis and Jett Raines each pitched in 27 points for the Waves but it wasn't enough. Saint Mary's and BYU have already fallen at Firestone Fieldhouse this season, but the Pilots managed to escape with a three point win. Next up for Pepperdine is a date with league-leading Gonzaga on Saturday in Malibu.

Results

No. 25 Saint Mary's 59 at Brigham Young 70

Gonzaga 92 at Loyola Marymount 63

Portland 73 at Pepperdine 70

Pacific 43 at San Diego 54

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