No. 5 seed BYU fell in the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals Monday night at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Top-seed Saint Mary’s built a big lead, only to watch the Cougars cut the deficit to three with 32 seconds remaining. But the Gaels held on to defeat BYU 76-69 to advance to the WCC tournament title game Tuesday night.
It marked BYU’s final WCC tournament game, as the Cougars are set to join the Big 12 this summer.
- Saint Mary’s seized a 26-point advantage, 56-30, in the first five minutes of the second half before the Cougars used a press and hot shooting to mount a furious rally. BYU trailed 74-69 when Rudi Williams’ shot was blocked by Logan Johnson with 22 seconds remaining.
- The Gaels were led by Alex Ducas, who scored a game-high 23 points, including four 3-pointers. Aidan Mahaney added 18 points.
- As bad as BYU played in the first half, it showed fight in the second, shooting 64%. But the Cougars’ comeback attempt ultimately fell short.