By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops Columnist | ARCHIVES
2020 WCC HALL OF HONOR PROFILES
 
LAS VEGAS — Saint Mary’s brought hard hats to its semifinal matchup against No. 15 BYU in the semifinals of the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament on Monday night at Orleans Arena.
 
And, of course, the Gaels brought Jordan Ford.
 
The senior guard, who two nights earlier scored 42 points including a 30-foot miracle shot in the second overtime against Pepperdine, delivered another game winner. This wasn’t quite as spectacular, but it thrust a stake into the heart of BYU’s championship dreams.
 
Ford took an inbounds pass in the backcourt with 7.2 seconds left, drove hard on defender Alex Barcello, put on the brakes a step inside the 3-point arc and swished an 18-footer with 1.4 seconds left to propel the Gaels to a 51-50 victory.
 
“Everybody was saying, `Get to the basket.’ In my head I was thinking I wanted to get him downhill a bit and stop on a dime and shoot,” Ford said. “That’s what happened.”
 
The victory sends the third-seeded Gaels (26-7) into Tuesday’s 6 p.m. championship game against top-seeded and second-ranked Gonzaga (30-2), which beat USF 81-77 in Monday’s early semifinal.
 
A year ago, Gonzaga was the nation’s No. 1 team when the Gaels scored a 60-47 upset in the championship game to secure an NCAA tournament bid they may not have received otherwise. This time, Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and BYU are all virtual locks to be included in the 68-team field.
 
It would have been the Cougars (24-8) headed to Tuesday night’s title game had Ford misfired. But BYU coach Mark Pope saluted his clutch play.
 
“He’s a really talented player. AB was guarding him well. It was good defense and better offense,” Pope said. “In hindsight, maybe schematically I could have made some changes to approach that better. But (he’s) a big-time player and he made a big-time game-winning shot.”
 
For much of the night it appeared neither team could make a shot. The Gaels converted just 36.5 percent (including 4-for-18 on threes) and BYU finished at 36.3 percent after being held to 24 percent on 6-for-24 in the second half. 
 
These are two of the nation’s most efficient offenses and best perimeter shooting teams. But the Gaels made it a physical, defense-oriented event, and they ratcheted up their intensity after falling behind 31-20 two minutes into the second half.
 
“I was proud of our guys — hang in, be gritty and do the things you need to win a game like that,” coach Randy Bennett said. “You find out what your toughness is like in those games. And ours was good.”
 
All-WCC forward Malik Fitts, who shot just 2-for-13, grabbed eight rebounds and said defense was the priority against a BYU team that averages nearly 81 points a game.
 
“That was definitely the reason we won tonight. Clearly our offense wasn’t there tonight, but a lot of guys stepped up,” said Fitts, giving credit to freshman Kyle Bowen for his work against Cougars’ star Yoeli Childs, and former walk-on Tommy Kuhse for chasing TJ Haws.
 
Childs scored 23 points, but needed 20 shots to do it. He also had 10 rebounds, but the Gaels forced him into five turnovers, often sending a second defender at him once he got the ball. Haws shot 2-for-14 and scored just five points, barely a third of his season average.
 
“Clearly we weren’t prepared for the nature of the game today,” Childs said. “Saint Mary’s was tougher than us, they were more physical than us, and I think that really got us out of our stuff.”
 
“They did a good job of taking us out of what we normally do, what we want to do,” added senior Jake Toolson. “They were very physical with us and made us play one-on-one, then took the ball away from us. Moving forward, we need to share the ball and play with more force to get those shots we’ve gotten all season long.”
 
BYU wound up with almost as many turnovers (15) as baskets (17).
 
Giving Ford some rest: Ford played all 50 minutes in the double-overtime game vs. Pepperdine two nights earlier and he entered Monday having played more minutes (1,218) than any player in the country. He was averaging 40.1 minutes over the previous nine games.
 
Bennett gave him the final 5 1/2 minutes of the first half off, but it was only partly to allow him some rest.
 
“I think we were so preoccupied with getting (Ford) the ball and we weren’t playing well offensively,” Bennett said. “Sometimes it helps us just to get other guys involved and moving the ball and looking to score. It did.”
 
The Gaels had 12 points through 14 1/2 minutes when Ford took a seat. They scored eight more over the next 5 1/2 minutes, and trailed 26-20 at the break.
 
Pope on the officials: Pope received a technical foul with 7:34 left in the game when he protested the lack of a foul call on Saint Mary’s after a missed shot by Childs. Ford made the two free throws, which actually contributed to a 12-0 run that turned a 42-34 BYU lead into a 46-42 advantage for the Gaels.
 
Afterward, Pope said he had no complaints with the refs.
 
“I thought the officials were fine. They were consistent. I appreciate the fact that they're letting guys play. I think it’s a good thing for basketball,” he said. “I think it’s a poor job of coaching on my part, (not) having my guys prepared for that.”
 
The rest of the story: The Cougars will land somewhere in the NCAA field, and Pope is convinced his players will respond appropriately to this defeat which snapped their nine-game win streak.
 
“We’ve been great at writing the story,” he said. “The story we have to write is that this devastating loss — poor coaching performance, not the best performance we’ve had on the court — will springboard us to doing something special that these guys have been dreaming their whole lives about. 
 
“That’s the story we have to write. It’s the only story left for us.”
 
Stat of the Game: The BYU threesome of Childs, Haws and Toolson, who combined to average nearly 55 points per game in WCC play, totaled 39 against Saint Mary’s on 13-for-41 shooting.
 
Quote of the Game: “They’ve rung the ball every time this year. The last time we lost a game, we ran off nine straight. I trust this group. It’s a player-led group. We have unbelievable leadership and we don’t have any choice but to do that.” — BYU coach Mark Pope on how he expects his team to respond to the loss.
 
GONZAGA 81, USF 77 
USF gave Gonzaga another ferocious battle in the early semifinal game, and Zags coach Mark Few could not have been happier.
 
“I was excited,” Few said. “I told the team that. The rest of our games are going to be like this. They really are. I thought we were really good at the end-of-game stuff, held off a really good San Francisco team.”
 
When it was over, the Zags advanced to the WCC championship game for the 23rd consecutive season.
 
The Zags and Dons (22-12) met three times this season, and USF lost two of those games by just four points each. There were 10 tie scores and 10 lead changes in this one, most of them in the second half. 
 
“They’re a good team . . . they’ve won (22) games . . . it’s March . . . they're experienced,” Few said. “Obviously, they’re hungry and we get their best shot.”
 
And the Zags withstood it all. They took the lead for good at 71-69 on a floater by Joel Ayayi, and Gonzaga kept the Dons at arm’s length the rest of the way.
 
“I don’t think we felt desperation. We stuck with what we do,” said Charles Minlend, who led the Dons with 19 points. “We just missed some shots. We need those to go down in these games — we need to make ‘em.”
 
The Dons actually shot a respectable 47 percent, but Gonzaga converted an even 50 percent and got big contributions from a range of players. Killian Tillie had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Ryan Woolridge scored 26, and Filip Petrusev and Ayayi each had 14.
 
Twenty-three years and counting: Few noted the Zags have quite a few streaks they are proud of, but advancing to the WCC title game for 23 straight seasons ranks high on the list.
 
“To be able to come down here and fight out tails off like we did tonight against a really good San Francisco team that gave us their best shot . . . we’ve had to do that numerous times, fully knowing we’re playing on afterward,” Few said. “I think that shows a lot of grit and character and toughness and substance from all our guys. Pretty amazing.”
 
Tillie keeps on ticking: Tillie, who was MVP of this event two years ago, has battled an assortment of ailments all season. But he played a season-high 35 1/2 minutes against USF and posted a double-double. 
 
Few said it wasn’t necessarily the plan to give the senior All-WCC forward so extended playing time. 
 
“Nothing’s really gone as planned with Tils this year. We kept asking him if he’s fine and he looks fine,” Few said. “We all can see he hasn’t been 100 percent all year. 
 
“He’s just shown what a game competitor he is and how good a player he is to get 19 and 10 on a bad ankle and some other things bothering him. He’s worked hard to stay in shape through all this. It’s pretty amazing — he's kept his skill level at such a high level.”
 
Golden makes his case for the NIT: USF began the day ranked No. 89 in the NET computer poll, and first-year coach Todd Golden believes the Dons have earned the right to keep playing. 
 
“We competed hard at both ends. If we knock down a few more shots, I think we win the game,” he said. “Playing the No. 2 team in the country for the third time this year we have really good efforts against them. I think it sets us up nicely for the NIT.”
 
Golden noted that the Orleans Arena crowd heavily favored the Zags, but he liked the way his team stood up to that atmosphere.
 
“This was another road game, basically,” he said. “We had the whole nation watching us, and I thought the guys showed really well. We were toe-to-toe, blow-for-blow with Gonzaga, it speaks really well for where our program’s at now.”
 
Life without Lull: USF senior center Jimbo Lull had 13 points, but he was on the floor for just 18 1/2 minutes because of foul trouble before fouling out with 2:20 left.
 
“We want Jimbo on the floor — we’re obviously better when he’s out there,” said Golden, adding that he thought Taavi Jurkatamm competed well off the bench. “I thought it would affect us more,” he said.
 
Stat of the Game: Gonzaga turned 11 offensive rebounds into 21 second-half points. USF managed just six points after offensive rebounds.
 
Quote of the Game: “This one’s for sure going to sting for at least tonight, maybe a couple days. I think we’ve shown we can play in the NIT.” — USF guard Khalil Shabazz