The Bulldogs (13-5, 5-1 WCC) had their seven-game win streak snapped despite having a 34-28 rebound advantage over BYU. In the first 15 minutes, the Cougars had 15 fouls.
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The Zags just haven’t been able to overcome the loss of big man Przemek Karnowski to injury early in the season and inconsistent guard play. GU’s Kyle Wiltjer scored a season-high 35 points but Kyle Collinsworth scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to spur BYU’s comeback.
BYU used a 17-1 run during the final five minutes to escape with a 58-54 win over the Gonzaga women’s basketball team Thursday. Assists_BYU 11 (Fischer 4), Gonzaga 11 (Perkins 7). But BYU responded with an 8-0 run of its own.
Wiltjer replied with a 3-pointer and a long jumper to keep the Zags ahead. Cassie Broadhead contributed with a series of free throws in the last few seconds, capping off the victory.
Marina Mabrey scored 14 points and Brianna Turner had eight points, 13 rebounds and four blocks to help Notre Dame (16-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Boston College (12-4, 0-3).
The Cougars’ hard-fought and fifth-straight win was a result of a team effort.
Gonzaga opened the second half on an 11-2 run and led by as many as 13 before the Cougars started to get some shots to drop.
Chase Fischer had 18 points and Kyle Davis 12 for BYU. McClellan scored eight on just 3-of-12 shooting, and Kyle Dranginis scored three in a quiet night.
Michigan State (16-2, 3-2) was down by 22 points at halftime, its largest deficit at home since at least the 1996-97 season and its biggest anywhere in the regular season since trailing at Michigan by 23 points at halftime in 1997, according to STATS. Then, the Cougars hit their first three of the game. Guard Kyle Fischer scored 18 points for the Cougars.
Gonzaga made just three field goals over the final ten-plus minutes.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Nick Emery hit a 3-pointer with 1:38 left – his only basket of the game – for the lead and BYU hung on.
An odd sequence ended the game, with Kyle Collinsworth getting called for a travel pulling down a rebound and getting undercut while coming down.
The ball went back to Wiltjer, who drove into the heart of the BYU defense for the game’s decisive bucket.
“We are really good at not freaking out”, Kalani said of the intense fourth-quarter play.
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Despite leading the game for only a minute and 27 seconds, the Cougars (13-4, 5-1 West Coast Conference) moved into a tie atop the league standings with the victory.
