National Basketball Association
Gonzaga 81, San Francisco 77
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, March 9, 2020
Where: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials:
# Verne Harris, # Chris Rastatter, # Mike Reed
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Killian Tillie recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds to help second-ranked Gonzaga escape with an 81-77 victory over San Francisco in the West Coast Conference semifinals on Monday night in Las Vegas.
Ryan Woolridge scored 16 points as the top-seeded Bulldogs (30-2) advanced to the WCC title game for the 23rd straight season. Joel Ayayi added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Filip Petrusev had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Gonzaga's championship-game opponent Tuesday will be third-seeded Saint Mary's (26-7), which upset second-seeded BYU 51-50 in the second semifinal.
Charles Minlend scored 19 points and Khalil Shabazz added 17 for the fifth-seeded Dons (22-12), who had a five-game winning streak halted. Jimbo Lull had 13 points, and Remu Raitanen contributed 11 points and eight rebounds for San Francisco, which shot 46.9 percent from the field and 6 of 26 from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field but were just 3 of 12 from behind the arc.
San Francisco had a chance to knot the score, but Shabazz's 3-point attempt with 18 seconds left but bounced off the rim.
Tillie later made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to make it a four-point game as the Bulldogs closed it out.
Ayayi scored two straight baskets to give the Bulldogs a 73-69 lead with 3:33 remaining.
Lull missed a layup and fouled out while competing for the rebound with 2:20 left. Tillie split the two free throws to make it a five-point margin.
Minlend scored with 2:08 left to move the Dons within 74-71. Ayayi hit two free throws 15 seconds later to push the lead to five and later drove through the defense to make it 78-72 with 1:15 remaining.
Shabazz connected on a 3-pointer to move the Dons within 78-75 with 1:05 left. But his tying attempt was off the mark, and a valiant upset bid ended with San Francisco's 19th straight loss against Gonzaga.
San Francisco trailed by five at halftime but recovered to tie the score at 47 on a layup by Shabazz with 13:46 remaining.
The Dons took their first lead of the contest when Minlend converted a three-point play for a 54-53 lead with 11:43 remaining.
Woolridge scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting as Gonzaga led 40-35 at the break.
Woolridge's 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 21-9 advantage with 13:12 remaining in the first half before the Dons erupted with a 16-4 surge, tying the score at 25 on Raitanen's 3-pointer with 6:29 left.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| San Francisco |
|
Gonzaga |
|
Charles Minlend 19 |
Scoring |
Killian Tillie 19 |
|
Jamaree Bouyea 4 |
Assists |
Filip Petrusev 3 |
|
Remu Raitanen 8 |
Rebounds |
Killian Tillie 10 |
|
Charles Minlend 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Killian Tillie 6 |
|
Remu Raitanen 2 |
Steals |
Killian Tillie 2 |
|
Jamaree Bouyea 1 |
Blocks |
Corey Kispert 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| San Francisco
|
77 |
46.9 |
6-26 |
11-15 |
10 |
30 |
4 |
4 |
7 |
| Gonzaga
|
81 |
50.0 |
3-12 |
18-26 |
8 |
35 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
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