With the WCC regular season title not yet out of reach, Kevin Pangos shot down Saint Mary's in the second half on the way to a 73-59 Gonzaga victory on Thursday night. This means BYU's shot at the conference tournament's two-seed is going to be all up to the Cougars.
It was an impressive night from Gonzaga, as only one of the six Bulldogs to shoot more than once (Sacre, 5-9) shot below 50%. The team finished shooting 53% from the field, with Pangos (5-6) and Gary Bell (2-3) hitting all the threes Gonzaga would make. Meanwhile, Saint Mary's was held to just 38% shooting. Matthew Dellavedova scored 20 points but only shot 2-7 from deep.
It was a strong back and forth for most of the game until Gonzaga took control with eight minutes left. Up 53-49, Pangos, Bell, and then Pangos again would drain three-pointers on consecutive possessions, so with six minutes left the lead was stretched to 62-51.
While needing Saint Mary's to slip up down the stretch, the win keeps Gonzaga alive for the WCC regular-season title and the tournament one-seed. It also seems that BYU's destiny is completely in its own hands, barring any completely unexpected results over the season's final five games. Win out, and the two-seed is BYU's to have -- unless Loyola Marymount can also figure out a way to win out, in which it will come down to tiebreakers for the two-spot.