Sat., March 19, 2011

BYU 89, Gonzaga 67 (Final)

BYU guard Jimmer Fredette (32) goes up for a shot against Gonzaga guard Steven Gray (41) and Gonzaga forward Elias Harris (20) in the first half of a Southeast regional third round NCAA tournament college basketball game, Saturday, March 19, 2011, in Denver. (Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

Jimmer Fredette scored 34 points and he had plenty of help from his teammates as Brigham Young crushed Gonzaga 89-67 on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 30 years. The Cougars made nine 3s in the first half while building a 45-38 lead. BYU opened the second half with an 11-2 run to stretch its lead to 56-40. BYU finished with 14 of 28 on 3s. Forward Noah Hartsock hit 3 of 3 3-pointers in the second half. Gonzaga closed within 63-55 on Steven Gray’s 3-pointer with 12:18 left. But Gonzaga’s offense went cold for the next 4:15 and BYU rattled off 12 straight points. The Cougars (32-4) led by as many as 24. Elias Harris and Steven Gray each scored 18 points for Gonzaga. Robert Sacre added 17. Gonzaga finished with a 25-10 record. BYU will meet No. 2 Florida on Thursday in New Orleans/Jim Meehan, SR. More here. And: ESPN boxscore here.

Posted March 19, 2011, 5:33 p.m.