In Saturday’s West Coast Conference quarterfinal showing in which top-seeded Gonzaga knocked off No. 7-seed LMU 83-69, the Lions at least had James Batemon back on the court and in the starting lineup.
It was a tough night for Gonzaga radio broadcaster Tom Hudson. But it could have been a slightly tougher night for Gonzaga fans attempting to follow along with Hudson as he tried to call Gonzaga’s quarterfinal showing on Saturday with a sore throat.
It probably should have been no surprise that Gonzaga had to work so hard to shed Loyola Marymount 83-69 in the prime-time game at Orleans Arena – not getting any extra oxygen until the game’s final six minutes.
For all of Gonzaga’s success in WCC tournaments, the first-round matchup has often been as hard on the Zags as the later rounds. That was the scene Saturday at Orleans Arena when the top-seeded Zags trailed No. 8 Loyola Marymount for much of the first half and led by just three midway through the second.
The key moment, offensive player of the game and defensive player of the game from Gonzaga’s 83-69 win over LMU in the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament on Saturday, March 3, 2018.
Thanks to Killian Tillie and Johnathan Williams (a combined 17 of 23 from the field), the seventh-ranked Bulldogs eventually advanced to Monday night’s semifinal matchup with San Francisco, an overtime winner over Pacific earlier in the day.
Killian Tillie scored 24 points and Johnathan Williams had a double-double as top-seeded Gonzaga outlasted No. 8 seed Loyola Marymount 83-69 in the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament on Saturday at the Orleans Arena.
Junior point guard James Batemon took over in the second half of Loyola Marymount’s 78-72 victory over Portland on Friday. Batemon scored 29 points, 19 in the final 20 minutes.