Recap and highlights: Killian Tillie, Johnathan Williams lift Gonzaga to WCC Tournament quarterfinal win over Loyola Marymount
LAS VEGAS – 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.
The Bulldogs (28-4) overcame a sluggish first-half to score 54 points in the second half. Williams finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for GU, while Tillie pulled down seven boards.
The Zags also got a boost from guard Zach Norvell Jr., who scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting – all while battling foul trouble throughout the contest.
LMU applied the early defensive pressure to GU, but the Bulldogs’ size ended up wearing down the Lions in the final stages.
James Batemon finished with a game-high 27 points for LMU.
The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 61.2 percent from the floor and 60 percent from 3-point range, while LMU was 40 percent overall and 52.4 percent from deep.
Gonzaga will now face fourth-seeded San Francisco in the semifinals on Monday. Game time and TV have yet to be announced. San Francisco advanced to the semis by defeating Pacific 71-70 in overtime earlier on Saturday.
Second half
Final – Gonzaga 83, LMU 69: Rough start, followed by a near-flawless second half for Gonzaga, as the Bulldogs advance to the semifinals of the WCC Tournament.
Waiting for GU is fourth-seeded USF, which topped Pacific in an earlier quarterfinal.
Tillie drains another triple as he finishes with 24 points. Williams ends with 20 points and 10 rebounds for yet another double-double this season.
Batemon ends up scoring 27 for the Lions, a very impressive effort.
3:56 – Gonzaga 74, LMU 61: And just like that, Gonzaga has started to blow this one open. Tillie and Williams have put the team on their backs in this one, scoring 21 and 20 respectively.
Winner of this one earns a semifinal date with San Francisco on Monday (Time, TV TBA).
No matter the result, GU has to give a hand to Batemon, who is up to a game-best 25 points.
Norvell back into this one for the Zags. He’s up to 15 points, while missing only one shot attempt.
7:35 – Gonzaga 63, LMU 57: Lions cut the lead to three, but Norvell drains a corner three for the Zags, followed by another Tillie triple. Norvell up to 11 points, but he quickly picks up his fourth foul.
Tillie up to 17 points, including hitting all three of his 3-point attempts.
The sophomore big man also getting it done inside, throwing down a big dunk. Both he and Williams are challenging the sturdiness of the rims at the Orleans Arena tonight.
Batemon single-handedly keeping LMU in this though with his 23 points, three of which came on a very deep triple right before the media break.
11:59 – Gonzaga 51, LMU 45: Williams up to 17 on 7-of-10 shooting. He’s also pulled down nine rebounds. As a team, GU is outrebounding LMU 26-20.
Zags shooting 56 percent overall and 58 percent from 3-point range, while LMU is shooting 39 percent from the floor and 54 from deep.
Tillie at 12 points for the Bulldogs, while Batemon has 16 to lead the Lions.
Fouls adding up on the Gonzaga guards, as Perkins, Melson and Norvell all have three.
15:48 – Gonzaga 41, LMU 40: Huge dunk from Williams to start the half gets the Gonzaga bench on their feet. LMU though answers with a corner three to get its players going.
Williams again throws one down, he’s off to one heck of a start this half and up to 12 in the game, joining Tillie as the first players in double figures.
Both teams shooting well and taking care of the ball early in this one – much different than the first 20 minutes.
William adds a pretty jump hook to get to seven points in the first three minutes alone.
Batemon also catching fire to start this one as the LMU standout is up to 14 points. Totally different basketball teams this half.
First half
Halftime – Gonzaga 29, LMU 28: Bulldogs really starting to hustle for second-chance opportunities, and its paying off as the offense is getting back in a groove.
LMU though answers right back with four quick points in the paint and a 3-pointer.
Both teams started to find their shooting touch at the end of the half, but LMU likely heads into the break the happier team.
Key Bulldogs will have to watch their fouls in the second half, as the bench production hasn’t been stellar.
3:52 – LMU 21, Gonzaga 21: Make that two fouls on Perkins as well. LMU winning the battle on the offensive glass (5-4).
Killian Tillie finally gets something going for the Bulldogs. He gets a putback layup, followed by a pair of 3-pointers.
Cameron Allen the stud so far for LMU, as the reserve guard is up to seven points.
7:17 – LMU 15, Gonzaga 13: Gonzaga can’t buy a bucket right now in Sin City, as the Bulldogs go more than five minutes without scoring.
GU shooting just 33 percent from the field.
Josh Perkins finally breaks the scoring drought, but GU has yet to string together several buckets in a row.
Gonzaga heads to the media timeout on a Norvell charge call, the Bulldogs’ eighth turnover of the game. It’s also his second personal foul.
11:35 – LMU 13, Gonzaga 10: Bulldogs up to seven turnovers.
LMU takes its first lead of the game on a James Batemon 3-pointer while getting fouled by Melson. Not the ideal start for the Zags. All the momentum with the eighth-seeded Lions in this one so far.
Johnathan Williams also heads to the bench as Rui Hachimura gets into the game for the first time. Bulldogs seeking a spark from anywhere.
14:33 – Gonzaga 10, LMU 8: Gonzaga bringing the defensive intensity early in this one, forcing a quick turnover, followed by a shot-clock violation.
Bulldogs also with a good start from range on offense, with both Silas Melson and Zach Norvell knocking down 3-pointers. GU having some turnover troubles in the opening minutes – they’ve given it up five times so far.
Norvell leading the way for GU with five points, but its been sloppy so far for the Zags.