PROVO, Utah — Kyle Wiltjer scored 24 points and Kevin Pangos had 21 points and seven assists, leading No. 8 Gonzaga to an 87-80 win over Brigham Young in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams Saturday night.
Byron Wesley had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Przemek Karnowski added nine points and 10 boards.
Tyler Haws and reserve Anson Winder each scored 17 points for BYU (10-4, 0-1 WCC). Kyle Collinsworth had a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Gonzaga (12-1, 1-0) led by 16 points in the first half before falling behind by seven in the second. The Bulldogs rallied to take control in the final 10 minutes. They made 6 of 10 3-point shots in the second half.
The Bulldogs outscored BYU 36-24 in the paint and had 22 assists to BYU’s 13.
The Cougars had 40 bench points to only 15 for the Bulldogs.
Wiljter scored Gonzaga’s first six points to key a 12-0 run that pushed the Bulldogs to a 16-4 lead. They upped it to 31-15 but BYU closed the half on a 28-12 run and tied it 43-all when Collinsworth drilled a leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Cougars opened the game making 1 of 11 shots but hit 13 of 19 for the rest of the half. They also made all 10 of their free throws.
BYU went up 56-49 on Collinsworth’s a tough basket in the paint but Gonzaga went back ahead 63-61, when Pangos made three quick 3s. Before the spurt, Gonzaga made only 2 of 10 3-point attempts.
Gonzaga extended the lead to 75-67 when Pangos hit his fourth 3 of the half and Wiltjer sank a shot from deep.
The Cougars cut the lead to 80-77 but Haws missed a 3-pointer to tie it. Wesley responded with a runner on the other end that put the game away.
TIP INS
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs gave up more than 70 points for only the third time this season but held BYU, the nation’s top-scoring team, to only 32 percent shooting in the second half and 39 percent for the game.
BYU: Freshmen center Corbin Kaufusi came off the bench with his biggest contribution yet, five points and five rebounds in 22 minutes. More importantly, he helped hold Gonzaga’s two centers to 11 points combined.
UP NEXT
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs play at San Diego on Monday night.
BYU: The Cougars host Portland on Monday night.
