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The Pacific Tigers got a rude awakening to the life and times of the WCC and the BYU Cougars bizarro season continued after the first week of the WCC wrapped up.
WCC Standings
Team | Record |
Gonzaga | 4-0 |
San Francisco | 3-1 |
Pepperdine | 3-1 |
Saint Mary's | 2-1 |
Loyola Marymount | 2-2 |
Santa Clara | 2-2 |
BYU | 1-2 |
Portland | 1-3 |
Pacific | 0-3 |
San Diego | 0-3 |
BYU Cougars
lost @ LMU, 87-76; lost @ Pepperdine, 80-74; def. San Diego, 87-53
The Cougars season enigmatic season continues. They can still score with the best of them, but the BYU defense leaves something else to be desired. In a loss to LMU, they held Anthony Ireland in check but didn't pay attention to Evan Payne, who went off for 27 points. In a loss to Pepperdine, Malcolm Brooks hit 6-of-9 three pointers en route to 24 points. They finally righted the ship against San Diego, led by Skyler Halford's 28 points to pick up their first WCC win of the season.
Loyola Marymount Lions
def. BYU, 87-76; def. San Diego, 65-62; lost @ San Francisco 75-61, lost @ Santa Clara, 86-81 (OT)
Anthony Ireland saved his best effort for an overtime loss to Santa Clara. He scored 34 points , but it wasn't enough as the Lions couldn't hold off the Broncos big three of Jared Brownridge, Brandon Clark and Evan Roquemore. A nice story for the Lions is the emergence of freshman guard Evan Payne, who scored a career high 27 points in a win over BYU.
Pacific Tigers
lost St. Mary's, 88-80; lost @ Portland, 72-64; lost @ Gonzaga, 86-64
The Pacific Tiger got as harsh of a reintroduction to the WCC as possible. They dropped a close-ish contest at home to St. Mary's and then fell on both road contests to Portland and Gonzaga. The defense was a great issue in all three games. St. Mary's shot 51 percent from the floor and Gonzaga just couldn't miss, shooting 69 percent from the floor.
Pepperdine Waves
def. San Diego, 75-64; def. BYU, 80-74; def. Santa Clara, 70-61; lost @ San Francisco, 76-66
The Waves are the big success story of the WCC not coming from Spokane. Four starters hit double figures in a win over San Diego, Malcolm Brooks dropped 24 on a very surprised BYU and Brendan Lane exploded for 26 over Santa Clara.
Portland Pilots
lost San Francisco, 87-81 (OT); lost Santa Clara, 76-68; def. Pacific, 72-64; lost St. Mary's, 72-63
The Portland Pilots had a typically Portland Pilots harsh week. Like Gonzaga, the Pilots opened with four games at home but couldn't take advantage. Mark Tollefsen countered Kevin Bailey's 24 points as San Francisco stole on in overtime. Then the big Santa Clara three of Jared Brownridge, Evan Roquemore and Brandon Clark each dropped 20 points on Portland. Four Pilots scored in double figures as they got things going right against Pacific, but Stephen Holt and his 19 points made sure that momentum wouldn't carry against St. Mary's.
Saint Mary's Gaels
def. @ Pacific, 88-80; lost @ Gonzaga, 73-51; def. @ Portland, 72-63
We beat St. Mary's and nothing else matters. In the process, we found the devil has a new name and disguise.
San Diego Toreros
lost @ Pepperdine, 75-64; lost @ LMU, 65-62; lost @ BYU, 87-53
Only one team had it as tough as Pacific, and it was the Billy Grier coached San Diego Toreros. If there was a silver lining, it is that junior guard Johnny Dee is proving himself to be one of the best scorers in the conference. He had 26 points against Pepperdine and 28 points against LMU. Unfortunately, no one else really scored any points, and when he gets shut down like BYU did, San Diego will lose.
San Francisco Dons
lost @ Portland, 87-81 (OT), lost @ Gonzaga, 69-41; def. LMU, 75-61, def. Pepperdine, 76-66
The San Francisco Dons are one of the better scoring teams in the league. Against Gonzaga, they only mustered 41 points and looked like they got lost trying to head to Vancouver, Canada. In their three other wins of the week, the Dons averaged 79 points per game. Despite the drama of this year, the Dons can score and won't be a team to sleep on when the Bulldogs go on the road.
Santa Clara Broncos
lost @ Gonzaga, 74-60; def. Portland, 76-68; lost Pepperdine, 70-61, def. LMU, 86-81
The Broncos drew the unfortunate task of opening conference play on the road in Spokane. They got things going with a win over Portland and eventually finished the week 2-2. In both their wins, Jared Brownridge, Evan Roquemore and Brandon Clark were the main providers of the group, with minimal points coming from the rest of the team.