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BYU's Rudi Williams (3) drives past a Loyola Marymount defender during a West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 5, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Gideon George reacts to the end of the Cougars' victory against Loyola Marymount in the West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Jaxson Robinson (2) drives to the basket against Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Rudi Williams (3) rises up for a basket against Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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The BYU men’s basketball team got off to a great start against Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament on Saturday, working its way to an 11-point halftime lead.

The question became: Could the Cougars hold on in the second half?

The answer was a definitive “yes.”

BYU shot 68% in the first half, Rudi Williams scored 23 points (along with zero turnovers) and the Cougars withstood every challenge from the Lions in the final 20 minutes in a 73-63 victory at Orleans Arena.

“This paper (the stat sheet) says LMU led for 15 seconds,” BYU junior guard Spencer Johnson said in the post-game news conference. “I don’t know if that’s accurate to the second but that was huge for us. We took control of it and never looked back.”

No. 4 seed LMU, which held victories against No. 1 seed Saint Mary’s, No. 2 seed Gonzaga and BYU in the regular season, quickly cut the Cougar lead to four in the second half but could get no closer. Williams, who made 11 of 12 from the free throw line, scored 13 points in the second half as BYU moved on to the semifinals on Monday against 17th-ranked Saint Mary’s.

“Coach (Mark Pope) emphasized yesterday that we needed to bring a lot of fight,” Williams said. “The first time we played them in LA, they punked us. We brought that fight when we played them in Provo and we brought it again on this neutral floor. You need to be good at the right time. Teams need to be good in March and I feel like we’re trending in the right direction.”

The Cougars were incredibly efficient in the first half, making 13 of 19 field goals and 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. Fousseyni Traore and Jaxson Robinson had 3-point plays, Robinson converted a steal into a dunk and Dallin Hall splashed a 3-pointer as BYU raced to a 17-6 lead at the 13:40 mark of the first half.

LMU rallied behind First Team All-WCC guard Cameron Shelton, who scored 11 points to bring his team back into the game. With two minutes to play in the half BYU held a 40-37 lead but closed on an 8-0 run. Hall connected on a pair of 3-pointers, including a 28-footer to beat the buzzer, for a 38-27 Cougar advantage at the break.

Shelton led a 9-0 surge for LMU early in the second half and the Cougar lead shrank to 42-38 with 14:02 to play. Gideon George scored inside and Richie Saunders converted a 3-point play to push the BYU advantage back up to nine at 47-38. The Lions cut it back to three, 44-41, after back-to-back 3-point makes but a big Johnson 3-pointer, the free throws from Williams and a driving layup from Johnson got the Cougars up 11 points (56-45) with 8:15 to play.

Shelton scored five quick points but again BYU responded, getting a drive from Williams and another 3-pointer from Johnson to lead 64-52 with 4:28 to play.

Williams and Johnson just kept making big plays for the Cougars.

“I talked to Rudi and he said this is just what veteran guys do,” Johnson said. “They make smart, decisive decisions and game-winning plays. Rudi has played college ball for a couple of years and he knows how to play. That’s huge for this team. You’ve got the have dudes in there that are leaders. Rudi does a great job on and off the floor. We’re fortunate to have him.”

BYU still led 70-62 with 2:08 to go when Shelton, who scored a game-high 27 points, fouled out and took any chance of a late Lions comeback with him.

Scouting Report

BYU will take on No. 1 seed Saint Mary’s in the semifinals on Monday at 7 p.m. MT. The Cougars lost twice to Saint Mary’s during the regular season but pushed the Gaels to the brink both times. BYU lost by one (57-56) in Provo and by five (71-66) in Moraga.

Saint Mary’s guards Aidan Mahaney (14.6 points per game) and Logan Johnson (14.7) were both named to the All-WCC first team last week. Mahaney hit the game-winning shot for the Gaels at BYU and Johnson has been on a tear recently, scoring 27 points or more in five of his past six games.

Saint Mary’s is also No. 5 in the country in scoring defense (59.3).

“We’re looking forward to it,” Johnson said, bringing up the “hard to beat a team three times” argument. “We’ll definitely take Sunday to prepare to come out and fight. We’re going to give them a game.”

No. 2 seed Gonzaga (26-5) will take on No. 6 San Francisco (20-13) in the late semifinal. The Dons took down No. 3 seed Santa Clara 93-87 in double overtime on Saturday.

As for post-season opportunities, the Cougars were No. 84 in the NET rankings on Sunday. Just playing Saint Mary’s (No. 8 NET ranking) will raise BYU’s profile but a win and a spot in Tuesday’s WCC final would likely warrant an invitation to the NIT.

Men’s College Basketball

West Coast Conference Tournament

Semifinals

No. 5 BYU (19-14) vs. No. 1 Saint Mary’s (25-6)

Monday, 7 p.m. MT

Orleans Arena, Las Vegas

TV: ESPN

Streaming: WCC Network

Live Stats: byucougars.com

The Word: Saint Mary’s leads the overall series with BYU 18-16. … The Gaels won both meetings this season and have won five of the past six. … BYU’s last victory against Saint Mary’s was in 2020 (81-79) in Provo. … The Cougars and Gaels have met three times in the WCC Tournament semifinals, with Saint Mary’s winning two of the three.

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