Gonzaga beats Brigham Young, 91-75, in West Coast Conference final

Gonzaga’s players were like blurs up the floor, whipping passes, filling lanes, dropping in three-pointers as their fans roared with each highlight.

These Bulldogs are fun to watch — and hard to catch once they get out front.

Kyle Wiltjer had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 7 Gonzaga shot its way past Brigham Young, 91-75, on Tuesday night for the Bulldogs’ third straight West Coast Conference tournament title.

“We want to play fast and can score with the best of them,” said Wiltjer, the tournament’s most valuable player. “We wanted to just push the pace and did that.”

Gonzaga (32-2), the regular-season champion, clinched its 14th WCC tournament by putting on an offensive show in an entertaining rematch of last year’s title game.

The nation’s best-shooting team during the regular season, the Bulldogs hit 53% inside Orleans Arena and made eight of 12 from three-point range.

Kevin Pangos had 16 points and five assists while orchestrating an efficient Gonzaga offense that had 15 assists and six turnovers.

Domantas Sabonis and Gary Bell Jr. added 15 points each for the Bulldogs, who are expecting a high seed when the NCAA tournament selections are announced on Sunday.

“They love each other and just want to keep playing with each other, that’s been the base for this team all year,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said. “They want to keep winning so they can keep playing with each other.”

BYU (25-9) tried to match the Bulldogs shot for shot behind Kyle Collinsworth, but never quite caught them after Gonzaga went on an early second-half run to build a 12-point lead.

Collinsworth finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists after posting a triple-double in the semifinals.

Tyler Haws added 15 points for the Cougars, who have to endure an agonizing wait until Selection Sunday for the second straight season.

“There’s a committee that makes that decision and If they watched us play, I think they’d feel pretty good about putting us in their tournament,” BYU Coach Dave Rose said.

The Cougars were one of two teams to beat Gonzaga during the regular season, ending the Bulldogs’ 41-game home winning streak with a 73-70 victory less than two weeks ago.

Women’s final

Brigham Young 76, San Francisco 65: Lexi Eaton scored 22 points and Morgan Bailey added 20 as the Cougars (23-9) earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

BYU, which finished fifth in the regular season, shot 51% — including 11 for 22 on three-pointers — and never trailed after halftime. The Cougars scored 24 points off turnovers.

Eaton, who averaged 23.3 points in three games, was voted tournament MVP.

Taj Winston led the Dons (19-13) with 24 points.

The Cougars took control at the midway point of the first half with a 16-0 run that gave them a 33-20 lead in the final five minutes. San Francisco kept the game close until then, but the Dons missed on 10 consecutive shots, a drought that wasn’t broken until Taylor Proctor scored on a short jumper.