SPOKANE — Kelly Olynyk scored 31 points and No. 9 Gonzaga held off Saint Mary’s 83-78 on Thursday night in the latest installment of one of the best rivalries on the West Coast.
Kevin Pangos added 22 points for Gonzaga (16-1, 3-0 West Coast Conference), which has won seven straight since losing at home to Illinois. It was Olynyk’s second consecutive 30-point game.
Stephen Holt led Saint Mary’s (12-4, 1-1) with 23 points.
Gonzaga led by 20 early in the second half but had to stave off a furious rally by the Gaels.
Holt hit three baskets and two free throws in a 90-second span to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 55-44 with 13:27 left. Two more buckets by Holt and two by Kyle Rowley made it 59-53, as the Bulldogs suddenly couldn’t find the basket.
After a flurry of baskets that trimmed Gonzaga’s lead to three at one point, Olynyk’s layup put the Zags ahead 76-69 with 3:32 left.
Matthew Dellavedova’s 3-pointer cut Gonzaga’s lead to 79-76 with 1:15 to go. Olynyk could not score on the other end, but Gonzaga got the ball back on a tie up with 49 seconds left.
Pangos missed with 26 seconds left and Dellavedova was fouled on the other end, making both to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 79-78 with 15 seconds left.
Olynyk was fouled on the inbounds play and sank both free throws for an 81-78 lead.
Dellavedova missed a long 3-point attempt with 6.9 seconds left, and the Gaels were forced to foul. Pangos hit two free throws to seal it.
New Mexico St. 83, Seattle U. 82 (2 OT)
SEATTLE — Tyrone Watson did a little bit of everything Thursday night, scoring 26 points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out five assists and adding seven steals to lead New Mexico State to an 83-82 double overtime victory over Seattle.
New Mexico State (9-8, 3-2 WAC) trailed 67-64 with 7 seconds to go at the end of regulation before Bandja Sy hit a 3-pointer to send the two teams to overtime. Sy finished with 23 points and nine rebounds.
In the second overtime, Chad Rasmussen hit a 3-pointer to cut the Aggies’ lead to two at 82-80, but New Mexico State would hold on. Rasmussen ended his night with nine points, all of which came from 3-point range.
Prince Obasi had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Seattle (5-9, 0-4). Clarence Trent had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Louis Green chipped in with 15.
Women
Seattle U. 60 New Mexico St. 54
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Kaatie Sowell led the Redhawks with 21 points and tied her season high 14 rebounds as SU (7-6, 4-0 WAC) extended their four-game winning streak with a victory over the Aggies (9-6, 3-2)
Of note
Record-setter breaks wrist, is out for season
GRINNELL, Iowa — Jack Taylor, who set the NCAA scoring record with 138 points in a game in November, is out for the season after breaking his wrist.
Grinnell College spokesman Ted Schultz says Taylor fractured the radius on his shooting arm during a 119-117 win over rival Cornell (Iowa) on Wednesday.
Taylor will likely have surgery within a week and be out 2-3 months, costing the sensational sophomore the rest of the season.
Taylor captured the attention of the basketball world when he dropped 138 points against Faith Baptist Bible College on Nov. 12, shattering the previous mark by 25 points. Taylor finishes his season averaging 36.3 points per game.
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