Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Johnny Dee knocked down four free throws in
the final 13 seconds to give San Diego just enough breathing room and capture
a 72-69 win over the BYU Cougars in the quarterfinals of the West Coast
Conference Tournament at Orleans Arena.
Dee finished with a game-high 25 points for sixth-seeded San Diego (16-17),
converting 8-of-11 at the free-throw line overall. Also scoring in double
figures for the Toreros were Chris Anderson and Ken Rancifer with 16 and 15
points, respectively. Chris Manresa collected a game-high 10 rebounds as well.
The third-seeded Cougars (21-11) were paced by Brandon Davies and Tyler Haws
with 20 points apiece, the former coming close to recording a rare triple-
double as he also pulled down nine rebounds and handed out eight assists in
the setback. Matt Carlino tacked on 13 points and seven boards.
Shooting just 38.2 percent from the floor in the first half, San Diego still
managed to move out to a 31-20 advantage with four minutes to play before the
break. The Cougars made only one of their six chances beyond the arc in the
frame, but still battled back to trail by just seven points at intermission,
35-28.
Coming out in the second half BYU put together a run of its own in order to
grab a brief two-point edge at 40-38. San Diego appeared to have the game
wrapped up when Dee connected on a pair of free throws with 12.3 seconds left
to give the Toreros a 70-66 advantage.
Refusing to go away quietly, Carlino came down and nailed a 3-pointer with 6.9
seconds to play to cut the deficit to just a single point. However, Dee
knocked down another pair at the charity stripe moments later, while a
desperation 3-pointer by Carlino missed the mark at the buzzer.
The Toreros will be back in action on Saturday night to take on second-seeded
Saint Mary's-CA in the semifinals.
GAME NOTES:
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