LAS VEGAS – With three BYU assistant coaches looking for Saturday night at the Orleans Arena, Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Jordan Ford has accumulated a career record of 42 points, including a memorable, twisted and unbalanced 3-meter uplift 30 feet with 25 seconds remaining, while the Gaels survived Pepperdine in double overtime.
As Ford attempted to shoot, it attempted to shoot a foul. Nothing was called – but it still worked.
“That’s what a special player can do,” said Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett.
“I just turned around and tried to get the cleanest possible look,” said Ford, who had 17 of 30 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers. “Fortunately for us, he came in.”
With this thrilling 89-82 victory over the waves, the No. 3 seeded Gaels qualified for the semi-finals of the West Coast Conference tournament, setting up an intriguing new confrontation and a highly anticipated match with Cougars n ° 2 Monday (9:30 p.m. MST). , ESPN2).
Ford played the 50-minute game and impressed everyone who attended his performance, including BYU assistant coach Cody Fueger.
“He’s like Steph Curry, isn’t he? He makes every hit, makes every good game,” he said. “He’s a heckuva player. I mean, 42 tonight, he ended up with? Player “It was an incredible college basketball game. We can’t wait to play Saint Mary’s on Monday.”
The No. 15 BYU and Saint Mary’s have played twice this season, with the Gaels winning 87-84 in overtime at Moraga on January 9 and the Cougars leading at Provo 81-79 on February 1. TJ Haws buried a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining at the Marriott Center, where striker Gael Malik Fitts scored 29 points before committing a foul.
“The match at our location where TJ hit the match winner was one of the best college basketball games I have ever played,” said Fueger. “I think (Monday’s game is) is going to be something similar.”
BYU’s Yoeli Childs did not play in the first meeting due to a finger injury. Gael goalkeeper Tanner Krebs did not play in the second game due to an injury. The two will play on Monday.
Saint Mary’s, defending champion of the WCC, eliminated Gonzaga, seeded in the title match a year ago.
“We came here to try to win the tournament. We won this thing last year and we came 100% here to win it again. It’s hard to do, ”said Bennett. “We had to go through Pepperdine, we’re going to have to go through BYU and if you succeed, you probably have to go through Gonzaga. All of these games are difficult. Our league is really good this year. There are really good players. It will be difficult to win. We will have a chance on Monday. “
Ford’s effort overshadowed Pepperdine goalkeeper Colbey Ross, who scored a career-high 43 points on Saturday and almost helped the Waves down.
“I just thought we had to play against another very good goalkeeper on Monday. Haws is a very good player, “said Bennett. “Obviously Childs is too. There have been a few battles. We know it will be a tough game. This is what we want. ”
At stake is not only the right to qualify for Tuesday’s WCC championship game, but also the ranking of the NCAA tournament. The Cougars, who have won nine straight games, and the Gaels, should be in the big dance, regardless of what happens on Monday and Tuesday. But the way they play could have an impact on their location and ranking in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s winning or going home. We prepare for it every day. We took each game seriously, as if it were the most important game of the year, “said Childs earlier this week. “This mindset will help us tackle this subject because you cannot just flip a switch no matter how talented you are. We have been preparing for this moment all year round. We are only focusing on winning. This “Conference is competitive. It’s been a long time since BYU has won a conference tournament. So we want to go do something special.”
The Cougars want to make up for last year’s embarrassing 80-57 loss to San Diego in the quarterfinals of the WCC tournament. BYU trailed up to 44 points in the second period.
“It was totally frustrating. It seems that everything has collapsed, ”said Childs. “Everything that could have gone wrong has happened. We allowed San Diego to start firing on all of the cylinders. You have to give them credit. They played a great game. But we are all very optimistic guys. We all believe. If we talk about the law of averages here, we are expected for a great game (at Orleans Arena). “
The Cougars have played only once in the past two weeks – an 81-64 victory at Pepperdine on February 29. Fueger said BYU handled the long layoff well.
“We had an excellent practice (Saturday). The guys are hungry, “he said. “They are ready to face someone else and they are ready to play a game.”
Cougars, of course, will not train on Sunday due to school policy.
“We had a couple of things from Saint Mary in all of our practices that we did throughout the week so that our guys were ready to go,” said Fueger. “They’re going to watch a ton of movies. We’re going to take off (Sunday) and do a little filming on Monday.”
The schedule is similar to the one BYU followed in November at the Maui Invitational, where the Cougars did not train Sunday before a game against UCLA. BYU defeated the Bruins 78-63 in a game late Monday night.
“Our guys have gone through this and know what it feels like,” said Fueger. “Our guys really know Saint Mary’s and they know exactly what they’re doing. They talked about it all week. They were hoping for Saint Mary’s and they will be ready to go. “
Saint Mary’s, and especially Ford, spent a lot of energy on Saturday night. But the Gaels will have a tournament dynamic when they face BYU.
“It should be air combat,” said Ford. “I think both teams will be ready.”
Cougars in the air
No 15 BYU (24-7) against. Saint Mary’s (25-7)
Monday, 9:30 p.m. MT
Orleans Arena, Las Vegas
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 11:60 a.m., BYU radio