Loyola Marymount Lions vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Match Player Stats On Mar 03, 2018

Killian Tillie scored a team-high 24 points for the top-seeded Bulldogs (28-4), hitting 9 of 12 shots from the field. Johnathan Williams chipped in a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Zach Norvell added 17 points, canning 4 of 6 3-pointers.

James Batemon kept the Lions (11-20) in contention with a game-high 27 points and reserve Cameron Allen netted 12, but they couldn't hold Gonzaga back during a torrid second half. The Bulldogs made 19 for 24 from the field in the second half, finishing the night at 61.2 percent.

Gonzaga, which will meet fourth-seeded San Francisco in Monday night's first semifinal, didn't take the lead for good until Tillie sank a jumper with 16:23 left to make it 41-40. Loyola Marymount was still within 64-59 after Batemon connected on a jumper at the 7:06 mark when the Bulldogs finally hit the proverbial X button.

Tillie and Norvell each drained 3-pointers in the 10-point spurt that made it 74-59 with 4:37 left, finally allowing the large Gonzaga crowd to breathe easy. The margin reached 18 after Tillie hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game in the final two minutes.

Loyola Marymount set an immediate tone against the heavy favorite, taking a 13-11 lead at the 12:59 mark of the first half when Batemon canned a 3-pointer. In fact, the Lions actually held Gonzaga scoreless for a 5:31 stretch before a Josh Perkins jumper ended that drought.

The teams swapped the lead back and forth for the half's remainder before the Bulldogs got a dunk from Tillie with four seconds remaining to give them a 29-28 edge at intermission.

Neither team shot well in the first half, Loyola Marymount going 10-for-30 and Gonzaga hitting 11 of 25 shots. But the Bulldogs turned it over six times in the first seven minutes, which enabled the Lions to take more shots and keep the game tight.

--Field Level Media