PROVO, Utah, March 1 (UPI) -- Two free throws by Elias Harris with 3 seconds left ended a BYU upset attempt Thursday and brought No. 2 Gonzaga a 70-65 win over the Cougars.
Having clinched the West Coast Conference title and looking at the possibility of being ranked No. 1 in the country going into the NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga avoided the rash of surprises that have continued to hit the nation's top teams this week.
During the course of the week No. 1 Indiana has lost to Minnesota, No. 3 Duke has fallen to Virginia and No. 4 Michigan has been shocked by Penn State.
Duke's setback came shortly before Gonzaga took the court Thursday and the Bulldogs found themselves in jeopardy after letting an eight-point lead with 11 minutes to go all but disappear down the stretch.
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BYU closed within one when Brandon Davies made a layup with 2:48 to play, but it appeared Gonzaga had finally wrapped up the game when it took a five-point lead with 24 seconds left.
Kevin Pangos then made the mistake of fouling BYU's Craig Cusick on a 3-point attempt and Cusick hit all three free throws to bring the Cougars within two.
When Harris could make just 1-of-2 free throws with 7 seconds left, BYU had a final chance. Gonzaga committed a foul; however, before BYU could get off a 3-pointer and Cusik missed a free throw on purpose in hopes BYU could grab the offensive rebound.
It was Gonzaga that came up with the key rebound, however, and this time Harris converted two free throws to clinch the victory.
Olynyk led Gonzaga (28-2, 15-0 WCC) with 19 points. Tyler Haws had 19 for the Cougars (20-10, 9-6).
