Thursday, March 23, 2017

NCAA West: Zags Hold Off Mountaineers; Musketeers Shock Zona, Get Crack At Gonzaga For Final Four Berthj

The West Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament had its' semifinal round on Thursday with two games, both contested at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

In the opener, Jordan Matthews delivered the key three-point basket with less than one minute remaining as the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs (35-1) held off the fourth-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers (28-9) 61-58 to advance to the third Elite Eight in the school's history.

In the nightcap, Trevon Bluiett scored 25 points as the eleventh-seeded Xavier Musketeers (24-13) knocked off the second-seeded Arizona Wildcats (32-5) 73-71 for their first Elite Eight appearance since 2008.

Allonzo Trier, who scored 19 points, had a chance to pull out the game for the Wildcats, but he missed a three-point shot in the final seconds.

The Musketeers will face Gonzaga in Saturday's West Region final with the winner set to punch their ticket for the Final Four at Glendale, Arizona.

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