San Diego Earns Another Chance

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Adam Morrison Show scheduled for today in the Gonzaga Invitational -- otherwise known as the West Coast Conference tournament -- might run into a slight problem.

His name is Corey Belser.

Belser is the San Diego defender who held Morrison to 16 points in a one-point loss to Gonzaga in January and to a season-low 11 in a 16-point loss to Gonzaga last month.

That makes him the only player to hold Morrison -- the nation’s leading scorer -- to fewer than 20 points since late December.

Belser and fifth-seeded San Diego will be the first team to get a crack at No. 5-ranked Gonzaga today after the Toreros defeated San Francisco, 62-59, in a quarterfinal game Saturday in McCarthey Athletic Center.

The tournament format gives the top two seeded teams byes into the semifinals, allowing Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount to rest while some others needed to win two games in two nights to reach the semis.

“The bottom line is the last three minutes, when that crowd’s jumping up and down, that will take care of everything,” said San Diego forward Nick Lewis, who led all scorers with 17 points.

“The atmosphere for the game’s going to be awesome. You don’t think about how tired your legs are or how tired you are as a team.”

San Diego (18-11) had an 11-point lead with less than nine minutes left, but fourth-seeded San Francisco (11-17) came back as the Toreros struggled with turnovers and missed shots.

After a tip-in by Alan Wiggins Jr. and a basket by Jerome Gumbs, San Francisco had a 59-58 lead with 1:27 left.

But a goaltending call against Wiggins on a shot by Gyno Pomare gave San Diego a one-point lead again, and the Toreros’ Nir Cohen -- who missed two free throws with 26 seconds left -- went back to the line and made two with 19 seconds left for a three-point lead that held up.

That sends San Diego into today’s game against Gonzaga on the Zags’ home court.

San Diego has lost both games with Gonzaga because it hasn’t done as well against forward J.P. Batista, who scored 26 in the last meeting, as it as against Morrison.

St. Mary’s 76, Santa Clara 72 -- Santa Clara’s Joey Kaempf made two three-pointers in the final 31 seconds of regulation to force overtime, but third-seeded St. Mary’s (17-11) held on for its seventh consecutive victory to advance to a semifinal against second-seeded Loyola Marymount today.