Las Vegas • While assistant coaches Tim LaComb, Heath Schroyer, Quincy Lewis and Andrew May watched courtside as Saint Mary’s eked past finally full-strength Pepperdine 69-66 late Saturday night in a West Coast Conference quarterfinal game, BYU head coach Dave Rose sat alone in the stands at Orleans Arena with a pensive, reflective look on his face at times.
Earlier Saturday, after Rose’s Cougars advanced to their fifth-straight semifinal appearance at the WCC tournament with an 85-79 win over San Diego, the coach said he “wouldn’t want to play Pepperdine right now” because of the inspired way the Waves were playing for ousted coach Marty Wilson.