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LAS VEGAS -- Gonzaga has been the class of the West Coast Conference, regular hoisting regular-season and tournament trophies for nearly two decades. Even for a team such as this, finishing off another title sweep is a feel-good accomplishment. Sam Dower Jr. had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Gonzaga held its ground during a second-half rally to beat BYU 75-64 Tuesday night for its 13th WCC championship. "It never gets old. Never gets old," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "Its obviously something we start talking about it and prepare for way back in the summer. For these guys to step up and make it happen, not only in the regular season but to win here and not share, is just an awesome, awesome accomplishment." Gonzaga (28-6) raced out to a 21-point lead in the first half, taking advantage of the Cougars late overtime game the night before. Once the Cougars got their legs and started chipping away at the lead, the Bulldogs had an answer, leaving no doubt about the NCAA tournament by earning the conferences automatic bid. Gary Bell Jr. had 14 points and David Stockton dished out seven assists to send the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament for the 16th straight year. "We came in with the mindset and us controlling being in the tournament," Stockton said. "We didnt try to think about that, just winning the next game." BYU (23-11) rallied after a dismal first half, pulling within eight with 3 minutes left. The Cougars couldnt finish off the comeback and now have a long five-day wait until Selection Sunday. Tyler Haws had 24 points and Kyle Collinsworth added 13 before leaving with a right leg injury in the second half. "They really went after us at the start," coach Dave Rose said. "But our guys battled. We battled the whole game, got it to single digits, but couldnt get over the hump." Gonzaga and BYU split two meetings during the regular season. The Zags won the first one by 15 after hitting 10 of 22 3-pointers in Spokane. The Cougars were much better guarding the perimeter in Provo, limiting the Bulldogs to 4 of 18 shooting from 3-point range. Playing in its 17th straight WCC final, Gonzaga dominated early in the rubber match with a nearly perfect first half. Offensively, the Bulldogs built a quick nine-point lead and kept pouring it on behind Dower, who had 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half. Gonzaga was just as good defensively, contesting shots inside and getting out to BYUs shooters on the perimeter. The Cougars struggled against the Bulldogs pressure, missing 11 of their first 15 shots on their way to a 9-for-27 half. Gonzaga led by as much as 21 in the first half and was up 44-27 at the break. "From a coaching standpoint, thats how you want your guys this time of year," Few said. "Its the biggest stage thus far and we were in attack mode, we were playing great defence." Dower kept it rolling early in the second half, scoring on a hard drive with a foul, then throwing down a pair of dunks to put the Bulldogs up 53-33. BYU suffered another blow when Collinsworth had to be helped off the court midway through the second half, unable to put any weight on his right leg after going down under Gonzagas basket. Playing without its facilitator and second-leading scorer, the Cougars found a way to claw their way back. Haws has had trouble getting shots to fall in the WCC tournament and had a so-so first half, scoring nine points on 2-of-7 shooting. When his shots started to fall in the second half, so did Gonzagas lead. Haws hit a 3-pointer in rhythm to cut Gonzagas lead to 13 and the Cougars kept chipping away at the lead, getting it down to eight on two free throws by Haws with 2:56 left. That was it for BYU, though, leaving the Cougars to wait to see if the selection committee believes their resume is good enough for an NCAA tournament bid. "I think we should find ourselves in that tournament," said Haws, who made all 11 of his free throws after hitting all 14 in the semifinals against San Francisco. "This has been a challenging season, but I feel like our guys have come together and done enough to get in." Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . The Senators return from a lengthy layoff caused by Wednesdays attack on Parliament Hill to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . Klose has a bruised pelvic bone and abdominal muscle problems but team doctors are trying to get him fit in time for the match. Bender has a hamstring injury. Germany is already without half-dozen players, due to injury or bad form. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/diamondb...greinke-jersey/. LOUIS -- The St. Randy Johnson Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . - Loosening up for their first training camp practice, the Miami Dolphins high-stepped sideways up and down the field while House of Pains song "Jump Around" blared on the loudspeakers. TAMPA, Fla. -- Steven Stamkos stopped worrying about not a scoring goal over an extended period. On Thursday night, the Tampa Bay star showed why. Stamkos had three goals and an assist, Valtteri Filppula added two goals, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 7-2 on Thursday night. Stamkos, second in the NHL with 29 goals during the abbreviated 2012-13 season, stopped a five-game goal drought dating back to last season. "To be completely honest, I think this might have been the first time that I didnt (worry)," Stamkos said. "Usually I do. If I dont score one game, sometimes you have trouble sleeping, thinking what you should have done. I just kind of had an eerie feeling that tonight was going to be a good night." Stamkos completed his sixth career hat trick on a one-timer from the top of the left circle during a power play at 12:25 of the third. "He scores when he get opportunties," Lightning goalie Ben Bishop said. "Its a lot nicer having him on your team than playing against him." Martin St. Louis added a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who have won three in a row after a season-opening loss at Boston. Bishop made 19 saves and improved to 3-0 on the season. Florida, which lost three of four during a season-opening road trip, got goals from Brad Boyes and Jonathan Huberdeau. "We didnt respond well to pressure," Florida coach Kevin Dineen said. "When they pressured our players, instead of responding to that, understanding that it was coming, I think it created turmoil for us." Filppula scored consecutive third-period goals to give the Lightning a 6-2 lead. St. Louis, playing at home for the first time since being selected team captain earlier this month, made it 1-0 off a pass through the slot by Stamkos 8:13 into the game. St. Louis has 917 points, which moved him past Bobby Orr (915)) into 94th place on the NHL all-time list.dddddddddddd "I dont think its something that you think about when you start your career," St. Louis said. "A pretty special player that I get to pass." St. Louis goal marked the first time this season that Tampa Bay took a lead during regulation. The Lightnings other two victories came in overtime and a shootout after third-period comebacks. Stamkos put the Lightning up 2-0 when he beat goalie Jacob Markstrom for a short-handed goal at 13:54 of the first. It was Tampa Bays first short-handed goal since Ryan Malone scored one on March 26, 2012. "You know theyre dynamic," Dineen said of Stamkos and St. Louis. "You know that if one guy has the puck, hes looking for the other guy, that theyre really highly skilled players, but more than anything, they work as hard as anybody in the league. If you dont match that, if you dont have 100 per cent buy-in and effort to try to contain them, youre going to get lit up like we did tonight." Boyes got the Panthers within 2-1 on a power-play goal 59 seconds into the second. Florida had failed to convert on its previous 17 man-advantage opportunities this season. Tampa Bay went up 3-1 when Stamkos scored from the right circle with 8:21 left in the second. Ondrej Palat added a late second-period goal. Huberdeau, last seasons Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, scored his first goal in nine games early in the third. NOTES: Florida G Tim Thomas (groin) said he felt "better" after skating and taking some shots Thursday. Dineen said its very doubtful that Thomas, who was hurt Tuesday at Philadelphia, will be ready for Fridays home opener. ... Panthers C Shawn Matthias played after missing the morning skate due to flulike symptoms. ... Markstrom was pulled midway through the third after allowing six goals on 24 shots. ' ' '