In true postseason fashion, WCC Tournament semifinal game between No. 2 BYU and No. 3 Pepperdine decided in overtime

© Provided by Salt Lake Tribune (Photo courtesy of BYU Athletics) BYU guard Alex Barcello tries to get a shot off against Pepperdine in the WCC Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas.

With its NCAA Tournament future locked in, BYU went into the West Coast Conference Tournament worried on nothing more than what was at hand: to get into the championship game.

The second-seeded Cougars earned a triple-bye, making them the last team to make its debut at the conference tournament at the semifinal matchup against No. 3 Pepperdine, but BYU found itself forced into an overtime matchup.

The Cougars ultimately were able to close out the game, beating the Waves 82-77 to advance to the championship game.

Here are a few quick thoughts on the game:

1. The Waves frustrated the Cougars in the regular season, and continued to do so at the WCC Tournament: Pepperdine presented BYU with a challenge from tipoff to the final whistle. Besides having multiple scoring droughts on both ends, the game was made even more ragged by the amount of fouls made by both team. A total of 49 fouls were committed — 27 of them in the second half.

2. BYU didn’t take care of the ball well — and it came with a great cost: The Cougars committed 21 turnovers, which the Waves converted into 24 points. In comparison, BYU was only able to score nine points off 14 Pepperdine turnovers.

3. The Waves led for just about all of regulation, but BYU was never too far out of contention: The Cougars continuously kept fighting back to stay within striking distance, and made some huge plays in the final minutes of regulation (including that block from Matt Haarms).

This story will be updated.