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Gonzaga Basketball

Buzzer breakdown: Gonzaga starts fast, improved defense and new lineup key win over SMC

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13) embraces forward Braden Huff (34) after they defeated the Saint Mary's Gaels during the second half of the WCC Tournament Championship on Tuesday, Mar. 11, 2025, at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Gonzaga won the game 58-51. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson The Spokesman-Review

Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 58-51 victory against Saint Mary’s Tuesday night in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Big from the jump

A few weeks after rolling out a unique Senior Night lineup against Saint Mary’s, the Zags went with another nontraditional lineup against the Gaels to open Tuesday’s title game.

Gonzaga rolled out four of its regular starters – Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle and Graham Ike – but threw in a twist, replacing senior Ben Gregg with sophomore Braden Huff.

Huff, who’d only started once in his career and never alongside fellow big man Ike, delivered Gonzaga’s second basket of the game and was instrumental in the Zags’ early flurry, scoring seven points before checking out for the first time.

The 6-foot-10 forward had the game’s only 3-pointer and finished with 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field to go with four rebounds and two assists.

Guard your yard

Improved play on the defensive end has been key for Gonzaga during the back half of the WCC season.

It showed up for the Zags again in the biggest game of the year.

Gonzaga turned over Saint Mary’s a season-high 18 times, beating the previous high of 15 set against UTSA on Dec. 3. The Zags racked up a 20-3 advantage in points off turnovers in a game in which they only committed four turnovers.

The Zags conceded 20 points to senior forward Mitchell Saxen, but point guard Augustas Marciulionis was the only other Gaels player in double figures. Saint Mary’s finished 20 of 51 from the field and got zero combined points from starters Jordan Ross and Paulius Murauskas, who were 0 for 12 from the field.

Troubleshooting

Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s combined to go 12 for 42 from the 3-point line in their first meeting this season. The Zags and Gaels made the same number of 3s in the second matchup, combining to go 12 of 34 at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Both teams struggled to find their outside-shooting rhythm on Tuesday night, making a combined 1 of 31 shots from behind the arc.

Saint Mary’s finished 0 for 16, going without a 3-pointer for the first time all season. Gonzaga finished a season-low 1 of 15 from the arc.