Recap and highlights: Gonzaga beats Saint Mary’s 58-51 to win WCC tournament championship
LAS VEGAS – Gonzaga, which never led in a Senior Night loss to Saint Mary’s last month, never trailed in Tuesday’s West Coast Conference championship game at Orleans Arena.
That doesn’t mean anything came easy for the second-seeded Zags.
An ideal start put them in front by 13 points after just 6-plus minutes, but the game soon became a tight, tense, physical affair with neither team able to hit from behind the 3-point line.
Gonzaga fended off several Saint Mary’s rallies and dug out a 58-51 victory to take home the championship trophy and cement a spot in the NCAA Tournament with the WCC’s automatic bid.
The Zags relied on defense – SMC committed a season-high 18 turnovers – and sophomore Braden Huff came up big in just his second career start, scoring a team-high 18 points, including a couple of big baskets in the final 5 minutes.
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Saint Mary’s (28-5) was trying to become the first team to go 3-0 against Gonzaga (29-4) in Mark Few’s 26 seasons as head coach. SMC won both regular-season matchups but came up short in the title game on Monday and also in 2016 when the Zags won 85-75 at Orleans Arena.
Gonzaga improved to 9-4 against Saint Mary’s in title games at the Orleans Arena.
Khalif Battle added 14 points and Graham Ike chipped in 11 points. Ryan Nembhard had 10 points and six assists.
Mitchell Saxen had 20 points for the Gaels, who couldn’t overcome Gonzaga’s 20-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
GU couldn’t have scripted a better start. Ike’s baseline jumper dropped through after softly bouncing on the rim on GU’s first possession.
Huff added a pair of field goals – one a 3-pointer – and Battle scored six rapid-fire points as Gonzaga raced in front 20-7.
The Zags needed just 6 minutes and 30 seconds to score 20 points, but the offense slowed considerably with a bunch of missed 3-pointers and just 13 points the rest of the half.
GU still led 31-21 with 3:12 remaining but Saint Mary’s rattled off the next eight points, finding success in the paint, the free-throw line and on the offensive boards – the sources of the majority of the Gaels’ points.
Nembhard, who had just gone to the bench with his second foul, was whistled for a technical on the bench, leading to two Augustas Marciulionis free throws and cutting SMC’s deficit to 33-31 at the break.
Let the party begin
First half
19:39 – GU 2, SMC 0: Zags win the tip and Ike makes the first shot, getting a jumper to go down after bouncing on the rim a couple times. Ike is called for a foul on the other end, sending Saxen to the line.
15:24 – GU 11, SMC 5: Battle hits a free throw line runner and the Gaels turn the ball over at the first media timeout.
Zags have an early lead thanks to the post duo of Ike and Huff, who have five and four points, respectively.
Gaels start cold, 2 of 8 from the field and 0 of 3 on 3-pointers.
12:58 – GU 20, SMC 7: Gaels call a timeout after a heldball to try and slow the Zags momentum.
Maybe the best start of the year for GU. Zags went on a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer from Huff, two steals by Nembhard and some transition points from Battle. Passage of play is capped by a Gregg dunk over Saxen.
10:54 – GU 22, SMC 11: Battled called for his second foul at the U12 media timeout.
Gaels got a couple of baskets back, before Huff came up with a steal and Nembhard scored a layup.
Huff leads the Zags with seven points, Battle adds six. GU shooting 60% from the field. Saxen has five points for SMC.
7:38 – GU 24, SMC 17: Gaels making a push at the U8 media timeout, Lewis makes a jumper through a foul from Ajayi and will shoot a free throw when play resumes.
Saxen keeping SMC in it, he has nine points and two blocks.
Zags not as effective without Huff and Battle on the floor. Just four points – all from Nembhard – the last six minutes.
3:29 – GU 30, SMC 20: Huff called for his first foul going for a rebound at the U4 media timeout.
Zags lead back to double figures on a midrange jumper from Nembahrd. Huff has been excellent with a team-high nine points. He fought for an offensive rebound and putback at the 5:44 mark to get the Zags going again after an offensive lull.
1:06 – GU 31, SMC 29: Saxen hits two free throws to give the Gaels an 8-0 run and Gonzaga calls timeout trying to preserve its lead into halftime.
Zags missed a couple 3-pointers in a row and the Gaels took advantage. GU 1 of 9 on 3s.
Halftime
Gonzaga is clinging to a 33-31 lead over Saint Mary’s after an exciting first half in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
Ryan Nembhard was called for a technical foul on the bench with 33 seconds left and the Gaels hit both free throws to get closer. Nembhard has three fouls.
The Zags led by as many as 13 after a red-hot start. Poor 3-point shooting hurt GU down the stretch, the Zags are 1 of 10 on 3-pointers.
Braden Huff leads with nine points, Graham Ike adds seven. Mitchell Saxen has 14 points for the Gaels.
Second half
15:27 – GU 40, SMC 37: Zags hold their lead as Ike is called for his second foul at the U16 media timeout. Zags had a strong stretch at the start of the half, but have missed their last five attempts from the field.
Battle up to 10 points and two steals. Saxen has 16 for SMC.
11:54 – GU 44, SMC 41: Battle called for his third foul at the U12 media timeout. Fouls mounting for the Zags, Ike and Nembhard both have three. Gaels will shoot two free throws when play resumes.
Both teams really struggling from 3, Zags 1 of 12 and Gaels 0 of 9.
7:34 – GU 48, SMC 42: Scoring has come to a standstill at the U8 media timeout.
Gaels have missed their last eight attempts and have not scored in 4:20. Zags on a 2:43 scoring drought.
Poor shooting continues, GU 1 of 13 on 3-pointers, SMC 0 of 13.
6:11 – GU 50, SMC 46: Lid comes off the hoop for the Gaels, who get back-to-back baskets from Barrett and Saxen. SMC calls timeout after a GU miss.
3:06 – GU 52, SMC 47: Gaels grab a rebound and call timeout. SMC hasn’t scored in 2:14, couple of shot clock violations as the Zags tighten on defense.
Ike went to the bench with four fouls. Huff hit the last basket at 5:01.
Strange game tonight, Gaels still in it despite being 0 of 13 on 3-pointers and having 16 turnovers. Zags just haven’t been able to capitalize, 1 of 14 on 3-pointers and being outrebounded 41-25.
1:43 – GU 54, SMC 49: Huff makes a runner after grabbing a big offensive rebound. Saxen answers on the other side and Gaels call timeout, their last.
0:36 – GU 58, SMC 49: Hickman gets a steal followed by a Nembhard layup, then Battle steals and throws down an ally-oop. That should be it, an exclamation point on the WCC tournament championship.
0:00 – GU 58, SMC 51: Saint Mary’s misses a 16th straight 3-pointer and the Zags are WCC tournament champions, beating the Gaels for the first time in three meetings this season. We’ll be back shortly with a full recap.
Starting fives
Gonzaga shakes it up with Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Graham Ike and Braden Huff (in place of Ben Gregg).
Saint Mary’s: Jordan Ross, Augustas Marciulionis, Luke Barrett, Mitchell Saxen, Paulius Murauskas.
Pregame
The legacy bout of West Coast Conference powers is on once again.
For the seventh time in nine seasons, Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s will meet in the WCC tournament championship game tonight. Tipoff at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN.
The top-seeded Gaels (28-4) swept the regular-season games against the Bulldogs (24-8), 62-58 on Feb. 1 in Moraga, California, and 74-67 on Feb. 22 in Spokane.
Second-seeded Gonzaga beat San Francisco 85-76 in the semifinals last night. SMC dashed ninth-seeded Pepperdine’s Cinderella run 74-59.
Saint Mary’s is trying to be the first repeat WCC tournament winner – other than Gonzaga – since Pepperdine in 1991-92. The Gaels championship last season snapped a steak of four straight by the Zags.
Both teams are solidly in the NCAA Tournament field, Gonzaga a No. 9 seed and Saint Mary’s a No. 5, according to ESPN’s latest Bracketology. With a win, the Zags may jump up to a No. 7 seed and avoid a potential meeting with a No. 1 in the second round, as GU attempts to extend its Sweet 16 streak to 10 tournaments.
Series history
Gonzaga holds a 81-37 all-time series lead over Saint Mary’s. The Gaels have won four of the last five meetings since last season.
Team stats
Individual leaders
Game preview
Last night’s coverage