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LAS VEGAS – Drew Timme scored 18 points and became Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer as he led No. 9 Bulldogs against No. 16 Saint Mary’s 77-51 on Tuesday night in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
The Zags (28–5) continued their WCC dominance with their fourth straight tournament championship and 10th in 11 years, with Saint Mary’s in 2019 being the only exception. Gonzaga has won 21 tournament titles overall.
Saint Mary’s (26-7) was actually the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the teams split the regular season series. The Gaels were the last team to defeat Gonzaga, who goes on a nine-game winning streak in the NCAA Tournament, which includes beating Saint Mary’s in the regular season finale.
Both teams will find out their seedings and destinations on Sunday.
Gonzaga made 58% of his shots, while holding Saint Mary’s on 33% of his shots. The Zags led by as many as 37 points and never lost.
Timme was efficient in hitting 8 of 10 shots to take four Bulldogs to double figures. Malachi Smith scored 14 points, Nolan Hickman 12 points and Julian Strawther 10. Anton Watson had 10 rebounds.
Timme’s short jump with 10:18 left put him in first place alone as the leading scorer in Saint Mary’s history. He was just five points short of breaking the mark, and his 18 points in the game gave him 2,210 for his career. Frank Burgess held the previous record of 2,196 from 1958-61.
Logan Johnson led the Gaels with 20 points and Alex Ducas scored 10.
Gonzaga took control early, using a nine-point run to go up 14-4 and held a double-digit lead most of the way. The Zags at one point in the first half made 10 of 12 field goals, and by halftime, they took full command with a 37-19 lead.
BIG PICTURE
Gonzaga: Now is when the real pressure is on Gonzaga, who has made several runs deep in the NCAA Tournament but is still chasing that elusive national championship. Until that happens, critics will say that the WCC school is not on the same level as those of the power conference. It’s up to the Zags to prove them wrong.
Santa Maria: Saint Mary’s nearly lost their entire 26-point lead in Monday’s semifinals as the Gaels ran into trouble with the BYU press. Gonzaga played press at Saint Mary’s, and while it didn’t result in any transitional baskets for the Bulldogs, it slowed down the Gaels’ offense. Saint Mary’s will need to figure out how to do better against the press, or they’ll be a problem in the NCAA Tournament.
NEXT
Gonzaga has a legitimate shot at No. 2, and entered the game ranked No. 9 in the NET, a metric the NCAA committee uses to select the field. Even though Saint Mary’s were only ranked one point ahead of the Bulldogs, the Gaels are probably looking at more than five or six seeds.
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