Gonzaga wins WCC tourney title, 20th under Few
LAS VEGAS -- Braden Huff scored 18 points and Gonzaga avenged two regular-season losses to Saint Mary's, beating the 19th-ranked Gaels 58-51 in the West Coast Conference tournament championship Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs (25-8) secured the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, though both teams were safely in the field regardless of the outcome.
They got some measure of revenge for losing to the Gaels in last year's title game, which ended Gonzaga's run of four conference championships and 10 of 11. Gonzaga also extended its national record to 18 consecutive 25-win seasons.
Saint Mary's (28-5) had its seven-game winning streak stopped. But the Gaels, who had won 17 of 18 games, went cold from long range at the wrong time. According to ESPN Research, Saint Mary's finished 0-16 from 3-point range, the first time in 787 games under coach Randy Bennett that the team failed to make a 3-pointer.
Khalif Battle scored 14 points for the Zags, Graham Ike added 11 and Ryan Nembhard had 10.
Mitchell Saxen led Saint Mary's with 20 points but scored only six after halftime. Two-time WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis finished with 12 points.
Saint Mary's was attempting to become the first team since San Diego in 1996-97 to beat Gonzaga three times in a season. But Gonzaga entered the game with the higher Kenpom rating, ninth to 22nd for the Gaels, and was a 3½-point favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook.
And the Bulldogs played like favorites. They committed just four turnovers while forcing 18 that included two shot-clock violations in the closing minutes, as they put themselves back on familiar ground.
In fact, according to ESPN Research, Gonzaga has now won the WCC tournament 22 times, including 20 times under coach Mark Few. Only Kentucky (32), Duke (27) and North Carolina (26) have won more Division I conference tournaments.
Both teams will find out their NCAA tournament seeds and destinations Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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12 of March 2025
