Unbeaten Gonzaga on dominant run
LAS VEGAS — Gonzaga was at its free-flowing best on offense and shut down St. Mary’s on the defensive end.
Another dominating performance, another trip to the West Coast Conference tournament title game.
Win one more and the Zags will enter the NCAA tournament undefeated.
Drew Timme scored 18 points, Joel Ayayi added 16 and top-ranked Gonzaga racked up another lopsided win, blowing past St. Mary’s 78-55 in the WCC semifinals on Monday night.
“These guys have shown all year how competitive they are and as we moved toward the NCAA tournament — it was taken away from them last year — I think we’ll get even an increased effort,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.
The Bulldogs (25-0) dominated from a big opening run and led by 18 at halftime to cruise into their nation-best 24th conference tournament title game. Gonzaga shot 53% as it tied the school record with its 29th straight win, dating to last season, and has won 22 in a row by double digits.
Jalen Suggs scored 15 points for the Zags, who will play Brigham Young or Pepperdine on Tuesday night for a chance to win their ninth WCC title in 11 years. That semifinal ended too late for this edition.
All but assured of a No. 1 seed, Gonzaga has a chance to become the first team to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated since Kentucky in 2014-15.
“This thing about this team and this system is it doesn’t matter who scores,” Timme said. “Anybody can score on any given night. I don’t care, the guys don’t care. We just care about winning.”
The Gaels (14-9) were little more than a speed bump against Gonzaga’s ultra-efficient offense and struggled to get their own shots to fall, shooting two for 20 from three-point range.
Logan Johnson led St. Mary’s with 15 points.
“We’re going to have to have an ‘A’ game to play them close and we didn’t,” St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett said. “We shot the ball bad.”
Women
No. 16 Gonzaga 72, Santa Clara 62: Jill Townsend led a balanced attack with 14 points and 10 rebounds and the top-seeded Bulldogs (22-3) advanced to the championship game, where they will face second-seeded Brigham Young on Tuesday.
Brigham Young 85, San Francisco 55: Paisley Johnson Harding scored 23 points, and the Cougars held the Dons to three points in the second quarter and blew the game open in the third.