LAS VEGAS- The No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs became the West Coast Conference Champions as they defeated their rivals, the No. 17 Saint Mary’s Gaels, 82-69 on Tuesday night.
This was the 109th all-time meeting between the two squads, and it’s a matchup that continues to be dominated by the Zags. The Bulldogs lead the series 77-32, winning 23 of the last 28 meetings.
The Zags took control of the first half, building a 10-point lead thanks to Saint Mary’s 7 turnovers.
Late into the opening half, Gonzaga went on an 11-2 run, shifting the game and stalling the Gaels’ offense for three whole minutes.
Even with Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme being a nonfactor in the first half, combining for just 4 points, the Zags stepped up with an aggressive defense in the paint and attacking the perimeter on offense.
“I thought we had pretty good energy and obviously Julian (Strawther) was great, but I thought defensively our energy was better,” head coach Mark Few on the first half of play for the Zags.
Gonzaga shot 57.7% from the field and 50% from downtown. The Zags put the exclamation point on the end of the game with two runaway slam dunks that rocked the arena to put the Gaels away.
This marks Coach Few’s 17th automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the most in NCAA tournament history.
Zags dominate without Timme and Holmgren
Two of the top players for Gonzaga were limited by Saint Mary’s defense. Big man Holmgren shot 1 for 7 from the field while Timme’s only points came off two free throws in the first half.
Both players were a non-factor in the Feb. 26 loss to the Gaels, with each scoring only 6 points apiece.
However, Julian Strawther stepped up in place of Holmgren and Timme. The Vegas native scored 13 points in the first half, shooting 3-for-3 from deep.
He was less of a factor in the second half as Rasir Bolton and Andrew Nembhard led the charge. Bolton shot 5 for 8 from the field, 2 for 3 from deep, and 6 for 7 from the free-throw line for a total of 18 points.
Nembhard shot 8 for 16 from the field and 3-for-5 from downtown. He had 7 assists and led the Zags with 19 points.
Chet Holmgren continued to be shut out by Saint Mary’s with 4 fouls and finished the game with 8 points, two of which did not come until the waning moments of the game.
Saint Mary’s shorten spark
With a 10-point deficit at the half, the Gaels drew closer to taking the lead. SMC cut down the Zags lead to 3 points in the early moments after halftime.
Logan Johnson led both squads with 21 points shooting 9 for 14 from the field, dominating for the Gaels.
Tommy Kuhse came into the game leading the Gaels shooting 44.9% from three. He was 2 for 4 from downtown with 7 rebounds and 15 points.
Unfortunately for Saint Mary’s, their spark would not last long. SMC committed 12 turnovers to finish the game and struggled to attack the perimeter, shooting 5 for 16 from deep with one three-pointer in the second half.
The last time the Gaels beat Gonzaga in the postseason came in the 2019 WCC title game, their last WCC Championship.
Coming up
The Gonzaga Bulldogs improve to 26-3 on the season and now they will wait for Selection Sunday to find out if they are the No.1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Saint Mary’s Gaels fall to 25-7 on the season.
