LAS VEGAS — Drew Timme scored 18 points and became Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer to lead the sharpshooting No. 9 Bulldogs past No. 16 Saint Mary’s 77-51 on Tuesday night in the West Coast Conference tournament championship game.
The Zags (28-5) continued their domination of the WCC with their fourth consecutive 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) actually was seeded first in the tournament, and the teams split the regular-season series. The Gaels were the last team to beat Gonzaga, which enters the NCAA tournament on a nine-game winning streak that includes beating Saint Mary’s to end the regular season.
“We came in here as a 2-seed and it was nice to be an underdog for once,” Timme said in an on-court interview after the game. “It felt good and … I’m leaving here 4-for-4 on championships, baby. That’s all we do over here at GU.”
Both teams will find out their seedings and destinations Sunday.
“This team has taken some flak this year,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “And you know … every team’s different. And it took some time for them to put their own stamp on this. But here they are. They’re 28-5. They’re regular-season champions and WCC conference tournament champions, OK? Like Drew said, that’s what we do. … And I’m telling you, we’ve done this a lot here.
“But I don’t know if I’ve ever been as proud as a group collectively, from where we were to where we are now.”
Gonzaga made 58% of its shots, while holding Saint Mary’s to 33% shooting. The Gaels led by as many as 37 points and never trailed.
Timme was efficient in making 8 of 10 shots to lead four Bulldogs in double figures. Malachi Smith scored 14 points, Nolan Hickman 12 points and Julian Strawther 10. Anton Watson had 10 rebounds.
Timme’s short jumper with 10:18 left put him in first place alone as the leading scorer in Gonzaga history. He entered just five points short of breaking the mark, and his 18 points for the game gave him 2,210 for his career. Frank Burgess held the previous record of 2,196 from 1958 to ’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 maintained a double-digit lead most of the way from there. The Zags at one point in the first half made 10 of 12 field goals, and by halftime, they had taken full command with a 37-19 lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.