Drew Timme scored 18 points and became Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer to lead the sharp-shooting No. 9 Bulldogs past No. 16 Saint Mary’s 77-51 on Tuesday night in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game in Las Vegas.
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 takes a nine-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga made 58% of its shots, while holding Saint Mary’s to 33% shooting. The Zags led by as many as 37 points and never trailed.
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 he now has 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.
CHARLESTON 63, UNC WILMINGTON 58 >> Ryan Larson scored 23 points to lead the No. 2-seeded Cougars (31-3) past the fourth-seeded Seawolves (24-10) in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship game in Washington, D.C..
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 63, CLEVELAND ST. 61 >> Marques Warrick scored 18 points to lead the Norse (22-12) to victory over the Vikings (21-13) in the Horizon League Tournament championship game in Indianapolis.
ORAL ROBERTS 92, NORTH DAKOTA ST. 58 >> Max Abmas scored 26 points and distributed 11 assists and the Golden Eagles overwhelmed the Bison (16-17) in the Summit League Tournament championship game in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Patrick Mwamba added 20 points for Oral Roberts (30-4), which finished 18-0 in league play and won twice in the league’s postseason tournament.
MERRIMACK 67, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 66 >> Ziggy Reid scored 23 points, Jordan Minor had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists and the Warriors closed on an 8-0 run to beat the second-seeded Knights to capture the Northeast Conference Tournament championship in North Andover, Mass.
Top-seeded Merrimack (18-16), which is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to a four-year transition to Division I, closed its season on an 11-game winning streak. Fairleigh Dickinson (19-15) had already secured the conference’s automatic bid in the Big Dance.
Women
PORTLAND 64, NO. 16 GONZAGA 60 >> Maisie Burnham scored 19 points, Alex Fowler had 15 points and 11 rebounds and the Pilots (23-8) beat the two-time defending West Coast Conference Tournament champion Bulldogs (28-4) in the tourney title game in Las Vegas.
Gonzaga’s Yvonne Ejim had 21 points and 14 rebounds.