No. 1 Gonzaga clinches WCC title with 81-69 win over Santa Clara
Feb 19, 2022, 8:47 PM
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Drew Timme scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Andrew Nembhard added 21 points, and top-ranked Gonzaga beat Santa Clara 81-69 on Saturday night to clinch its 10th straight West Coast Conference regular-season title.
Gonzaga 81, Santa Clara 69: Box Score
THREEEEE ‼️#WCChoops | @ZagMBB pic.twitter.com/WmQRg0W6uJ
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) February 20, 2022
Rasir Bolton added 18 points for Gonzaga (23-2, 12-0), which won its 16th consecutive game and its 67th straight home game, a streak that dates to 2018 and is the longest in the nation.
🗣 WHAT HE SAID ‼️#WCChoops | @ZagMBB pic.twitter.com/uxMz33lg4F
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) February 20, 2022
The Zags are the current front-runner for the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
📣 Chet Chet Chet #WCChoops | @ZagMBB pic.twitter.com/XLgUpvsIYv
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) February 20, 2022
PJ Pipes scored 27 points and Jalen Williams 15 for Santa Clara (18-10, 8-5), which ranks third in the WCC. The team is fighting for Santa Clara’s first postseason tournament berth since 2013.
The games was tied at 18 with 10 minutes left in the first half. But the Zags erupted for a 20-4 run and Santa Clara missed 10 of 11 field-goal attempts. Pipes then scored seven points to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 41-31 by halftime.
Santa Clara got within single digits several times early in the second half, but the Bulldogs led 59-46 with 12 minutes left.
Pipes’ 3-pointer drew Santa Clara to 59-53 with just under 10 minutes left, but a 13-6 run by the Zags made it 72-59.
A pair of 3-pointers by Nembhard lifted Gonzaga to a 78-62 lead with just over two minutes left, and Santa Clara did not threaten again.
Saturday was senior night and the final home game of the season for Gonzaga, which honored Bolton, Nembhard, Matthew Lang and Will Graves.
BIG PICTURE
Santa Clara: The Broncos have lost 24 straight games to Gonzaga, dating to 2011. … Four Broncos starters average in double figures.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs have won 33 straight conference games dating to a loss at BYU in 2020, the longest such streak in the nation. … Gonzaga leads the nation in scoring (89.9 points per game), field-goal percentage (53.5%) and scoring margin (25.5 ppg). … Since 2017, the Zags have spent 35 weeks ranked No. 1 out of 110 AP polls. Duke is second at 18 weeks in that span.
UP NEXT
Santa Clara: At Pepperdine next Thursday.
Gonzaga: Wraps up the regular season at San Francisco on Thursday and at Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
