LAS VEGAS — A marksman in the first half, Alex Ducas became facilitator after intermission, helping Saint Mary’s to a 79-65 victory over rival Santa Clara in the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship on Monday night.
The fifth-year senior from Australia scorched the Orleans Arena nets in the first half, tying a program record by making six 3-pointers (out of seven attempts). Ducas contributed three assists early in the second half as the top-seeded Gaels (25-7) advanced to the championship game at the WCC event for the third year in a row.
Saint Mary’s shook off a loss to Gonzaga nine days earlier that snapped a nation-leading 16-game winning streak and now is positioned to pair its regular-season title with a WCC tournament crown.
“That’s the game we wanted to be in,” Gaels head coach Randy Bennett said. “One of our goals to start the year was to win the conference and win the tournament. We have a big challenge ahead of us, but I was really proud of how our guys played tonight.”
The Gaels, who most recently won this event in 2019, will face No. 2 seed Gonzaga. Tipoff is 6 p.m. and ESPN will broadcast the game.
Ducas waited just 15 seconds before hitting his first 3-pointer, then made another one before the game’s opening minute was complete. “Alex got us off to a good start, knocking down back-to-back 3’s,” Bennett said.
He gave the Gaels the lead to stay at 26-23 when he made one with 3:51 left in the half. Ducas then fed Mason Forbes for a dunk before making his sixth 3-pointer for a 31-23 advantage with 2:34 left.
“Every time I shoot the ball, I think it’s going in,” Ducas said. “To see a couple go through the net was really good. It’s my job, what I bring to the team, to space the floor and shoot the ball.”
Over the past eight games, Ducas is shooting a remarkable 59.6 percent (34 for 57) from deep. But it took him a while to get fully healthy and find that rhythm after suffering a back injury in the NCAA Tournament last year that Bennett said sidelined him for four months.
“He’s a high-level shooter,” Bennett said. “If you look at our shooting numbers early in the year, they are horrific. As he came on, we were really efficient in league.”
After missing his first attempt from deep early in the second half, Ducas set up baskets with passes to center Mitchell Saxen and Forbes, as the lead climbed to 42-31. Meanwhile, Aidan Mahaney took on the 3-point assignment, hitting a pair, before Ducas delivered a pick-and-roll dish to Saxen for a basket that made it 51-37.
“Coach likes it when I throw a few passes in practice,” he said, smiling. “I just get it to these guys and they do the rest of the work.”
Saxen picked up his fourth foul moments later and went to the bench. But WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis orchestrated the Gaels’ offense from the point and the 6-foot-9 Forbes made sure they didn’t miss their big man too much.
Forbes, whose sister McKenzie Forbes was the hero of USC’s victory over Stanford in Sunday’s Pac-12 Tournament final, delivered a family encore by making eight of nine field-goal attempts to score 18 points.
“I don’t think I’m quite there yet,” Forbes said, alluding to his sister’s 26-point performance. “We have one more game until I can be in that conversation.”
He struggled only at the free throw line, where he missed his first seven tries. But when Forbes made a pair in the final four minutes, the Saint Mary’s crowd gave him a grateful ovation. “Felt good,” he admitted.
Forbes has played a bigger role since starting forward Joshua Jefferson went out with a leg injury a month ago. Ducas called Forbes’ performance “incredible.”
“I’m super proud of him and he’s such an engine for us,” Ducas said. “When we lost J-Jeff, we knew we were going to be all right because this guy cares so much about the team.”
Marciulionis had 13 points and six assists, Mahaney scored 10 points and Ducas wound up with 21 after his seventh 3-pointer of the night booted the lead to 71-52 with 3:10 to play. He also had four assists.
Santa Clara (20-13) never led by more than one point and never got within single digits in the final 14 minutes. The Gaels outrebounded them 35-24 and held an 18-4 edge in second-chance points after grabbing 11 offensive boards.
“We knew coming into this game (rebounding) was going to be a big factor,” said Broncos’ 7-foot sophomore Christoph Tilly. “They got a bunch of offensive rebounds, too, which lead to points. We’ve got to do it better.”
Carlos Marshall Jr. scored 26 points for the Broncos and Christian Hammond added 13. Freshman guard Adama Alpha Bal, a first-team All-WCC selection who is still coming back from a late-season injury, shot 1-for-7 and scored just two points.
Defended primarily by Forbes, Johnny O’Neil was 1-for-6 and scored just three points one night after going for 20 n the Broncos’ quarterfinal win over San Diego.
Broncos head coach Herb Sendek, whose program posted its third straight 20-win season, said the loss won’t erase the progress his team made.
“Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, if we take a step back and evaluate ourselves, no one will be more critical than we will be,” he said. “But at the same time, I am really excited and encouraged about our momentum, our direction, the progress we’re making. We’re enjoying that journey.”