LAS VEGAS - Basketball fans won’t be surprised to learn Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s will square off Tuesday for the title at the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship. It will be the 15th time since 2004 they’ve collided on the final night of event.
The second-seeded Zags (24-8) made the matchup happen by holding off No. 3 seed San Francisco, 85-76, on Monday night at Orleans Arena. Earlier, the top-seeded and 19th-ranked Gaels (28-4) advanced with a 74-59 verdict over Pepperdine.
For the Zags, this will be their 28th consecutive appearance in the WCC title game.
“Some of these streaks are crazy,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “To make it 28 straight years is unbelievable. I don’t know how many times we’ve beaten San Francisco, and San Francisco’s really good.”
The Zags extended their win streak over the Dons (24-9) to 33 games, a stretch that has USF coach Chris Gerlufsen a bit more than impatient.
“I’m tired of looking forward to the next time,” he said. “I love coach Few, but yeah, our group is a little pissed that we haven’t beaten them. We’re getting closer but closer isn’t good enough for me.”
The Zags get to keep playing and Few doesn’t sound weary of facing the Gaels and coach Randy Bennett.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “If you think about where we both started from . . . from where their program came when Randy took over . . . he’s just done an amazing job. They’ve got a great culture, they know who they are and they play to that.
“They’re very purposeful and very good at what they do, which is very different than how we play and we’re very good at what we do.”
This is the fourth straight year the Zags and Gaels will meet on the final night of the WCC event. Saint Mary’s won last year and swept both regular-season meetings, so Gonzaga is eager for the rematch.
Asked what it would mean to win this one, two-time All-WCC forward Graham Ike said, “It would be beautiful. We need that.”
Ike was a force against USF, scoring 27 points on 9-for-13 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. He also secured 10 rebounds as the Zags dominated the inside. They outrebounded the Dons 40-34 and scored 42 points in the paint.
Guard Khalif Battle added 21 points and the duo was particularly effective in the second half, combining for 33 points as Gonzaga came back from a 37-35 deficit at intermission.
“It took everything we had to hold them off,” Few said. “I thought San Francisco was great tonight. They really got after us, especially early on the defensive end. These guys settled in and had a really good second half against them.”
Gonzaga shot 54 percent from the field in the second half after converting just 37 percent over the first 20 minutes.
Ike, limited by foul trouble to 27 minutes, scored layups on four consecutive possessions to start the second half, getting two feeds from Ben Gregg and two from all-conference point guard Ryan Nembhard, who totaled eight points and eight rebounds.
USF continued to battle and got within one point on three occasions. But Battle answered with 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in a span of 6 and a half minutes.
All-WCC guard Malik Thomas was spectacular for the Dons, scoring 27 points of his own, including 5-for-8 accuracy from the 3-point arc. Four other USF players scored at least nine points, including sophomore Ryan Beasley, who started his second straight game at point guard. He scored 10 first-half points but managed just three more as the Zags tweaked their defense.
Gonzaga’s interior strength helped them forge a 32-14 advantage in free throw attempts. The Zags outscored USF 25-11 at the line.
UP NEXT: Battle said the Zags will need to excel defensively and on the boards against a Saint Mary’s team that leads the NCAA in rebounding margin. “I’m excited about the matchup,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”
Battle came to Gonzaga this year after one season at Arkansas. Prior to that he played one year at Butler and parts of three seasons at Temple. He got his first taste Monday night of how well Gonzaga fans travel to this event, making it feel almost like a home game at times.
“I’ve been a lot of places but being around Zags fans is amazing,” he said “You can’t take two steps at the hotel without someone saying `Go Zags!’ So it’s a big family atmosphere. They’re all invested in us winning. We just want to get a W for them tomorrow and be holding the trophy.”
THE DONS WANT MORE: Gerlufsen said he hopes USF has earned an invitation to the postseason. Few called the Dons an NCAA Tournament team, and Gerlufsen his team deserves a spot in the Big Dance.
"I hope we have a couple more games in us,” Gerlufsen said. “I don’t know what an NCAA Tournament team looks like but I think we have an NCAA Tournament team. That’s how we view ourselves.
“Whether we’ve gotten to that point or not, we obviously have not. Part of moving our forward is competing and continuing to play. We’re not to where we need to yet but we’re getting closer. I love that our guys still want to play.”