Nearly seven minutes had elapsed in the second half and top-seeded Gonzaga still hadn’t enjoyed a single moment with the lead against Santa Clara in the title game of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship on Tuesday night.

Finally, the Zags began to secure defensive rebounds, allowing them to unleash their transition game on the way to a 79-68 victory at Orleans Arena.

“Bricking their way through a bunch of free throws and making some bonehead turnovers,” was how Gonzaga head coach Mark Few described portions of the game, especially early. “But we find ways to get stops on defense and then we get out running and pitch it ahead. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”

Not every statistic tells the story of a basketball game, but this one was loud and clear: The Zags outscored Santa Clara 27-0 on fastbreak points, and there was no coming back from that for the third-seeded Broncos.

Gonzaga (30-3), playing in its 29th consecutive conference tournament championship game, claims the league’s automatic bid to its 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Zags have assembled their ninth 30-win season, their first since 2023.

“It’s an amazing feeling. You can’t get tired of winning championships, man,” said senior forward Graham Ike, who didn’t miss a shot on the way to a hard-earned 15 points and took home the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award. “Back-to-back champs — you don’t hear that every day. I’m just glad I can be part of such a great legacy and lineage.”

Head coach Herb Sendek’s Broncos (26-8) had hoped to win their first West Coast Conference tournament crown since 1993. This was their first appearance in the title game since 2007, when they also lost to Gonzaga.

But no one will be surprised if Santa Clara is awarded an NCAA at-large bid on Selection Sunday and will be part of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Steve Nash was a senior in 1996. The Broncos and Saint Mary’s (27-5), which shared the regular-season title with Gonzaga, are expected to make it a three-bid year for the conference. 

Certainly, Few expects the Broncos to be smiling on Sunday. “I think it’ll be great news,” he said. “They’re an NCAA Tournament team. I told Herb that after the game. 

“I think they’re a team that can win a game and maybe several. They’ve got size, they’ve got great guard play, they play great defense, they spread you out because they can really shoot the 3. They’re going to be a tough out for someone, especially with that size and athleticism around the rim.”

Sendek tries to avoid speculating on the subject, but senior forward Elijah Mahi expects the Broncos to get the call. “We’re confident, for sure,” he said.

Sendek praised his team’s toughness and persistence, but acknowledged that 38-percent shooting, including 9-for-34 from the 3-point arc, made it tough to stay with Gonzaga.

“Some of those misses, given our aggressiveness on the offensive glass, triggered their transition game,” said Sendek, whose club grabbed 20 offensive rebounds. “They are historically, as well as this year, one of the best transition teams in all of basketball, if not the best. That was certainly a factor for us.”

IKE SHOWS PATIENCE, TOUGHNESS: Graham Ike, the conference Player of the Year, was held to two shot attempts in the first half as the Broncos either double-teamed or sent traps at him. 

“It’s time for somebody else to make plays,” Few said. “We have to find other people. This was a really aggressive double team. We needed to get the other guys organized properly because they were not doing a good job of making themselves available.”

The Zags finally got Ike the help he needed, with wing Tyon Grant-Foster scoring 20 points and freshman point guard Mario Saint-Supery cashing in 21, including six 3-pointers. Three of them came in a span of less than four minutes as Gonzaga extended a 57-54 lead to 68-60.

The Zags never panicked on offense, and finished shooting nearly 53 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and totaling 24 assists on 28 baskets. Their one glaring issue offensively, as Few referenced, was at the free throw line, where they missed seven of their first 10 attempts on the way to a 13-for-23 effort.

In the meantime, Ike stayed patience and knew his teammates would not forget him. “Ultimately, they found me,” said Ike, who finished with 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting. “I just wanted to continue to impact the game without scoring the ball. I’m glad I could do that with blocked shots and rebounds. Really just energy and effort and leadership.”

Sendek thought the Broncos defended the 6-foot-9 forward about as well as anyone can expect. “That’s always a great sign that a guy’s really good if he’s 7 for 7 and has 15 points and you’re crediting the defense for a good job,” Sendek said. “That just speaks to his brilliance. 

“He is arguably the best low-post scorer in all of college basketball. But yeah, we were determined to limit his catches the best we could. We gave it our best shot on him. At least prevented him from having one of his crazy 35-point games.”

FRESHMEN DELIVER FOR THE ZAGS: Saint-Supery and fellow freshman Davis Fogle, a 6-foot-7 guard who comes off the bench, were big for the Zags. Saint-Supery, besides his 21 points, spearheaded the fastbreak. Fogle buried a 3-pointer with 13:09 to play that gave Gonzaga its first lead of the night and wound up with 13 points and eight rebounds.

“Their confidence is always at an all-time high,” Ike said of the two rookies. “They feel like they can make any shot at any time. They’re not freshmen anymore after that game. They stepped up to the plate and they took full advantage of the opportunity.”

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Ike, who totaled 39 points and 14 rebounds in two victories, was named Most Outstanding Player. He was joined on the five-man all-tournament team by teammates Grant-Foster and Saint-Supery.

Santa Clara’s Allen Graves, with 39 points and 18 rebounds in three games, and Sash Gavalyugov, who totaled 42 points and 17 assists, also were honored.