Top seed Gonzaga to play No. 2 seed St. Mary’s for championship Monday night
Steven Gray scored 18 points, Elias Harris added 16 and No. 18 Gonzaga advanced to the West Coast Conference tournament final with a 77-62 victory over Loyola Marymount tonight at the Orleans Arena.
Matt Bouldin scored 10 of his 12 points after halftime for the Zags (26-5), whose big early lead dwindled to six points in the final minutes before Bol Kong and Robert Sacre made decisive baskets.
Gonzaga advanced to Monday night’s title game against Portland or Saint Mary’s with its fifth straight victory since losing a regular-season game to Loyola Marymount on Feb. 18.
Drew Viney had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Lions (18-15), who put another scare into the Zags to cap their comeback from a three-win season in 2008-09.
ST. MARY’S 69, PORTLAND 55
Omar Samhan had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Mickey McConnell scored 16 points and Saint Mary’s advanced to the West Coast Conference tournament final for the second straight year with a 69-55 victory over Portland tonight.
Matthew Dellavedova also had 16 points for the second-seeded Gaels (25-5), who will face No. 18 Gonzaga on Monday night at the Orleans Arena. The Zags routed Saint Mary’s 83-58 in last season’s final.
Jorden Page scored 14 points as the Gaels pulled away with a 27-8 run in the second half.
Ethan Niedermeyer scored 12 points for the third-seeded Pilots (21-10), who made less than 29 percent of their shots. Leading scorer T.J. Campbell managed just seven points on 2-for-12 shooting, and Robin Smeulders was 3 for 12.
