Drew Timme scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as top-ranked Gonzaga clinched the West Coast Conference regular-season championship by defeating Santa Clara 81-69 Saturday night in Spokane, Wash.
Teammate Andrew Nembhard scored 21 points, making five 3-pointers, with eight assists and six rebounds. Rasir Bolton added 18 points, and Chet Holmgren had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (23-2, 12-0 WCC), who won their 16th consecutive game.
Gonzaga clinched with two games remaining, earning at least a share of the conference title for the 10th straight year and 21st time in Mark Few’s 23 seasons as coach.
PJ Pipes scored 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting and Jalen Williams had 15 points for the Broncos (18-10, 8-5).
Pipes nearly single-handedly kept the Broncos in the game, making a 3-pointer with 9:55 left to close the gap to 59-53 and threaten the Zags’ streak of 29 straight conference wins by double-digits.
Timme made a three-point play and a hook shot, and Bolton made a 3-pointer and two free throws to extend the lead to 67-55. The Broncos never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
The Broncos made five of their first seven field-goal attempts and stayed even with the Zags for the opening 10 minutes. Nembhard scored on a driving layup with 9:08 left in the first half to break an 18-all tie and spark a 6-0 Gonzaga run.
The Zags used an 11-0 run late in the half to take a 40-24 lead with 1:30 left. The Broncos cut the margin to 41-31 by the intermission.
The Zags shot 40.3 percent from the field (27 of 67), making 12 of 35 from 3-point range. The Broncos made 41.4 percent of their attempts (24 of 58).
In attendance were former GU standouts Jalen Suggs, Killian Tillie and Kelly Olynyk, who returned to Spokane to help celebrate Senior Night during the NBA’s All-Star break.
–Field Level Media
