By Mark Anderson / The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Alex Ducas set the tone with 18 of his 21 points in the first half, and No. 21 Saint Mary’s went on to beat Santa Clara 79-65 on Monday night to make the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
The Gaels (25-7) will play No. 17 Gonzaga or San Francisco on Tuesday night in the title game.
Ducas made 7 of 11, all 3-pointers, and at halftime appeared well on his way to breaking his personal high of 25 points. But the Gaels had plenty of offensive weapons, with three other players also scoring in double figures that included Mason Forbes with 18 points.
Carlos Marshall Jr. led Santa Clara (20-13) with 26 points, and Christian Hammond had 13.
Saint Mary’s is in the WCC title game for third year in a row and fifth time in six years. The Gaels, who won the regular-season championship outright for the first time in 12 years, last took home the tournament crown in 2019.
They head into the championship having won 22 of 24 games, though the Gaels ended the regular season with a 70-57 loss to Gonzaga on March 2.
Saint Mary’s got going right away against Santa Clara when Ducas made two 3-pointers, prompting Broncos coach Herb Sendek to called a timeout just 59 seconds into the game.
The Gaels used an eight-point run to pull ahead for good at 31-23.
Mitchell Saxen, the WCC defensive player of the year, picked up his fourth foul with 12:13 left and played only 25 minutes. He finished with nine points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 2:45 left.
Saint Mary’s made nine shots in a row at one point and finished shooting 53.6%.