March 10, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Brayden Smith (3) shoots a basketball against Santa Clara Broncos guard Thierry Dahlan (15) during the first half at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Image Freshman Mario Saint-Supery scored a season-high 21 points and made six 3-pointers to help top-seeded Gonzaga cruise to a 79-68 victory over Santa Clara on Tuesday night in Las Vegas and clinch the West Coast Conference tournament title for the 22nd time in the past 28 seasons.
Tyon Grant-Foster had 20 points and seven rebounds as the Bulldogs (30-3) claimed the WCC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Graham Ike added 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting and Davis Fogle added 13 points off the bench for Gonzaga, which was playing in the WCC title game for the last time before moving to the rebuilt Pac-12 next season.
Christian Hammond scored 24 points and Allen Graves added 11 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Broncos (26-8).
Santa Clara is expected to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament field after defeating second-seeded St. Mary’s in the semifinals. The Broncos haven’t participated in March Madness since 1996, during the Steve Nash era, when they made three appearances in four seasons.
With Saint Mary’s firmly entrenched in the field, if Santa Clara is selected, it would mark the fourth time the WCC will have three teams in the NCAA field.
The Bulldogs shot 52.8 percent from the field and were 10 of 25 from 3-point range, improving to 3-0 against the Broncos this season. Gonzaga had a 27-0 advantage on fast break points.
Santa Clara shot 38.2 percent, including a shaky 9 of 34 from behind the arc.
Gonzaga never led the contest until Fogle drained a 3-pointer for a 50-49 advantage with 13:08 left.
But that trey started a sequence in which the Bulldogs won 18 of 25 points. Saint-Supery hit two 3-pointers during the run, the latter giving Gonzaga a 65-56 lead with 6:33 remaining.
After Santa Clara moved to within five, Saint-Supery buried a wide-open 3-pointer to make it 68-60 with 4:34 left.
Fogle’s 3-point play made it 75-65 with 1:12 left as Gonzaga clinched its final WCC title game in style.
Hammond scored 12 first-half points as Santa Clara led 33-29 at halftime. The Broncos outscored the Bulldogs 23-15 and had a 13-0 advantage in second-chance points in the first 20 minutes.
The Broncos opened the game on a 9-1 run and Gonzaga tied the game at 16 on Fogle’s driving hoop with 9:37 left in the second half.
Santa Clara took a 33-25 lead after Sash Gavalyugov’s 3-pointer with 1:55 left before the Bulldogs scored the final four points of the half.
Ike scored 4 points by making 2 shots in the first half alone.
–Field level media
