Gonzaga 77, Saint Mary's 68: Live score updates recap, highlights

Gonzaga beats Saint Mary's to clinch a share of the WCC crown

The Gonzaga Bulldogs beat the Saint Mary's Gaels 77-68 Saturday night in Spokane, Washington to capture a share of the West Coast Conference men's basketball championship. 

The game was broadcast live on ESPN and featured on College GameDay's show early Saturday morning.

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Gonzaga Nation reporters and photographers were courtside throughout the game to bring you live updates, photos, video highlights, game recaps and much more. 

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Here is the live updates recap:

SECOND HALF UPDATES

Final score: Gonzaga 77, Saint Mary's 68

Drew Timme finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds and likely clinched WCC Player of the Year honors. Anton Watson had a tremendous game with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.

Logan Johnson led Saint Mary's with 27 points. Freshman point guard Aiden Mahaney, the Gaels' leading scorer, was held to 9 points.

4th media timeout: Gonzaga leads Saint Mary's 67-59 with 3:33 left in the game. Drew Timme left the game with 6:57 left after picking up his fourth foul.

3rd media timeout: Gonzaga leads 63-50 with 8 minutes to play. Drew Timme has asserted himself with 17 points and 6 rebounds.

2nd media timeout: Here comes Aiden Mahaney and Saint Mary's. Mahaney drilled two 3-pointers to help the Gaels cut Gonzaga's lead to 54-48 with 10:59 left in the game.

1st media timeout: Gonzaga has extended its lead to 48-32 with 15:56 left in the game. Anton Watson continues to torch Saint Mary's inside and out. He has 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

FIRST HALF UPDATES

Halftime: Gonzaga 39, Saint Mary's 26

Gonzaga's 3/4 court press helped force eight Saint Mary's turnovers as the Zags raced out to a 13-point halftime lead. Anton Watson had a terrific first 20 minutes with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.

The press has taken the ball out of the hands of Saint Mary's star freshman Aiden Mahaney. He is 0-for-2 with three turnovers. Logan Johnson has kept Saint Mary's in the game with 15 points.

Here are some first half highlights:

4th media timeout: Gonzaga has pulled away in the past four minutes, largely in part to several turnovers from Saint Mary's. Gonzaga leads 33-20 with 3:19 left in the half. Anton Watson continues to lead the Zags with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.

3rd media timeout: Gonzaga leads Saint Mary's 20-14 with 7:42 left in the first half. Anton Watson has 6 points and 4 rebounds for the Zags, including a huge "and-one" baseline dunk:

2nd media timeout: Gonzaga leads Saint Mary's 14-12 with 11:42 left in the first half. Logan Johnson has 7 points for Saint Mary's and Drew Timme has 4 points for Gonzaga.

1st media timeout: Gonzaga jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Saint Mary's came right back to tie the game at 5-5. At the first media timeout - with 14:21 left in the first half - the score is tied at 7-7.

PREGAME UPDATES

Gonzaga Nation's Dan Dickau interviewed ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg just before tip off. Greenberg said the atmosphere around Saturday morning's College GameDay show was the best one he has ever seen.

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The McCarthey Athletic Center is already rocking and Gonzaga Nation's Dan Dickau has his pregame analysis:

GameDay is here! @dandickau21 has some last thoughts on Gonzaga vs St Mary’s pic.twitter.com/eKd7CPBV3z

— Gonzaga Nation (@GonzagaOnSI) February 26, 2023