Gonzaga star Drew Timme (6'10''-C/F-2000) picked up his third personal foul and went to the bench with 17:11 to play in Tuesday night's championship game of the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament. It didn't matter a bit.
The ninth-ranked Zags had built a 41-21 lead over No. 16 Saint Mary's by that point, and breezed to a 77-51 triumph in front of a Spokane-fueled crowd of 9,500 at the Orleans Arena.
The Zags (28-5) earned the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and the Gaels (26-7) are sure to land an at-large bid.
This wasn't about that.
This was about WCC bragging rights, and the Zags won those emphatically, capturing their fourth straight WCC tourney crown, their 21st overall. And they did it as a rare No. 2 seed in this event, with the Gaels earning the top spot after the teams shared the regular-season title.
"I can't even describe it, man, "said tournament Most Outstanding Player Timme in his postgame interview during the trophy celebration. "We came in here as a 2 seed - it was nice to be a an underdog for once. I'm leaving here 4-for-4 on (WCC) championships. That's all we do."
This was Gonzaga's 26th consecutive appearance in the conference title game. It also was the 11th time the Zags and Gaels met in the championship game since 2009, and Gonzaga now has won eight of those.
For Timme, who on Tuesday was named to The Sporting News' All-America first-team, this was his farewell appearance at the Orleans. His final bow here was a total success.
The 6-foot-10 senior forward from Richardson, Texas, scored 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting to go with six rebounds, despite playing just 20 minutes due to the foul trouble. With his third basket of the night, a hook shot from the lane with 10:17 left in the first half, Timme pushed the Gonzaga lead to 21-12 and broke the program career scoring record.
Timme now has 2,210 points, eclipsing the 62-year-old record of 2,196 points set by Frank Burgess.
Coach Mark Few chuckled when asked he if thought Timme would someday become Gonzaga's career scoring record holder when they recruited him. "I knew he was somebody we wanted in our program, "he said. "I knew he'd be good player and he'd be a perfect fit. His confident persona gives us all that edge."
Timme sat for more than seven minutes after collecting his third foul, and all the Zags did in his absence was outscore Saint Mary's, 16-8. He returned to the court with 9:50 left and almost immediately was whistled for his fourth foul, a decision heavily booed by Gonzaga fans when a replay was shown.
Timme simply smiled as he traipsed back to the bench, never to return. The Zags didn't need him, leading 57-29 by that point.
This one was competitive only briefly. The Gaels trailed just 5-4 after four and a half minutes, but the Zags led, 37-19, at halftime, and the margin reached 37 points with four minutes left.
"Just an awesome performance by the guys tonight, "Few said. "They put it together on both sides of the ball and on the rebounding side of it. That's a really good rebounding team and I thought we matched their physicality."
Gonzaga forged a 32-25 rebounding edge on the WCC's best team on the boards. The Zags also held Saint Mary's to 33-percent shooting, and that figure was 24 percent 4 minutes into the second half.
"We didn't play well and they did, "Gaels coach Randy Bennett said. "We played 32 games and we played pretty well in 32 of them. In this one we were awful. They played well, we didn't show up.
"For two years we have not let anyone separate from us and tonight it happened. We got down 10 or 12 and we let it bother us."
Malachi Smith scored 14 points for the Zags, Nolan Hickman (6'2''-PG) had 12, Julian Strawther (6'7''-G-2002) 10 and Anton Watson (6'8''-F-2000) had nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Logan Johnson (6'2''-G-1999) led the Gaels with 20 points, but many of those came after the issue was settled. Alex Ducas (6'7''-G/F-2000) added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Few said he is proud of how his players fought through some early criticism. It's a testament to how good the Zags' program has become that when the team has five defeats - equal to the most in seven years - it's a sign for some fans that the sky is falling.
"I think this team felt a lot of flack, especially early, he said. "There's a lot of pressure playing for Gonzaga. We have high expectations but we also have belief in ourselves. I applaud them for sticking with the plan."

BENNETT PRAISES THE ZAGS: Saint Mary's beat the Zags, 78-70, in overtime on Feb. 4, but Gonzaga has won nine in a row since then, including a 77-68 win over the Gaels in Spokane 10 days ago. Asked to compare them to recent Gonzaga teams, Bennett said these Zags aren't stocked with a lot of future NBA stars.
"But they have become a very good team, "Bennett said. "They're a tough out for whoever gets them (in the NCAA Tournament). They are better than people think. They've blended that group into a really good team. This is the best we've seen Gonzaga."

TIMME'S CRAZY RECORD: Along with setting the Gonzaga scoring record, Timme improved on his remarkable win-loss record with the Zags. He is now 106 games over .500 in four seasons at 118-12. Few's reaction when he heard those numbers was to say "Wow." Then he added, "He gives you incredible belief as a teammate, incredible belief as a coach. That's all he does - win."
"That right there kind of eclipses it all, "Strawther said of the team's win-loss record with Timme. "We just win when he's on the court. He's been an amazing teammate. I'm super-happy for him to finally get that all-time scoring record."
Bennett, a big fan of Timme, won't miss playing him again. "Just let me know where I've got to go send him off on his senior night, "Bennett said. "He's a great player."

IMPACT ON GAELS' SEEDING: ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi projected Gonzaga as a No. 3 seed into the NCAA field on Sunday and envisioned Saint Mary's as a No. 5. But the Gaels' NET computer ranking of No. 9 is sure to dip. If nothing else, we imagine the Zags will climb past the Gaels from their Tuesday slot at No. 10.
Asked how this outcome might impact this, Bennett said, "It didn't help, I know that much. I don't know what we would have been seeded. I don't know what we all be seeded."

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Two-time WCC Player of the Year Timme won WCC tourney MOP honors for the second time, following his award in 2021. The Zags' Andrew Nembhard (6'5''-G-2000, college: Gonzaga) won it last season.
Joining him on the all-tournament team were Gonzaga's Julian Strawther and Anton Watson, USF's Khalil Shabazz (6'0''-PG) and Saint Mary's Alex Ducas.

Courtesy of wccsports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Drew Timme (6'10''-C/F-2000) of Gonzaga
Co-Player of the Year: Brandin Podziemski (6'5''-G) of Santa Clara
Co-Player of the Year: Drew Timme (6'10''-C/F-2000) of Gonzaga
Defensive Player of the Year: Logan Johnson (6'2''-G-1999) of St.Mary's, CA
Newcomer of the Year: Brandin Podziemski (6'5''-G) of Santa Clara
Sixth Man of the Year: Malachi Smith (6'4''-G-1999) of Gonzaga
Coach of the Year: Randy Bennett of St.Mary's, CA

First Team
Logan Johnson (6'2''-G-1999) of St.Mary's, CA
Aidan Mahaney (6'3''-G) of St.Mary's, CA
Brandin Podziemski (6'5''-G) of Santa Clara
Tyrell Roberts (5'11''-PG) of USF
Mitchell Saxen (6'10''-C) of St.Mary's, CA
Khalil Shabazz (6'0''-PG) of USF
Cameron Shelton (6'2''-G) of LMU
Carlos Stewart (6'1''-G) of Santa Clara
Julian Strawther (6'7''-G-2002) of Gonzaga
Drew Timme (6'10''-C/F-2000) of Gonzaga

All-WCC Second Team 2023

Earlington

Justice

Lewis

Traore

Wood

Second Team
Marcellus Earlington (6'7''-G-2000) of San Diego
Keshawn Justice (6'7''-F) of Santa Clara
Maxwell Lewis (6'7''-F) of Pepperdine
Fousseyni Traore (6'6''-F-2002) of BYU
Moses Wood (6'8''-F-1999) of Portland

All-WCC Honorable Mention 2023

Boone

Ducas

Johnson

Leaupepe

Robertson

Watson

Honorable Mention
Keylan Boone (6'8''-G/F-2000) of Pacific
Alex Ducas (6'7''-G/F-2000) of St.Mary's, CA
Spencer Johnson (6'5''-G) of BYU
Keli Leaupepe (6'6''-F-2000) of LMU
Tyler Robertson (6'6''-G/F-2000) of Portland
Anton Watson (6'8''-F-2000) of Gonzaga

All-WCC All-Freshman Team 2023

Gorosito

Hall

Mahaney

Odum

Porter

All-Freshman Team
Juan Gorosito (6'1''-G-2003) of Portland
Dallin Hall (6'4''-G) of BYU
Aidan Mahaney (6'3''-G) of St.Mary's, CA
Moe Odum (6'1''-G) of Pacific
Jevon Porter (6'11''-F) of Pepperdine

All-Academic Team
Rasir Bolton (6'3''-G-1999) of Gonzaga
Kyle Bowen (6'8''-F-2000) of St.Mary's, CA
Keshawn Justice (6'7''-F) of Santa Clara
Keli Leaupepe (6'6''-F-2000) of LMU
Zane Meeks (6'9''-F) of USF
Chika Nduka (6'5''-F) of Portland
Tyler Robertson (6'6''-G/F-2000) of Portland
Mitchell Saxen (6'10''-C) of St.Mary's, CA
Cameron Shelton (6'2''-G) of LMU
Fousseyni Traore (6'6''-F-2002) of BYU
Parker All (6'7''-F) of Covenant