Title Belongs to Gonzaga Again

Gonzaga, an integral part of March Madness the last two years, earned an NCAA berth by defeating Santa Clara, 80-77, for the West Coast Conference men’s tournament championship Monday night at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

The Bulldogs (24-6), who advanced to the round of eight in 1999 and to the round of 16 last year, became the first team to win three consecutive WCC tournament titles and avenged their only loss in 21 games, shooting 58.1%.

Guard Dan Dickau, a transfer from Washington, scored 25. Gonzaga is 19-2 with Dickau, who sat out nine nonconference games because of a broken finger.

“Now a lot of people know what we’ve known all along, [Dickau] is quite a basketball player,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said.

Third-seeded Santa Clara (20-12) made its first six shots and led, 26-16, but Gonzaga scored 22 of the next 25 and led at halftime, 40-35.

Santa Clara made another run in the second half. Two three-point baskets by Steve Ross and one by Kyle Bailey tied the score, 48-48, with 13 minutes to play.

However, Dickau made two baskets and a free throw in the next minute and Gonzaga led thereafter.

Santa Clara made 15 of 28 three-point shots, including two in the last minute. Brian Jones scored 21, Ross had 20 and Bailey had 15 on five-three pointers.