The Saint Mary’s Gaels took care of business on Sunday in the WCC Tournament, dropping Santa Clara in the semifinals, 73-64. The Gaels, who were given an automatic berth to the semis by virtue of their first-place finish in the WCC regular season, took a two-point lead into the half over the perky Broncos before finally pulling away down the stretch to secure a berth in the finals with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Mitchell Young came off the bench for the Gaels, scoring a team-high 15 points in 32 minutes. Stephen Holt added 15 points, Matthew Dellavedova added 13 and Mickey McConnell added 10. Young also had a team-high seven rebounds, with Dellavedova and McConnell dishing out six and five assists respectively.
Marc Trasolini led all scorers with 22 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Broncos, who couldn’t hang with top-seeded St. Mary’s late. Kevin Foster added 18 points and a team-high five rebounds for Santa Clara. Evan Roguemore was also in double-figures, finishing with 12 points. Foster also finished with a team-high four assists.
Santa Clara finishes the season at 19-14, including an 8-6 mark in WCC play. St. Mary’s moves on to face the winner of Sunday night’s Gonzaga-San Francisco matchup in the WCC finals.
Stay tuned to our 2011 WCC Tournament StoryStream throughout the tournament for the latest news and updates. For another take, check out SB Nation Bay Area's 2011 West Coast Conference Tournament StoryStream. For more on Gonzaga, check out SB Nation's Slipper Still Fits.