By Greg Beacham
Associated PressLAS VEGAS ó Coach Mark Few sensed the gathering inevitability from the opening minutes of Gonzaga’s final landslide victory in a conference season full of them.
When the deeply talented, tournament-tested Zags get rolling, even their toughest West Coast Conference rival is just a trifling bump on the road to bigger stages and better opponents in another NCAA tournament.
Josh Heytvelt scored 17 points, Micah Downs added 12 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 12 Gonzaga romped to its 11th consecutive NCAA appearance with an 83-58 victory over Saint Mary’s and struggling star Patty Mills on Monday in the WCC final.
Matt Bouldin had 14 points and seven assists for the relentless Zags (26-5) in a win showcasing the balance that could make them a March nightmare. With six Zags scoring in double figures and playing even better on defense, they followed up their perfect regular-season conference slate with a second blowout win in the WCC tournament, giving them 19 victories in their last 20 games.
“If we play like that in the NCAA tournament, we’re going to go a really, really, really long way,” Few said. “We’re playing better than we have all year.”
With Mills going 2-for-16 in his second game back from a broken hand, Saint Mary’s (25-6) never threatened.