LAS VEGAS – For the first time since 2007, Santa Clara men's basketball is heading to the Credit Union 1 WCC Championship final. The Broncos took down rival No. 21 Saint Mary's, 76-71, in Tuesday's semifinal that saw 14 lead changes and six ties, but ultimately ended on a 3-point dagger from redshirt freshman Sash Gavalyugov.

Leading 73-71 and allowing precious seconds to drain off the clock in the waning moments, Gavalyugov knocked down the biggest shot of his life late in the shot clock and with just 13 seconds remaining to put the game to rest.

The win was the Broncos' 26th of the season, tying for the second-most in program history. It was also a milestone victory for head coach Herb Sendek as the 600^th of his 32-year career.

Gavalyugov (23) and Elijah Mahi (19) combined for 42 points to lead the charge for the 3-seed Broncos.

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— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) March 10, 2026

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Broncos (26-7) jumped out to an early 12-5 lead on a Jake Ensminger corner trey to cap the first four minutes of action. Saint Mary's (27-5) used a 12-2 run to take the lead at 19-16 at the under-8 timeout and would extend the lead to as much as six inside the final 2:40 of the half. Gavalyugov buried a trey and Mahi scored in the paint to cut the lead down to one at 33-32 with 1:09 remaining, but a last-second jumper from Joshua Dent gave the Gaels a 35-32 advantage at the break.
• Saint Mary's scored 13 of their 35 first-half points via the free throw line as a result of 13 first-half fouls by the Broncos.
• Mahi led the way offensively in the opening 20 minutes with eight points to go with four early rebounds while Christian Hammond and Gavalyugov each logged seven points ahead of the break.
• SCU scored the first five points out of the half to regain the lead at 37-35 and the lead proceeded to change hands six times before Allen Graves scored five-straight points on his own to give the Broncos a 52-49 lead with 11:30 remaining. Saint Mary's briefly regained the advantage following a pair of buckets in the paint, but another Gavalyugov triple sparked an 11-3 scoring spree that resulted in SCU taking a seven-point advantage at 64-57 with 6:38 remaining.
• The Gaels answered with a 7-0 run of their own to tie things right back up at 64-64. Gavalyugov broke the skid with a quick burst to the basket for a layup, but Mikey Lewis answered on the other end for Saint Mary's to take a 67-66 lead with 3:32 on the clock.
• Mahi scored on consecutive possessions inside the final 1:42, first with a corner trey and followed by an easy deuce in the paint to flip the lead back in favor of the Broncos at 73-69. The Gaels answered with 42 seconds remaining to make it a one-possession game once again, but that's when Gavalyugov took matters into his own hands to beat the shot clock and put the game on ice with his fifth 3-pointer of the night.
• Santa Clara out-shot Saint Mary's 48 percent to 44 percent and knocked down 11 3-pointers against just six for the Gaels. The Broncos committed just four turnovers against one of the nation's top defenses and outscored the Gaels 32-22 in the paint.  

NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• Santa Clara will be playing in the WCC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2007 and for the eighth time overall. They will be looking for their first tournament title since 1993.
• Gavalyugov was 9-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-9 from distance as part of his 23-point effort – his third 20-point game of the season. It was his ninth game in double-figure scoring and second-straight in the WCC Tournament.
• Gavalyugov also dished out six assists to tie his mark from Sunday night's quarterfinal against Pacific for the most of his career.
• Mahi was also 9-of-16 from the field and scored in double figures for the 25^th time on the season. He also pulled down seven rebounds.
• Graves was the third Bronco to reach double-figure scoring, doing so for the 24^th time this season. The big man logged 10 points to go with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
• This is the first season since 2007 that Santa Clara has defeated Saint Mary's multiple times in the same season. That season was also the last time SCU defeated the Gaels in the WCC Tournament.
• Santa Clara logged its 21^st game with 10 or more treys.

UP NEXT:
The 3-seed Broncos will take on 1-seed No. 12 Gonzaga in Tuesday's championship game. The game will air live on ESPN at 6:00 p.m. PT.