LAS VEGAS – Since the WCC began holding its conference tournament at the Orleans Arena in 2009, Gonzaga and St. Mary’s have met in the final.

They’ll meet again this year, but in a semi. The fourth-seeded Gaels advanced to Monday’s matchup by disposing of fifth-seeded Pepperdine 80-69 on Saturday night.

Four Gaels scored in double figures: Brad Waldow had 21 points, going 6-for-7 from the floor and 9-for-12 from the line. Stephen Holt and Beau Levesque each had 15 points and Kerry Carter added 10.

The Gaels (22-10) have beaten Pepperdine 16 consecutive times.

They’ve lost to Gonzaga five straight times, including twice by a combined 50 points this season. The Zags prevailed 73-51 in Spokane on Jan. 2 and 75-47 at McKeon Pavilion on March 1.

Saturday’s game was tied 22-22 with a little more than six minutes left in the first half. The Gaels then reeled off a 19-4 spurt. Holt began that stretch with a drive down the lane. He capped it with a three to give the Gaels a 41-26 edge.

It was 41-28 at halftime. Holt led all scorers with 11 points at the break. Waldow had 10 on 4-for-5 shooting.

The highlight of the night took place about seven minutes into the second half.  Carter, a guard listed at 6-foot-2, took it hard down the right baseline, then rose for an emphatic slam.

Briefly: Pepperdine was forced to call a timeout in the first half because guard Malcolm Brooks had come out of his shoe. … De La Salle alum Amadi Udenyi led the Waves (15-16) with 13 points.