SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Until the final two minutes, Ronny Turiaf and Blake Stepp had been flustered by Santa Clara's physical defense, and they missed 15 of 18 shots.
Then Gonzaga's top two scorers converted when it counted.
Turiaf put back two of his own misses in the final minute, including the game-winner with five seconds left, in the fourth-ranked Bulldogs' 19th straight victory, 63-62 over Santa Clara in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament Sunday night.
"I had a pathetic first half," Turiaf said, laughing while he read his 3-for-13 shooting line on the stat sheet. "I did a good job sticking with the program and knew that at some point I'd make a play to put my team in position to win."
Doron Perkins' scintillating shooting and the Broncos' inside banging knocked Gonzaga (26-2) off its game.
Santa Clara (16-16) built an 11-point lead early in the second half and were poised for the upset before the Bulldogs came through at the end.
"We did not play our 'A' game," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "These are the types of games we see teams across the country losing. We haven't had one of these in a while. To dig it out is important, especially this time of year. You need to win these types of games in March."
Cory Violette, Gonzaga's only consistent offense for most of the game, converted a three-point play with 2:42 remaining to cut Santa Clara's lead to 58-56, setting up a madcap final two minutes that saw the lead change five times.
After Adam Morrison forced Perkins into a missed 3-point attempt, Stepp came down and hit a 3 to give Gonzaga its first lead of the half at 1:41.
"Luckily, we know how to win," said Stepp, who had been 2-for-9 before that shot. "That's what it came down to. This is a good experience for us."
Perkins, who finished with 26 points, with five 3-pointers, made two free throws with 57 seconds left before Turiaf scored his first putback.
Travis Niesen scored to give Santa Clara the lead again with 25 seconds left. Turiaf missed a short jumper on the other end, then leaped over a defender to get the rebound and convert the winning basket. Kyle Bailey missed a desperation 3-point shot at the buzzer.
"We had them where we wanted them," Perkins said. "But they had more experience. We'll learn from it."
Violette finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead Gonzaga. Stepp added 11 points and Turiaf had 10 points and 12 boards.
"He had been frustrated," Few said of Turiaf. "It was a very, very physical game inside. I thought he got fouled on almost every shot, but he was not getting the calls. He was frustrated, but to his credit he stayed with his game."
After the final buzzer, Gonzaga's student section stormed the court and headed toward the rowdy Santa Clara student section. Security and tournament officials hustled to hold them back. Santa Clara fans started yelling, "Oakland Raiders!"
Gonzaga will play second-seeded Saint Mary's on Monday night for the championship and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth. The Gaels defeated Pepperdine 79-74 in the first semifinal, but have lost 16 straight to the Bulldogs.
Saint Mary's, which lost both meetings against Gonzaga this season by a combined 32 points, hasn't made the NCAA Tournament in seven years. Gonzaga and Santa Clara met in the WCC tournament title game in 1999 and 2001, with the Bulldogs winning both.
Gonzaga's fans equaled those for the Broncos in the raucous sellout crowd at Leavey Center.
Santa Clara began the second half with a 14-4 spurt, making four 3-pointers, including two straight by Bailey and the other two by Perkins. The students began chanting "Overrated!" during a timeout.
Morrison gave the Bulldogs a big boost off the bench late in the first half, scoring four points in an 8-0 run over the final 3:14. That pulled Gonzaga within 29-26 at halftime after trailing by as many as 11.
It was Gonzaga's lowest production in a first half this season and the team shot 34.6 percent. The Bulldogs were held to 27 first-half points in an 87-80 loss to Stanford on Dec. 20.
Here's how well things went early for Santa Clara.
In transition, Bailey dribbled around his back and accidentally turned it into a bounce pass to Perkins, who scored a layin and was fouled for a three-point play to make it 19-8.
Gonzaga, which arrived Friday night and didn't play until Sunday, missed its first four shots and fell behind 11-4. The Bulldogs began the game 5-for-16, with Violette making four of those.
They played without reserve center Richard Fox, who hyperextended his right knee in practice Friday. He is expected to return for the NCAA Tournament.
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