Santa Clara’s NCAA tourney hopes remain after close loss to No. 12 Gonzaga

SANTA CLARA — After his team came up short in its bid to knock off 12th-ranked Gonzaga in front of a rare sellout at Leavey Center, Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek was predictably calm and deliberate.

“All season long, we’ve been process-oriented. Going forward, we’ll continue to do the same thing,” Sendek said after a 94-86 defeat in the program’s biggest game in years on Saturday night. “The season is not over.”

In a duel of the top two teams in the West Coast Conference standings...