--There was considerable discussion leading up to Thursday’s contest that the game was something of an NCAA bubble elimination game (the winner was in good shape in the at-large picture, the loser not so much). I’m not sure I agree with that after watching these two teams battle for 45 minutes (tied at half, tied at end of regulation, back and forth in overtime).

It’s a discussion Mark Few wanted no part of.

“I’ve done a great job of absolutely staying out of the whole deal,” he said. “I literally haven’t looked one time. In the past, I was always looking to gauge where we were at across the country. This year I haven’t looked once, I haven’t read anything. If it comes on TV, I turn it off. I think it’s helped. Having young kids at home probably helps with that.

“That’s stuff we can’t control.”

At the least, Gonzaga significantly boosted its NCAA resume. The Zags have good wins over Marquette, Xavier, Baylor, Oklahoma State and now Saint Mary’s. They were among the last four in on ESPN.com’s projections prior to beating the Gaels.

Saint Mary’s, meanwhile, has dropped three straight, weakening its once sturdy NCAA profile.

“There were so many games left to play,” Few said. “Everybody wants an immediate answer. We all have games left, the teams projected as No. 1 seeds, those projected in the field and those not projected in the field. We’ve been counted out before this season, but we’re creeping back in.”

--Sam Dower had his second 20-point game in the last three weeks. He was instant offense again. It was the second time he’s torched the Gaels. He was 6 of 7 for 15 points in the first meeting. He was 7 of 8 and finished with 21 points last night. He played 22 minutes and was one of the Zags’ go-to players in crunch time.

“I’ve been waiting for this game for a long time,” Dower said. “I wanted to help my team out any way I could, and scoring was a way and making clutch free throws was a way, too.”

Dower made four straight free throws as Gonzaga overcame an 84-83 deficit to go in front 87-84. Robert Sacre sealed it with a pair of free throws with just under 10 seconds left.

Clutch free throws “from your ‘5s’ basically,” Few said. “That doesn’t happen very often in college basketball. What a gift to have two 5s that can really stroke it. Rob hurt his wrist earlier in the game and he kind of willed his in.”

Dower and Sacre both are 80-percent plus free-throwers. Sacre (13 points) had his best scoring production since tallying 17 vs. Portland on Feb. 3.

--Steven Gray and Marquise Carter were quiet in the scoring column in the first half. Gray didn’t attempt a shot until 3:30 remained in the half, missing a tough 6-footer. He scored his first bucket with a steal and layup with just under 1 minute remaining.

Gray did contribute in other ways. He had four first-half assists and a pair of steals. He scored nine points in the second half before fouling out late in overtime. Gray ended up with five assists, five steals, one turnover (in 42 minutes) and grabbed seven rebounds. He struggled with his shooting again, making just 3 of 11 attempts.

One of Gray’s rebounds was particularly memorable for Few.

“For me it was a couple of the defensive stands we made, and then Steven had an unbelievable rebound in traffic where he just went up and got it above everyone else. They undercut him and he hung on to the ball,” Few said.

Gray took a hard fall on the play as he was fouled by Mickey McConnell. He made both free throws to give GU an 83-80 lead.

Carter, meanwhile, connected on three 3s in the second half. GU didn’t make a 3 in the first half. Carter hit a 3 75 seconds into the second half as Gonzaga broke from a 40-40 halftime tie. Demetri Goodson, the only other Zag to make a 3, hit his trey and Carter connected from long distance with time running out on the shot clock to give Gonzaga its biggest lead, 55-45.

“Everybody who was on the floor played good for us,” Few said. “Meech played great defense. We were able to make defensive subs and offensive subs. Guys stepped up.”

Gonzaga never trailed in the second half until 1:37 remained. Rob Jones hit a 3 to give the Gaels, who had forced ties at 65, 69, 71 and 73, a 76-73 lead. The Zags tied it on Carter’s 3, a play which reminded me of a sequence last year in San Francisco where Steven Gray made a save as he flew out of bounds but the ball went right to USF’s Dior Lowhorn hit a 3 to force overtime.

This time, it was SMC’s Kenton Walker who retrieved the ball and flung it back to Carter about 22 feet from the hoop. He swished the 3 with 1:12 remaining.

--Thursday’s game also was reminiscent of the Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s game here in 2008, right down to the overtime and final score being exactly the same (only in SMC’s favor). I’ve attached a copy of that game story at the bottom of this post.

--Few was pleased with Gonzaga’s defense on McConnell, who operates after receiving a screen near the 3-point line on play after play. McConnell, who lit up GU for 27 points in Spokane, had 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting. He had nine assists and four turnovers before fouling out in overtime.

McConnell, who hit the game-winner from the left elbow in Spokane, missed from the right elbow with roughly 45 seconds remaining in regulation and the score tied at 76. He also was off target on a long 3 in the closing seconds.

In overtime, McConnell had another chance at a go-ahead basket, driving deep into the lane but missing from point-blank range with 12 seconds remaining. GU led 85-84 at the time.

“We gave him a bunch of different looks so they didn’t get too comfortable,” Few said. “People have had success letting Jones shoot 3s, but obviously that didn’t work as well (Jones made 4 of 6). By and large, we did a nice job, they had to make more plays this time.

“He’s a great player, probably the player of the year in our league. He’s as good as you’re going to find with the ball screen in college basketball.”

--Elias Harris and Dower combined for 28 points in the first half, helping keep Gonzaga within range when the Gaels were threatening to open up a comfortable lead. The Gaels ran off seven straight points to take a 15-9 lead, but Dower connected on his first shot shortly after checking into the game.

Saint Mary’s led 24-17 before Gonzaga scored 13 of the next 18 points to take a one-point lead. Six of those points came from Harris and five from Dower.

Harris attempted just two shots in the second half/overtime and Dower only one (his lone miss), but Carter, Gray, Goodson, David Stockton and Sacre stepped up their contributions.

STATS OF NOTE

--Carter has made 8 of 13 3s in his last three games.

--The Bulldogs made 56.4 percent of their shots, their best percentage since connecting on 59.3 percent against San Diego on Jan. 29.

--Gonzaga was 2 of 3 from the field and 9 of 10 from the foul line in overtime. Saint Mary’s was just 1 of 7 from the field and 7 of 8 at the free-throw line.

--There were 14 lead changes and the score was tied 17 times.

--Goodson’s 11 points was his most since scoring a season-high 20 in the first meeting with San Francisco.

--Gonzaga won the boards, 33-27, led by Sacre’s and Gray’s 7, and Harris’s 6.

--SMC’s Mitchell Young, hot of late, had a quiet night, finishing with just six points and five rebounds in 20 minutes.

--McConnell officially played 45 minutes (though he fouled out in the closing seconds) and Matthew Dellavedova logged 43 minutes.

--Gonzaga now has 14 straight 20-win seasons. The Bulldogs’ lowest win total during that span is 23 in 2007.

--GU has never lost more than three conference games under Few, who is in his 12^th season. The last time Gonzaga lost four WCC games was in 1998 under Monson and it still won league.

--Gonzaga has won three straight at McKeon Pavilion after dropping back-to-back games in ’07 and ’08.

--Interesting stat line for Stockton. He had five points, five assists and four turnovers in 28 minutes. There wasn’t much middle ground for the redshirt freshman guard.

He had a nifty blind-side steal from McConnell and went for a layup midway through the second half and he hit a runner in the paint with the shot clock nearing zero at the 6-minute mark.

He misfired on a 3 with 1:50 left in regulation and he was whistled for an offensive foul for pushing off on McConnell late in overtime.

QUOTES

Harris: “I was trying to keep positive thoughts in my mind. I knew we had tight games earlier this year and last year and we came back and won. I was confident all game long. I was sure we were going to win.”

Dower on GU digging out of a three-game deficit to pull into a tie for first with Saint Mary’s: “It’s a really good feeling, For us to start out the way we did, to overcome all that animosity and drama and become a great team and maybe win the WCC championship … I feel honored to be on this team right now.”

 

Saint Mary's wins in OT, knots WCC three ways
Jim Meehan Staff writer
Publication Date: February 5, 2008

MORAGA -- Forty minutes wasn't enough to decide this West Coast Conference men's basketball thriller.
Gonzaga and Saint Mary's engaged in a tight, tense game of can-you-top-this before the 25th-ranked Gaels, riding a clutch 3-pointer by deadeye shooter Todd Golden and five free throws in the final 38 seconds, held off the Bulldogs 89- 85 in overtime before a packed house late Monday night at McKeon Pavilion.
Freshman point guard Patty Mills scored Saint Mary's last 10 points in regulation and finished with 23 points. Gonzaga's Jeremy Pargo had nine points in overtime and 27 on the night. His back-to-back 3-pointers gave Gonzaga its last lead, 80-79, with 2:30 left in the extra session.
Omar Samhan's layup returned the lead to Saint Mary's and Golden then hit a 3-pointer - his sixth in six attempts - to make it 84-80 with 1:20 remaining.
“We played good enough to win, but there were so many plays down the stretch,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We made a lot of them, but we just didn't make quite enough.”
Three Zags fouled out in overtime. Abdullahi Kuso, who was solid off the bench with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Austin Daye, who chipped in 15 points, many at critical junctures, fouled out in the first 90 seconds. David Pendergraft fouled out with 38 seconds left, which led to Mills' two free throws and an 86-82 Saint Mary's lead.
Gonzaga was within 88- 85 and had a chance to tie it but Micah Downs' 3-pointer from the top of the circle was off line with four seconds left. Mills hit 1 of 2 free throws to seal the win for the Gaels, who stung the Bulldogs with 18 offensive rebounds.
“We got stops but then we gave up a lot of rebounds,” Few said. “We executed down the stretch and got the shots we wanted. That (last shot) was the shot we wanted and you make it probably 5 out of 10.”
The loss means Gonzaga (17-6, 6-1 WCC) has company atop the WCC standings. Saint Mary's (19-3, 6-1) and San Diego (13-11, 6-1), which edged Pepperdine, join GU in a three-way tie for first place. Gonzaga has lost three of its last four at McKeon Pavilion.
“It was a heck of a battle,” said Pargo, who finished with nine assists and two steals. “They always play us tough down here and we always come in ready to battle because we know what kind of fight they're going to put up. We just did some things late in that game that hurt us; a couple of mental lapses.”
Golden finished with a career-high 19 points.
“They started off early sagging down to help on Omar and my first two (3-pointers) were basically because they were helping,” Golden said. “My teammates found me open and I was able to knock them down.”
Golden's 3-pointer in overtime gave the Gaels some breathing room.
“We lost him and we kept talking about not losing him,” Few said. “It was just a bone-head play where we left the ball and tried to switch - two guys that made a bad decision - and that was a big 3.”
Gonzaga trailed by two at the half and slipped behind by six with 12:35 left, but Daye struck for five quick points to pull GU within 58-57.
The Gaels answered with the next six points as Gonzaga's offense went cold. The Bulldogs had five turnovers and missed three shots as Saint Mary's stretched its lead to 64-57. Pargo's driving, 5-foot bank shot broke a six-minute scoring drought for the Zags.
During a timeout, Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett summoned Mills, who had just missed three straight 3-pointers, from the bench and Mills responded with a tough, lunging bank shot to give the Gaels a 66-64 lead with 3:20 remaining.
The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead at 70-68 on Matt Bouldin's three-point play, but Mills hit two free throws to tie it with 1:37 left. Kuso missed an open layup, but the Bulldogs got the ball back on a Mills turnover.
Mills atoned for his miscue by picking off Daye's pass, racing the length of the court for a layup while being fouled. Mills hit the free throw with 23.3 seconds left to give Saint Mary's a 73-70 lead.
Pargo penetrated for an easy field goal and Mills made 1 of 2 free throws with 12.1 seconds left to hike Saint Mary's lead to 74-72. Pargo fed Kuso for a dunk to tie it with 5.9 seconds left and Tron Smith's contested 8-footer at the buzzer was off target.