Gael warning issued

Saint Mary’s College finds itself playing the unfamiliar role of the hunted in tonight’s West Coast Conference game against 17th-ranked Gonzaga.

When the two rivals tip it off at 5:30 in front of another sellout crowd of 6,000 at the McCarthey Athletic Center, the conference-leading Gaels (19-5 overall, 6-1 in the WCC) expect to be doggedly stalked by the defending-champion Bulldogs (15-4, 5-2), who find themselves in the unusual position of looking up in the WCC standings and in dire need of a win to maintain control of their regular-season destiny.

“We understand that when you’re on top, people want to knock you off,” said Saint Mary’s junior forward Daniel Kickert, the WCC’s reigning player of the week, who is averaging a team-best 15.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

The strange scenario is the result, in part, of Saint Mary’s having upset GU 89-81 in an earlier matchup in Moraga, Calif. That win was the Gaels’ first over the Zags in 17 games and moved them into the WCC’s penthouse, where they would like to take up permanent residence.

It also pushed coach Randy Bennett’s team from the backstage shadows out into the crowded Bay Area sports spotlight.

“We’re not the lead story down here, but at least we’re a story,” said Bennett, who has found himself devoting considerably more hours, of late, to dealing with the media. “The (San Francisco football) Niners coach is still the lead story, whoever that is.”

Obviously, Bennett’s focus is not on the NFL. But he does know a few things about the teams in the WCC – Gonzaga, in particular. That’s why he refuses to buy completely into the idea of his Gaels being the hunted.

“In most games, I’d feel that way,” Bennett confessed, “but with Gonzaga, I don’t. I think last year they respected our program enough to be ready to play when they had to play us, so I don’t think they’ll be any different this time.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s like all of a sudden the bull’s-eye is on Saint Mary’s.”

GU’s Ronny Turiaf begs to differ, it would seem.

“It’s a special game, because they beat us down there,” said the Bulldog’s senior forward and co-captain. “We want to wash the bad taste out of our mouths. We’re looking forward to getting a second chance back at them.”

The Gaels shot the ball well in that first meeting, making nine of their first 11 3-point attempts and finishing 16 for 27 from long range. A week later, in a 65-42 home loss to Santa Clara, they made 2 of 18 3-pointers and shot a meager 26 percent (13 for 50) from the field.

There might seem to be some temptation, on Gonzaga’s part, to stick with the same defensive game plan they used against the Gaels the first time and assume they will shoot it like they did against Santa Clara. Or like they did in a 61-52 early-season win over California, in which they made 1 of 13 3-pointers.

But GU coach Mark Few and his players aren’t willing to take that chance.

“We didn’t go into that game saying, ‘Well, I dare you to make those 3s,’ ” said Few, who was questioned afterward about staying in his matchup zone too long against the hot-shooting Gaels. “You never dare guys to make shots. We knew they shot the ball well out there. There were some adjustments we tried to make during the game that we didn’t do a great job of making. But that man-or-zone thing I keep hearing about is baffling to me. We guard the 3 just as well in zone as we do in man.”

Bulldogs forward Sean Mallon said the key to dealing with Saint Mary’s long-range shooters is simply getting to them quicker.

“They shot the ball extremely well down there,” he explained, “but a lot of it was our doing. We gave them a lot of open shots, especially out of our zone. But give them credit, too. They made them. We can’t just hope they’ll miss shots this time around. They’re too good. We have to work on limited those open 3-pointers.”

If the Zags are successful, Bennett admits it could be a long night for his Gaels.

“You’re going to have to make some baskets against them,” he said. “The way they score, you’re not going to give yourself much of a chance to win if you come in there and shoot like 35 percent. I just don’t think we can come in there and shoot it bad and get it done.”