Point guards will have to be on point in final Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s regular season meeting | Key matchup

MORAGA, Calif. – They are relative newcomers to one of the longest-running rivalries in the West, but Gonzaga point guard Mario Saint-Supery and Saint Mary’s counterpart Joshua Dent will have a big say in how the final regular-season meeting of the West Coast Conference opponents plays out Saturday (7:30 p.m., ESPN) at UCU Pavilion.

The point guards usually do in games between the Zags and Gaels. Both programs have churned out a number of great ones since Mark Few took over at Gonzaga in 1999 and Randy Bennett accepted the same position at Saint Mary’s in 2001.

On Gonzaga’s side, think Dan Dickau, Derek Raivio, Nigel Williams-Goss, Josh Perkins and the Nembhard brothers. Saint Mary’s keeps adding to a list that already includes Patty Mills, Mickey McConnell, Matthew Dellavedova, Emmett Naar and Augustas Marciulionis, to name a few.

No telling if Saint-Supery or Dent will join those prestigious groups in a few years’ time, but the young floor generals will certainly be remembered if they can help deliver a victory on Saturday in the 121st game – and last guaranteed matchup – between Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.

Dent spent one season as an understudy to Marciulionis and took over for the two-time WCC Player of the Year this season. He isn’t showing the same mastery of the position as Marciulionis was by Year 4, but there isn’t a huge disparity between their numbers.

Marciulionis was averaging 14.2 points, 5.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds while making his second run at WCC POY honors. Dent is on the list of potential All-WCC candidates in his first season as a starter, averaging 13.3 ppg, 5.8 apg and 2.6 apg while shooting at a higher clip from the 3-point line (39.3%) and free -throw line (92.75%) than his Saint Mary’s predecessor.

Dent had 14 points and dished out eight assists in Saint Marys’ 86-67 victory over Santa Clara on Wednesday, helping the Gaels clinch the No. 2 seed at the WCC Tournament and remain in the picture for a share of the regular-season title. It was a better showing than his first game against the Broncos – an out-of-character performance that saw Dent finish with eight points on 3 of 13 from the field and 1 of 6 from deep.

“Dent wasn’t what he was tonight,” Bennett said Wednesday, comparing the two Santa Clara games. “Let’s just leave it at that. We were much better offensively this game compared to when we played down at Santa Clara. Hopefully, we’ll do the same against Gonzaga. Against Gonzaga, we played decent.”

Saint-Supery wasn’t starting when the Zags beat the Gaels 73-65 in Spokane earlier this season, but he got a majority of the point guard minutes, registering 25 while scoring nine points to go with five assists. Dent scored 16 points and six rebounds for the Gaels, but it was far from a perfect night for the sophomore who also had four turnovers in his first and likely last game at McCarthey Athletic Center.

It’s been hit and miss for Gonzaga against Australian point guards in the WCC this season. The Zags gave up 27 points to Portland’s Joel Foxwell in an 87-80 loss earlier this month, but limited him to 12 points on poor efficiency numbers during a 41-point thumping of the Pilots earlier this week.

Gonzaga has the ability to mix and match with its arsenal of perimeter defenders, but Saint-Supery was usually guarding Dent when their minutes overlapped in the first game. Depending on Jalen Warley’s availability and health, the defensive options could be somewhat limited on Saturday, and the Zags also have to worry about sophomore shooting guard Mikey Lewis, who’s scored 59 points in the Gaels’ last three games.

“He played really well early and then he kind of went through some growing pains as far as becoming a guy on the radar, on a scout as a key player, expectations – all those things,” Bennett said. “People call it the sophomore jinx. It’s just the steps you have to go through to be a really good player.”