Gaels, led by Mikey Lewis, torch Gonzaga with 16 3-pointers in 70-59 win

MORAGA, Calif. – Mikey Lewis was standing just outside the 3-point line, appropriately enough, and surrounded by hundreds of celebrating Saint Mary’s fans when he began to answer a reporter’s question about his recent hot shooting streak.

A Gaels’ fan stopped Lewis in mid-sentence.

“You’re my hero,” the man said. “You’re my hero.”

Lewis was certainly the driving force in a Saint Mary’s 3-point eruption that propelled the Gaels to a 70-59 victory Saturday at University Credit Union Pavilion.

The victory gave SMC a share of the West Coast Conference title with the Zags and extended their program record run of conference championships to four – two shared with GU and two outright.

All it took was seven 3-pointers from Lewis, a season-high 16 3s by the Gaels and domination of the glass in the second half to wipe out Gonzaga’s seven-point halftime lead. 

After falling to Gonzaga a month ago in Spokane – and falling two games behind the Zags in the loss column – Lewis took inventory of his teammates.

“We got behind early in the (West Coast Conference) season with those two losses (to GU and Santa Clara),” Lewis said. “We knew we were a capable group. So we just said we needed to win out and that’s exactly what we did.”

The Gaels won their last eight games, seven by double digits, avenging losses to Santa Clara (86-67 on Wednesday) and Gonzaga to pull even atop the WCC standings. Gonzaga, which cracked the door open with an upset loss at Portland, will be the No. 1 seed, winning the tiebreaker with a sweep over Santa Clara, while the Gaels will be the two seed at the WCC Tournament.

Lewis drilled five 3s and scored 21 of his career-high 31 points in the second half. The Gaels made a blistering 9 of 14 triples (64.3%) in the closing half.

“It just felt good tonight. The energy in here was just ridiculous,” Lewis said after Saint Mary’s 26th consecutive home win, a program record. “I’m just happy we got the win.”

The opening minutes of the second half painted a clear picture of what was in store as the Gaels pounded Gonzaga 41-23 in the final 20 minutes.

GU’s Adam Miller had an open look behind the arc, but his shot rattled in and out. Saint Mary’s guard Josh Dent, who was 4 of 6 on 3s, hit a corner 3.

Miller again had a 3-ball go halfway down before rattling out. Lewis collected an offensive rebound and Dent capitalized with another 3 to give the Gaels a 37-36 lead – their first since the 14:44 mark of the first half.

Lewis made two free throws and then buried a 3-pointer after a Tyon Grant-Foster turnover, hiking SMC’s lead to four.

Gonzaga’s offense sputtered in the second half after the Gaels clamped down on Graham Ike, who had 13 first-half points, but just four in the second half before fouling out.

GU couldn’t find alternative scoring sources beyond Miller’s and Grant-Foster’s combined 10 points in the second half.

“I felt my first two 3s (in the second half) were pretty good, the last few I could have … I have other options,” Miller explained. “I could get downhill, I know I could always get to my floater. Especially if they had a run, just have to find ways to get the ball in the hole.”

And find ways, as a team, to keep the Gaels off the boards. Gonzaga held a 22-17 advantage after the first 20 minutes, but Saint Mary’s turned it around in the second with 10 offensive rebounds.

The Gaels converted those offensive boards into 11 points for a 16-3 edge in second-chance points. Lewis and Paulius Murauskas converted 3-pointers after offensive rebounds to start and finish a 10-0 run that put Saint Mary’s in control 54-44.

“Super deflating,” Miller said of SMC’s work on the offensive glass. “Obviously it was really hot in here. Shoot, halfway through the second half I could barely breathe and that doesn’t help having to guard that extra however many seconds (after an offensive rebound). Completely demoralizing.”

Lewis hit the dagger with a long, step-back 3 to make it 64-50 with just over 4 minutes left.

“They’re a good team, they play good defense. It was just going down for me,” said Lewis, averaging 22.5 points over the last four games. “It’s definitely up there (as the best game of his career).”