Mikey Lewis leads Saint Mary’s to upset of No. 9 Gonzaga 70-59 | Recap and highlights
MORAGA, Calif. – Gonzaga did many of the things usually required to beat Saint Mary’s during its final excursion to UCU Pavilion as a member of the West Coast Conference.
Somewhere near the top of the list is limiting high-scoring Gaels forward Paulius Murauskas. The Zags were successful on that front – highly successful, even – while holding the WCC Player of the Year candidate to nine points on 2 of 10 shooting.
Gonzaga eliminated what the Gaels tried to do inside the 3-point line, holding them to 21% shooting on 2-pointers. The Zags were in front on the scoreboard and looked to be in control of the game when they took a seven-point lead into the halftime break.
But pop over to the 3-point shooting column and it’s easier to understand how the Gaels overcame the early deficit, pulled in front just minutes into the second half and ultimately handed the ninth-ranked Zags a 70-59 loss at UCU Pavilion.
Sophomore Mikey Lewis got loose for seven 3-pointers and a career-high 31 points, but he wasn’t the only player involved in the Gaels’ perimeter shooting barrage.
Saint Mary’s made a season-high 16 shots from the 3-point line, going 9 of 15 from distance in the second half to win its 26th consecutive home game and secure at least a share of the WCC regular-season title for the fourth straight season.
Gonzaga’s third loss could have NCAA Tournament seeding implications, but it won’t impact Mark Few’s team next week at the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas. The Zags claimed a share of the regular-season WCC title by beating Portland earlier in the week and will still head to the conference tournament with the No. 1 overall seed. Saint Mary’s clinched the No. 2 seed and a bye to the semifinal round with its victory over Santa Clara on Wednesday.
Shorthanded Gonzaga faced its longest WCC rival without senior wing Jalen Warley, who missed his second straight game with a left quad contusion. Warley’s defensive activity would’ve been helpful, but probably not enough to overcome the Gaels’ outside shooting avalanche.
Saint Mary’s conceded 13 first-half points to Gonzaga forward Graham Ike and the Zags played solid defense early to carve out a seven-point halftime advantage. Gonzaga contained the Gaels to 10 first-half field goals and 20% shooting inside the arc.
But Saint Mary’s scored eight consecutive points coming out of the break, including a pair of 3-balls from Joshua Dent, and never cooled off from the 3-point line. Lewis reached the 30-point mark and delivered the 16th 3-pointer for Saint Mary’s with 1 minute, 29 seconds remaining to give the Gaels a 14-point lead.
Ike, who’s still possibly the frontrunner for WCC Player of the Year honors, was productive in the first half but almost invisible in the second. The senior forward finished with 17 points and just four after halftime, making 7 of 14 shots from the field before fouling out with under four minutes to play.
Adam Miller scored 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting and 1 of 5 from the 3-point line while Tyon Grant-Foster had 13 points and six rebounds in his first start since November.
Dent scored 14 points for the Gaels, freshman Mantas Juzenas added 12 on four 3-pointers and Dillan Shaw led all players with 10 assists.
Gonzaga (28-3, 16-2) faces an eight-day layoff before opening its final WCC Tournament March 9 at Orleans Arena. The top-seeded Zags will open in the semifinals against the winner of a quarterfinal game between fourth-seeded Oregon State and an opponent to be determined.
First half
15:57 - GU 4, SM 3: Gonzaga holds an early advantage, although, both teams are struggling to find an offensive rhythm.
The Zags are 2 for 8 and the Gaels are 1 for 7.
11:38 - GU 14, SM 11: Graham Ike and Adam Miller have paced the Zags with five and seven points, respectively.
7:16 - GU 24, SM 18: Gonzaga has played inspired defense in the first half, holding Saint Mary’s to 27% shooting so far.
The Zags have also limited the Gaels to four paint points.
2:51 - GU 31, SM 26: Ike has a team-high 10 points with two made 3-pointers.
Tyon Grant-Foster has complemented Ike’s scoring with eight points of his own.
0:45 - GU 36, SM 29: GU stretches its lead to 10 points before Mantas Juzenas makes a 3-pointer.
Halftime
Gonzaga holds a 36-29 advantage over Saint Mary’s at halftime.
The trio of Ike, Miller and Grant-Foster has paced the Zags with 30 of their team’s 36 points.
Gonzaga has employed its trademark stingy defense, holding Saint Mary’s to 29% shooting in the first half.
GU also holds a 16-6 advantage in paint points.
Second half
17:01 - SM 42, GU 38: Saint Mary’s opens the half on a 13-2 run to take a four-point lead.
Mikey Lewis leads all scorers with 15 points.
11:59 - SM 44, GU 40: After the initial flurry by Saint Mary’s, offense has stalled in the second half.
Neither team has scored in over two minutes.
8:51 - SM 54, GU 44: Saint Mary’s goes on a 10-0 run to open up its largest lead of the game.
Lewis is up to 22 points.
7:27 - SM 54, GU 46: Davis Fogle makes a reverse layup to cut into the Gaels’ lead.
4:30 - SM 61, GU 50: A 3-pointer by Joshua Dent gives Saint Mary’s its largest lead.
The Gaels have made 13 3-pointers to Gonzaga’s three.
2:48 - SM 67, GU 53: Saint Mary’s is closing in on a win and a share of the WCC regular-season title.
Ike has fouled out with 17 points.
Starting 5s
Gonzaga: Mario Saint-Supery, Adam Miller, Emmanuel Innocenti, Tyon Grant-Foster, Graham Ike.
Saint Mary’s: Joshua Dent, Mikey Lewis, Dillan Shaw, Paulius Murauskas, Harry Wessels.
Pregame
Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s will etch the final chapter in a rivalry within the West Coast Conference that’s spanned decades.
The Zags (28-2, 16-1) and the Gaels (26-4, 15-2) meet in Moraga tonight at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN with a chance for the visitors to secure an outright West Coast Conference regular-season championship before departing for the new Pac-12 next season.
Saint Mary’s will try and score one last upset to force a share of the league title before the WCC Tournament begins next week in Las Vegas. Win or lose, Gonzaga will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and won’t play until the semifinals on March 9.
Gonzaga will be playing shorthanded tonight. With high-scoring forward Braden Huff already out with a knee injury, Gonzaga announced that Jalen Warley will miss his second consecutive game with a quad contusion.
More of a scoring load will fall on Graham Ike as well as the Zags’ complementary players.
Game preview
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