Last chapter of Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s WCC rivalry worthy of national ESPN broadcast | TV take
A month ago, Sean Farnham made his way from California to Spokane. For work. Nothing unusual about that. That part of his “work” was raising money for cancer research in the town he was visiting, now that’s not in the usual category. The next night Farnham went back to his day – or more correctly –his night job. Calling college hoops. In what Farnham calls the best rivalry on the West Coast.
It was his, and partner Dave Flemming’s, final trip to McCarthey Athletic Center. But not the final chapter in the rivalry between Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga.
That came Saturday night. Maybe. The last regular-season meeting? Yes. But there is a conference tournament and for the 21st time in 23 years, the two schools will be the top two seeds. A last battle for the NCAA berth and the tourney title?
Yes, please. But that’s for next month. How did this one end?
With another Saint Mary’s win, something the Gaels have done 27 times this season and five of the last eight times these teams have met. This one 70-59, with the ninth-ranked Bulldogs collapsing on both ends in the second half.
As Flemming said, while Saint Mary’s was ensuring the final regular-season matchup would be one the Bulldogs would remember a long time, “the intensity of this rivalry is on full display again tonight.”
What they saw …
• The first half was mostly a Gonzaga clinic. Building a 10-point lead. Taking a seven-point one into the UCU Pavilion locker room. Watching, in some cases literally, as all the work melted away in less than 3 minutes. And then as everything went south for the next 17.
The Zags touted defense? Saint Mary’s shot 41% after halftime but still found ways to score thanks to nine offensive rebounds. And guard Mikey Lewis led the way, with 21 points after halftime adding to his 10 in the first half - points that kept the Gaels (27-4, 16-2) in the game.
“When they tell the story of this rivalry, Mikey Lewis’ game tonight is going to be a part of that story,” Flemming said after the sophomore’s seventh 3-pointer.
The Zags’ usually efficient offense? It disappeared just like Graham Ike. The player Farnham labeled the most-prolific scorer in the history of this rivalry, disappeared as the Gaels finally figured out how to stop him. They combined double teams, physical play and the luck of foul trouble to limit Ike to 17 points, only four of which came in the second half before the post fouled out crashing the offensive glass.
• Remember when the Zags were playing 10 guys consistently? In their final regular season game, Mark Few’s rotation consisted of seven players for the most part. And the guys who were missing? They were missed.
Post Braden Huff was not available, of course. He’s still trying to make his way back from the leg injury he suffered a couple months ago. His replacement, Jalen Warley, missed his second consecutive game, also sidelined by a leg injury. And Steele Venters, who started the season in the rotation, did not get off the bench once again.
Huff didn’t play in Spokane when the Zags defeated the Gaels 73-65. But Warley did, and when he was on the court, as Farnham pointed out often, Gonzaga was plus-25 in scoring.
His key role in Spokane? Hounding Saint Mary’s leading scorer Paulius Murauskas. Though Murauskas finished with 15 points that night, he was a non-factor when Gonzaga put the game away.
Farnham identified the forward as the key for the Gaels even before the game switched from its usual unscheduled starting spot – ESPN News – back to its intended home on ESPN. And not in a good way.
The veteran analyst continually highlighted Murauskas’ issues against Gonzaga. And as he started slowly, with Tyon Grant-Foster on him in place of Warley, the comments continued.
He had only two points in the first half. He only scored seven in the second. But those seven were part of the stretch the Gaels dominated. And built a 17-point, game-deciding lead.
What we saw …
• The play on the court played the starring role, of course. But the circumstances surrounding the 130th meeting of these two programs was certainly worth a supporting actor nomination. And the way ESPN presented it was Oscar worthy as well.
It was a history lesson of the highest order.
Photo montages of the past participants taking us to commercial. Video ones of great plays from the past 20 years or so. Interviews with the two coaches, who were meeting for the 71st time. Graphics highlighting the teams’ domination of the West Coast Conference standings since Bennett got his feet under him in Moraga.
The most glaring number? Of the last 23 WCC finishes, the two teams have finished 1-2 21 times, in some order, including this season.
Not that there was much chance anyone watching Saturday night was ignorant of these two teams’ history. Or how intense the rivalry has been since, in modern parlance, forever.
• The third team assigned Saturday night featured two recognizable officials and another with a recognizable name.
The two veterans? That would be Randy McCall, a longtime West Coast official, and Deldre Carr, the former University of Montana player from 25 years ago. The third? That would be Jason Garretson. If the last name seems familiar, it’s only because it is. His grandfather Darell was a longtime NBA official and head of the league’s officiating. His dad continued in the family business, spending decades in the league. Jason, at 34, is new to the WCC. And was assigned to the conference’s most-important regular-season game.