Recap and highlights: No. 12 Gonzaga holds off No. 15 Saint Mary's 77-68 to win share of WCC regular-season title

Feb. 25—Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme (2) erupts against St. Mary's Gaels guard Aidan Mahaney (20) during the second half of a college basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash. Gonzaga won the game 77-68. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)

Saint Mary's was pressing for another second-half comeback over Gonzaga. In the end, the Zags were crowned West Coast Conference regular-season champion for an 11th-straight season.

The Gaels trimmed the Bulldogs 19-point lead to six, but Gonzaga held on for a 77-68 win at the McCarthey Athletic Center to earn a share of the WCC title.

The No. 12 Bulldogs (25-5, 14-2 WCC) will likely take the top seed in the conference tournament, if the result leapfrogs them over the No. 15 Gaels (25-6, 14-2) in the NCAA's NET rankings.

SMC entered the game No. 8, two spots ahead of GU in the NET.

The Bulldogs suffocated the Gaels in the first half with a full-court defense, building a 39-26 lead at halftime with 16 points off turnovers.

Saint Mary's prioritized possession to open the second half and cut GU's lead to six points with a layup from Aiden Mahaney at the 11:52 mark.

Malachi Smith answered with a layup and 3-pointer, followed by five points from Drew Timme to build GU's lead back to 12 points. The Zags maintained their lead for the rest of the game.

Timme led four Zags in double figures with 19 points. Anton Watson had 17 with eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block. Smith had 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting and Julian Strawther added 11.

The Gaels relied on the heroics of guard Logan Johnson, who scored 27 points and went 11-for-15 from the free throw line. It wasn't enough.

GU and SMC will be the top two seeds for the WCC tournament and could meet again in Las Vegas if both teams win their semifinal games.

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First half

18:20 — GU 2, SMC 0: Timme gets the first shot of the game to fall, after the Zags miss their first three attempts and the Gaels start 0 of 2.

15:57 — GU 5, SMC 5: Bowen makes a 3-pointer to tie things up. Zags just 2 of 8 from the field in the early going.

14:22 — GU 7, SMC 7: Hickman and Johnson trade baskets, followed by a Bowen foul at the U16 media timeout.

11:42 — GU 14, SMC 12: Sallis makes a 3-pointer, then Timme and Watson make inside shots at the U12 media timeout.

Johnson keeping the Gaels in it so far, with seven points on 3-for-3 shooting.

9:41 — GU 20, SMC 12: Sallis drives to the hoop for a layup and the Zags are on a 6-0 run. Watson has a team-high six points, Sallis adds five.

The Gaels are having troubles against the Zags full-court pressure, up to four turnovers.

7:42 — GU 20, SMC 14: Johnson breaks the Gaels scoring drought. He has nine points.

Gregg misses a 3-pointer, as the Zags are 1 of 6 from deep. Strawther grabs the rebound, but puts the layup off the rim no good.

5:46 — GU 26, SMC 19: Watson taps in a put-back, then the Gaels turn it over for the sixth time and call a timeout.

Bulldogs are yet to commit a turnover and have scored 10 points off of SMC's six.

Watson has eight points and five rebounds for the Zags. Johnson leads the Gaels with 12.

3:20 — GU 33, SMC 20: Hickman sinks a 3-pointer — just the Zags second of the half — and Mahaney is called for his second foul to give the Zags two shots at the free throw line.

GU on an 11-1 run at the U4 media timeout, enjoying their largest lead of the game.

1:40 — GU 39, SMC 21: Gaels get a free throw to snap the Zags 17-1 run. Smith and Watson both lead with eight points apiece, as GU has scored 16 points off turnovers.

Halftime

Saint Mary's closed the half of a six-point run, but Gonzaga had a dominant defensive performance to take a 39-26 lead at halftime.

The Bulldogs turned eight turnovers into 16 points, implementing a full-court defense and using its loud crowd to pressure the Gaels. Saint Mary's was carried by guard Logan Johnson, who had 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting in the first half.

Gonzaga spread the ball around, led by Malachi Smith and Anton Watson, both with eight points apiece. Watson also had a team-high seven rebounds, three steals and a block.

Second half

19:31 — GU 42, SMC 26: Watson makes a 3-pointer to open the second half. Senior is up to 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a block.

15:57 — GU 48, SMC 32: Zags maintain their lead at the U16 media timeout. Watson has 13 points and leads all scorers in the second half with five.

Gaels going to need a spark soon to get back into the game. They open the second half 2 of 6 from the field.

12:27 — GU 52, SMC 44: Mahaney makes his second 3-pointer in a 12-2 run and the Gaels cut GU's lead to eight points — the lowest of the half.

Johnson has 19 points for the Gaels. Mahaney has six. Gonzaga calls a timeout.

10:59 — GU 54, SMC 48: Ducas get the put-back to fall and the Zags lead continues to shrink at the U12 media timeout.

SMC is without a turnover in the second half, a big turnaround from the first where it had eight.

8:20 — GU 62, SMC 50: Smith makes a 3-pointer and Timme takes over to push Gonzaga's lead back to 12 points.

Saint Mary's is without a field goal over the last 2:46. Timme is up to 17 points and is 5-for-5 on free throws.

3:33 — GU 67, SMC 59: Zags holding on down the stretch, lead by eight at the final media timeout.

Timme and Bowen have four fouls apiece.

1:13 — GU 73, SMC 64: Watson makes a pair of free throws, but Jefferson makes a layup on the other end and the Gaels call a timeout. Zags just need to take care of the ball and make their foul shots to come away with the win.

0:19 — GU 75, SMC 68: Timme dunks and the Zags are on their way to an 11th consecutive regular-season title.

Pregame

The pregame festivities have passed. It's time to decide the title.

Saint Mary's steps into Spokane freshly crowned as West Coast Conference regular-season champion. The Gaels will have to defend that honor, with Gonzaga vying for a share tonight at 7 p.m. on the floor of the McCarthey Athletic Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

The 15th-ranked Gaels (25-5, 14-1 WCC) came from behind to beat the 12th-ranked Bulldogs (24-5, 13-2) in overtime on Feb. 4. That result is the only thing separating the two teams in the WCC this season, with both losing to Loyola Marymount.

Gonzaga has won five-straight games since losing to SMC and handled San Diego on Thursday 97-72 to avoid giving the Gaels the outright title.

Saint Mary's narrowly won a pair of games over San Diego and BYU last week, but crushed Pacific from the opening tip on Thursday, coasting to a 83-52 win to celebrate its title in front of a home crowd.

Saturday's crowd in the Kennel won't be as inviting.

Gonzaga fans were already getting rowdy in the morning with College Gameday on campus.

Expect a sold-out show, as the Zags try and earn their 11th-straight WCC championship and their rival Gaels aim for their first outright title since 2011.

Players to watch

Series history

Gonzaga holds a 78-33 all-time series lead over Saint Mary's, though the Gaels have won two of the last three meetings.

SMC won the past two games on their home court and the Zags beat won in last year's WCC tournament championship game.

Team stats

Saint Mary's (25-5, 14-1)

Gonzaga (24-5, 13-2)

Points

72.0

87.8

Points allowed

58.7

74.1

Field goal pct.

46.0

52.6

Rebounds

36.5

36.9

Assists

12.8

16.3

Blocks

3.6

3.2

Steals

7.1

7.7

Streak

Won 4

Won 5

Individual leaders

POINTS

PPG

FG%

FT%

Aidan Mahaney (SMC)

14.8

44.4

74.6

Drew Timme (GU)

21.3

61.6

62.1

REBOUNDS

RPG

DRPG

ORPG

Mitchell Saxen (SMC)

8.3

4.9

3.4

Drew Timme (GU)

7.5

5.0

2.5

ASSISTS

APG

TOPG

MPG

Logan Johnson (SMC)

3.7

1.8

34.4

Nolan Hickman (GU)

3.5

1.5

28.5

Game preview

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