Adam Morrison on what went wrong for Gonzaga in loss to Saint Mary's: 'We got to be mentally tougher down the stretch'
The Gonzaga Bulldogs let a critical one slip through their grasp on Saturday when they fell to rival Saint Mary's, 64-62, much to the displeasure of the fans amid some questionable calls from the officials.
Some Gonzaga students began hurling trash onto the court following two calls late that didn't favor the Bulldogs. The first was a no-call after it appeared Aidan Mahaney stepped out of bounds before delivering a pass that led to a 3-pointer from Augustas Marciulionis, giving the Gaels a 63-57 lead with 48.5 seconds to play. The officials appeared to review the play at the monitor (Gonzaga coach Mark Few said after the game it was non-reviewable) and did not overturn their initial no-call.
After Anton Watson cut the deficit in half with a triple of his own, it looked as if the Bulldogs would get a shot to tie the game after Mahaney forced up an airball at the shot-clock buzzer on the Gaels' next possession. Watson, however, was called for a loose ball foul while boxing out Mitchell Saxen. The foul apparently occurred before the shot-clock buzzer sounded. Saxen made one free throw to make it a 4-point game, and Gonzaga walked off the court on the wrong side of another close game.
Officiating aside, there were many missed opportunities.
Gonzaga was 9-of-27 from the floor in the second half, allowed an 8-0 run with Graham Ike on the bench due to foul trouble, and the team was 3-of-14 on 3-point attempts. The Bulldogs also didn't create many extra opportunities through its defense, which forced just a season-low five turnovers from Saint Mary's.
Former Gonzaga All-American Adam Morrison broke down what he saw from the loss to Saint Mary's on a new episode of Talking Zags. (Morrison's comments about the Saint Mary's loss start at the 4:10 mark of the video.)
Produced by Thomas Gallagher.
