Gonzaga falls to Saint Mary's in crucial WCC showdown: 3 takeaways

The Bulldogs now trail the Gaels by three games in the WCC standings following Saturday's matchup in Moraga, California

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13) drives to the net while being defended by St. Mary's Gaels center Harry Wessels (1) / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Once again, another pivotal matchup between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's came down to the wire.

There was plenty of reason to suspect Saturday's pivotal showdown between the Bulldogs and Gaels at University Credit Union Pavilion would be decided in the final minutes, though things certainly weren't trending that way early on after Saint Mary's jumped ahead by 14 points in the first half.

Slowly but surely the Zags climbed back into the fight following the halftime break, even taking a 49-45 lead with less than 10 minutes to play. The Gaels weren't as sharp offensively in the second half but they made just enough plays down the stretch to come away with a 62-58 victory over their WCC rival.

Here's three takeaways from the game.

GRAHAM IKE AND RYAN NEMBHARD SHOW

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13) drives to the net in an attempt to tie the game against St. Mary's Gaels center Harry Wessels (1). / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Essentially everything on the offensive end of the floor for the Zags started and ended with the ball in the hands of either Ryan Nembhard or Graham Ike. The Gaels could've expected as much heading in, though slowing down Gonzaga's senior tandem has proven to be quite the challenge even for some of the most stout defensive units in the country.

Nembhard got to setting the table right from the get-go, accounting for 13 of his team's first 15 points off five points and four assists before the 12-minute media timeout. There weren't many opportunities for the Zags to run in transition, but every time they managed to get out on a fastbreak, it seemed like it was because Nembhard was eager to race up the floor any chance he got to beat the Gaels in transition.

Ike was established as the go-to guy from the jump, as the offense was dictated through his play on the low block for the majority of the first half. The 6-foot-9 forward came out of the halftime break even more intense, as he scored seven quick points to cut the Gaels' lead down to one, just 2 minutes into the second-half action.

Later, Nembhard put the Bulldogs out in front after knocking down a midrange jumper to make it 47-45 with 10:41 left in regulation. The senior guard also drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game at 58 with just over a minute to play, however, the comeback attempt fell just short after Ike was rejected by Harry Wessels at the rim, then missed a 3-pointer in the corner with 5 seconds left that would've put the Zags out in front.

Ike finished with 24 points and eight rebounds on 10-of-19 from the floor in 31 minutes, marking his fifth 20-point outing over his last six contests. Nembhard added 11 points and 12 assists for his 10th double-double of the season and his 14th game with 10 or more assists this season, which ranks No. 1 in Division I.

ZONE DEFENSE TURNS THE TIDE

St. Mary's Gaels guard Augustas Marciulionis (3) celebrates after the three-point basket against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Normally it's the Bulldogs who can't be slowed down on the offensive end of the floor, but this time around it was them who were searching for answers defensively in hopes of containing the Gaels' highly efficient attack.

Just about everything Saint Mary's was putting up during the opening minutes was going down, from 3-pointers off the window to back-breaking second-chance opportunities off long offensive rebounds. The Gaels started 9-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from long range against the Zags' man-to-man defense, opening up a double-digit lead at the 13:50 mark in the first half.

Saint Mary's went into halftime with an eight-point advantage after going 12-of-24 from the field, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range, but just 5-of-15 from the free-throw line. As such, Gonzaga made the switch to play more zone defense in the second half, and it nearly rattled the Gaels to their core.

Saint Mary's struggled to crack the code coming out of halftime; it missed nine of its first 11 attempts from the field and looked out of sorts compared to the first half. But all of a sudden those paint touches for Mitchell Saxen and one-on-one matchups on the perimeter for Augustas Marciulionis became few and far between while facing Gonzaga's zone defense. Marciulionis was held scoreless in the second half, as he missed all four of his looks from the field.

Saint Mary's went from lighting up Gonzaga's defense to looking passive in the second half. That is until Mikey Lewis broke through down the stretch with a few clutch jumpers, including a fallaway 3-pointer with 4:44 left to make it 56-51.

Outside of their freshman guard, the Gaels were held in check offensively for much of the second half. After shooting 50% in the first half, Saint Mary's went just 9-of-31 (29.0%) from the field and 2-of-13 (15.4%) from behind the arc over the final 20 minutes of play.

ON TO LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

St. Mary's Gaels forward Paulius Murauskas (23) shoots over Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Ben Gregg (33). / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

The Zags have a few days to tend to their bumps and bruises before they get back to business as usual, which will be Thursday in a matchup against Loyola Marymount at the McCarthey Athletic.

Gonzaga dominated the first matchup in a 96-68 final from Gersten Pavilion on Jan. 4. Since then, though, the Lions (14-8, 6-4 WCC) have put together the program’s first five-game winning streak in WCC play since 1991 following a 16-point win over San Diego on Saturday. 

LMU erased an 11-point deficit against the Toreros thanks in large part to a 34-5 scoring run over a 14-minute stretch in the second half. San Diego cut it back down to 11, but the Lions never allowed their opponent to pull back within single digits. The lead grew to as large as 19 for LMU.

Myron “MJ” Amey led the way with 16 points off the bench, Jevon Porter and Alex Merkviladze had 14 apiece and Caleb Stone-Carrawell added 11 for the Lions, who held the Toreros to just 19-of-69 (season-low 27.5%) from the field and forced 12 turnovers.

Four players put up nearly 11 points per game for Stan Johnson’s team, paced by Stone-Carrawell at 13.5 and followed closely by Porter’s 13.0 points per game. Porter had 17 points and eight rebounds in the first meeting with the Zags. 

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• What Gonzaga's Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard said after loss vs. Saint Mary's

• What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after loss vs. Saint Mary's

• Saint Mary's Gaels 62, Gonzaga Bulldogs 58: Live score recap, highlights

• Gonzaga's Mark Few on Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett: 'He's built a heck of a program down there'

• Gonzaga's Mark Few calls out 'idiotic' WCC travel schedule

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