Gonzaga loses heartbreaker to Saint Mary's: 'We got to start learning how to win some of these closer games'

Bulldogs get shut down in the second half, Gaels nail timely 3-pointers to steal a win in The Kennel

SPOKANE - The Gonzaga Bulldogs let a pivotal West Coast Conference clash slip through their grasp down the stretch in a 64-62 loss to Saint Mary's on Saturday night.

A hot start saw the Bulldogs (16-6, 7-2 WCC) jump out to an 11-2 lead early before the Gaels (18-6, 9-0 WCC) weathered the storm to make it a 1-point game at halftime. Gonzaga struggled to pull away amid the slugfest, as both sides took turns dominating in the paint.

Joshua Jefferson capped off an 8-0 scoring run for the Gaels with a stepback 3-pointer over Braden Huff, which made it a 60-55 game with 2:37 left in regulation. After Ben Gregg's hustle play following his own missed 3-pointer made it a 3-point game, Mitchell Saxen missed two free-throws on the ensuing possession, though Gonzaga couldn't capitalize.

Then, a wild sequence led to Augustus Marciulionis nailing a clutch 3-pointer at the top of the arc to give Saint Mary's a 63-57 lead with 48 seconds left. A second look on the replay monitor appeared to show that Gaels' point guard Aidan Mahaney had stepped out of bounds with the ball prior to Marciulionis' 3-pointer.

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Anton Watson, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, kept Gonzaga's hopes alive with a 3-pointer in front of the student section with 37 seconds left. A strong defensive effort on Mahaney followed, as the sophomore forced up an airball as the shot clock expired that would've given the Bulldogs the ball with a chance to tie. But a loose ball foul was called on Watson trying to box out Saxen.

"It's not fun," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few after the game. "But, it's the beauty of athletics. We got another [game] coming in a few days and we got to get geared up. That was a great college basketball atmosphere, that was a great college basketball game."

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

FOUL TROUBLE STRIKES AGAIN

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

A small thorn in Gonzaga's side this season has been foul trouble, particularly when it happens to the team's most relied-upon players. Graham Ike has been forced to sit for extended minutes, such as his four-minute first half against Pacific two weeks ago, as well as Anton Watson at different points.

Against Saint Mary's, a matchup that's always dominated by physicality and force in the paint, it's almost to be expected that some players on both sides will get whistled a few times throughout the night. In the first half that was the case for Ben Gregg, who had to sit after picking up his second foul at the 15:46 mark while Gonzaga had the clamps down defensively. With Gregg out, the Gaels made six of their next eight shots to make it an 18-17 game once he checked back in with 7:41 left.

But Gregg's absence early didn't hurt as badly as when Ike had to sit for a few minutes in the second half amid a close ballgame. The 6-foot-9 post was whistled for four fouls after halftime, with the final one coming at the 5:17 mark. Immediately, the Gaels went right at Braden Huff with Saxen down low, sparking the 8-0 scoring run to take a 60-55 lead once Ike checked back in.

"[Saint Mary's] were able to get on a little run there when we took Graham out of there and I thought that was kind of the big key," Few said. "They went right at us and got some baskets that provided them separation."

For Ike, it wasn't easy watching his team surrender a big run late.

"It was frustrating," Ike said. "As a competitor, you want to help your team out and be a part of the game. It's tough."

BULLDOGS CAN'T CLOSE LATE, AGAIN

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Close games haven't been too kind to the Bulldogs — they're now 1-3 on the season in games decided by five points or less. The two losses in WCC play have come by a combined three points. And in their lone narrow win over San Francisco, they nearly squandered a 12-point lead in two minutes.

"We got to start learning how to win some of these closer games," Ryan Nembhard said.

In each of the close losses, offensive miscues prevented Gonzaga from being able to close out strong. At Washington, the Bulldogs shot 7-for-27 from the field in the second half, missed all nine of their 3-point attempts and managed to score 10 points over the final 11:20. The Santa Clara loss was more on the slow start, though missed free-throws late didn't help either. And then on Saturday, Gonzaga was 9-of-27 from the floor in the second half and missed seven of its final 10 shot attempts.

"It was hard for us to generate any baskets," Few said. "Took a couple, I thought panicky sort of shots there a little bit in that stretch, especially when the guards went downhill. And we actually had some good shots in there, [Huff's 3-point miss at the 4:00 mark]."

"But hey, that's the end of the game. Guys got to step up and make shots," Few said.

The Gaels made it tough on Nembhard and Nolan Hickman down the stretch, as the two guards were a combined 0-for-10 from the field over the final 16 minutes. That followed what was a strong first half from Nembhard in which he scored seven of the team's final 11 points, including an and-one bucket that capped an 8-2 scoring spurt.

NCAA TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS AT STAKE

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The loss didn't hurt Gonzaga much in the NET, where it dropped one spot to 27th despite an 0-5 record in Quad 1 games. In fact, Saint Mary's didn't move at all from its spot at No. 21 after the win. That's the reality of playing Quad 1 games at this point in the season — it only moves the needle so much.

Still, the Bulldogs are outside the NCAA Tournament field in the eyes of most bracketology experts. ESPN Bracketology had Gonzaga in the "First Four Out" group prior to the Saint Mary's loss. Hard to imagine that changes in the next update.

Per Bart Torvik, Gonzaga has a 78.2% chance to go dancing in March and a 35.9% chance to get in with an autobid earned by winning the WCC Tournament. The Gaels meanwhile improved their chances to 95.2% and a 50.8% chance to get the league's autobid.

In any case, the Bulldogs would surely like to guarantee their trip to the NCAA Tournament by claiming the WCC crown in Las Vegas. Until then, any loss will be a blow to their at-large resume. A massive nonconference battle at Kentucky next Saturday presents another Quad 1 opportunity against a team some prognosticators view as a legitimate Final Four contender.  

The Wildcats fell at home on Saturday to No. 5 Tennessee in a battle for SEC supremacy. John Calipari's group will look to rebound at Vanderbilt on Tuesday while Gonzaga looks to get right at home against Portland on Wednesday.

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