No. 12 Gonzaga falls 78-70 to Aidan Mahaney, No. 18 Saint Mary's in overtime thriller

Mahaney scored 16 points between the second half and overtime to lead the Gaels past the Zags

Cole Forsman | Feb 5, 2023

No. 12 Gonzaga falls 78-70 to Aidan Mahaney, No. 18 Saint Mary's in overtime thriller /

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Drew Timme’s 23 points weren’t enough as No. 12 Gonzaga fell in overtime, 78-70, to No. 18 Saint Mary’s on Saturday night in Moraga, California.

Aidan Mahaney’s 18 points paced the Gaels (21-5, 10-0 WCC), who own the second-longest active winning streak in the country at 13 games.

Malachi Smith chipped in 13 points for the Zags (19-5, 8-2 WCC), who were outscored 17-9 in overtime. Gonzaga has lost two of the last three head-to-head meetings with Saint Mary's.

The Gaels jumped out to a 70-64 lead in overtime after Mahaney, who banked in 3-pointer moments earlier, found Mitchell Saxen wide open for a layup.

After shooting 57% from the floor in the second half Gonzaga went 2-for-7 from the floor in overtime. The Zags were held without a field goal until Nolan Hickman’s 3-pointer with 1:16 left made it a 71-67 game.

Hickman, who finished with seven points, injured his ankle on a layup attempt with less than a minute left in overtime.

Nolan Hickman — Photo by Neville E. Guard, USA TODAY Sports

After struggling throughout the first 30-plus minutes of the game, Mahaney came up big down the stretch for the Gaels. The freshman guard scored eight straight points to tie the game 57-57 after sitting most of the second half on the bench with four fouls.

Mahaney scored 16 points and shot 7-for-11 in the second half and overtime.

Julian Strawther connected on a floater to put Gonzaga ahead 59-57, but Mahaney responded on the other end to knot things up at 59-59.

After a much-needed defensive stop, Gonzaga took a 61-59 lead with 34 seconds remaining after Strawther knocked down another floater in the paint.

But Mahaney found Saxen under the hoop for an easy layup to tie the game at 61-61 with 5.5 seconds left. Strawther’s deep 3-pointer from straightaway fell short just before the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

Strawther finished with 10 points, while Rasir Bolton fouled out after scoring four points.

Gonzaga’s offense scored 40 points in the paint against the Gaels, who hadn’t given up more than 36 in a single game this season.

Timme passed Jim McPhee for second place on the program’s all-time scoring list with a layup late in the first half. The two-time All-American is closing in on surpassing Frank Burgess (2,196) as Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer.

Gonzaga led by as many as 11 points in the first half before heading into the locker room with a 32-24 lead at halftime. The Zags shot 50% from the floor and committed one turnover.

Gonzaga hosts San Francisco on Thursday at 6 p.m.