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Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs executed their game plan perfectly against Saint Mary’s in the first 20 minutes, playing smothering defense and hitting tough shots to take a 36-29 lead into the locker room.
And then the second half started.
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The Gaels came out of the locker room and immediately went on an 8-0 run and never looked back, ultimately cruising to a 70-59 win to earn a share of the WCC regular season title and hand the Zags their third loss of the year.
Paulius Murauskas continued his struggles against Gonzaga, but sophomore guard Mikey Lewis picked up the load for the Gaels, dropping a season-high 31 points – most coming down the stretch in front of a roaring home crowd.
Gonzaga and SMC share the regular season title for the fourth time, but the Zags will get the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament because they secured a better record against the third-place team, Santa Clara, which is the tiebreaker.
Gonzaga will have a full nine days off before their next game on Monday, March 9, which fans will hope gives Jalen Warley enough time to recover from his quad contusion, as his presence would have made a big difference on Saturday night.
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Below are three key takeaways from Gonzaga’s loss to Saint Mary’s in their final regular-season game in the WCC:
1. Crushed on the offensive glass
Saint Mary’s came into this game as one of the best rebounding teams in the country, both on the offensive and defensive glass. Meanwhile, Gonzaga is elite at grabbing defensive boards, but hasn’t been nearly as good on the offensive side – especially in the last six weeks without Braden Huff.
That’s how things played out on Saturday, with the Gaels garnering way more second-chance opportunities, while Gonzaga routinely went one-and-done. Ultimately, SMC finished with 15 offensive boards, compared to just seven for Gonzaga.
Feb 28, 2026; Moraga, California, USA; St. Mary’s Gaels guard Paulius Murauskas (23) boxes out Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Emmanuel Innocenti (5) during the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/gonzaga-falls-saint-marys-second-055726352.html
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Publish date : 2026-03-01 05:57:00
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