Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s Rivalry Can’t End Here

It can’t end like this. This doesn’t have to be the last matchup between the two West Coast college basketball powerhouses under coaches Randy Bennett and Mark Few.

Yes, the No. 9 Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-2, 16-1 WCC) fell to the Saint Mary’s Gaels (26-4, 15-2 WCC) in the regular season finale in Moraga, California, 70-59. The hatred between the schools will always make for high-level competition, none more proven on this ESPN national stage with the lively broadcast duo of Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham on the call.

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Few’s frontcourt came into tonight’s game already being hit hard with detriments, starting with redshirt junior forward Braden Huff, missing his 13th straight game with a left knee injury. On top of that, senior wing Jalen Warley was a scratch from the roster for the second straight game with a left quad contusion. He was invaluable when containing Saint Mary’s junior forward Paulius Murauskas in the second half of Gonzaga’s first winning matchup back on Jan. 31 in Spokane, Washington, 73-65.

Warley’s absence made for yet another starting lineup variation. The 13th of the season, in fact. That included freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery, graduate guard Adam Miller, junior wing Emmanuel Innocenti, graduate wing Tyon Grant-Foster, and graduate forward Graham Ike.

On a Saturday night in the small East Bay town, it was the Gaels’ three-point shooting that stole the show. Freshman wing Mantas Juzenas of Kaunas, Lithuania, started the streak with his first two makes from deep at the start of the first half, finishing with 12 points on 4-for-6 three-pointers. Didn’t even take a two-point attempt.

Those who are understanding of Saint Mary’s success since the turn of the century think of the Australian talent coming in. It’s been an entirely different recruiting change for Bennett and his staff recently. Moving to the likes of the Baltic states, with talent like Juzenas and Murauskas (nine points on 2-of-10 field goals, eight rebounds),…

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Publish date : 2026-03-01 12:54:00

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