In Men's Basketball, Gaels Come Back to Beat No. 12 Gonzaga in Overtime Thriller
It was Magic in Moraga on Saturday night. And a team that just wouldn't quit. Now Saint Mary's is No. 15 in the country according to AP, No. 14 nationally according to the USA Today Coaches Poll.
College basketball games don't get much better than what took place inside University Credit Union Pavilion on Saturday night. No. 18 Saint Mary's hosted No. 12 Gonzaga in the first matchup between the two teams this season, and the game lived up to the billing. The Bulldogs led by as many as 11 points in the first half, and their lead held steady around eight points in the second half. But the Gaels clawed back, forced overtime, and won the game 78–70 in front of a sellout crowd.
Saint Mary's now has a two-game lead over Gonzaga for first place in the West Coast Conference, with a record of 21–4 (10–0), while Gonzaga is now 19–5 (8–2).
How It Started
Gonzaga was in control of this game after the first few minutes, and it looked at times as if they might run away with the game. They led by as many as 11 points in the first half, holding a 27–16 lead with 7:09 remaining, but the Gaels were able to make it an eight-point game at halftime.
In the second half, with only 6:46 to go, the Gaels were still down by eight. To that point in the game, the Gaels offense was flat. They were well under 35 percent shooting from the field as a team. They weren't getting hot from beyond the arc. And despite doing a relatively good job on defense—holding Gonzaga to just 51 points through 33 minutes of play—the Gaels were still down 51–43.
More Mahaney Mania
That's when Aidan Mahaney showed up. Mahaney had just two points in the first half—and then suddenly became the best player in the game. He scored 11 of the next 14 points for the Gaels, and seemed like he could do no wrong.
Mahaney's first layup with 6:25 to go made it a six-point game. He was fouled on the shot, and it was an and-one. He sank the free throw.
Logan Johnson then made his first three-pointer of the game, with less than five minutes to go. Suddenly it was a 51–49 game. Mahaney scored the next eight points for the Gaels, including two-game tying layups, the last of which made it 59–59. There was a run where Mahaney either scored or assisted on 19 of 21 points.
Going to Overtime
Gonzaga's Julian Strawther hit what was at the time the shot of the game: a jumper in the paint to put Gonzaga up 61–59 with less than 35 seconds to go. On the Gaels final possession of regulation, Mahaney found Mitchell Saxen in the paint. Saxen hit a spin move to create a wide-open look on the right glass, and he made his layup to tie the game with 5.5 seconds remaining. Despite a deep three attempt by Gonzaga at the horn, the game was going to overtime—a game in which Saint Mary's hadn't led since the score was 4–3.
Gaels Gone Wild
Overtime belonged to the home team. Saint Mary's kept all the momentum they had built up and ran with it.
The Gaels were down one after a trip to the line for Gonzaga to begin overtime. Alex Ducas hit a layup to put the Gaels in front 63–62, and then Augustas Marciulionis hit a euro-step layup to make it 65–63. With the Pavilion rocking, Mahaney then hit the dagger. He moved to the deep left wing, stepped back, and banked in a three-pointer off the glass, sending the home crowd into bedlam with the score at 68–64.
The game was officially put on ice with just seconds remaining, when the Gaels broke a press and Kyle Bowen dunked one home, and a steal by Marciulionis on the ensuing inbounds pass put the game away.
A Few Numbers—Including 1,000 Points for Logan Johnson
This was the first overtime game between SMC and Gonzaga since the 2012 WCC Championship game. And it was just the third win for the Gaels over Gonzaga when both teams had been ranked in the AP Poll, with the last one coming in last season's home finale…
Mahaney finished the game with 18 points after recording just two in the first 33 minutes of the game…
Saxen recorded his career-best third-straight double-double, going for 15 points and 11 rebounds…speaking of boards, the Gaels were +7 on Gonzaga, including 9-3 on the offensive glass…
Logan Johnson fouled out of the game but wound up with 12 points and tied for a team-best three assists, and became the 38th member of the 1,000-point club at Saint Mary's…
No Bulldog had more than five rebounds…
The 70 points scored by Gonzaga are tied for the most against the Gaels this season…Gonzaga led for 36:17, but the Gaels held them to just five assists and a -3 turnover differential.
Gaels Rise to No. 15 in AP Poll, No. 14 in USA Today Coaches Poll
Saint Mary's Men's Basketball is one of the hottest teams in the NCAA in early February. The Gaels haven't lost since before Christmas, are riding a 12-game winning streak, and continue to climb in the national rankings. In the February 6 edition of the AP Poll, the Gaels move up three spots to No. 15, while moving up four spots in the USA Today Coaches Poll to No. 14.
Being inside the top-15 is rare air for Saint Mary's. The Gaels have spent just six weeks being ranked inside the top-15 in both polls all-time. The most recent instance previously was in February 2018, when the Gaels were ranked No. 15 across the two polls. Not only are the Gaels ranked inside the top-15, but they are now the top-ranked team in the West Coast Conference, with Gonzaga dropping to No. 16.
Saint Mary's came from behind twice last week to remain unbeaten in conference play, with their record now standing at 10–0, with just six games remaining on the schedule. Saint Mary's holds a two-game lead over Gonzaga for the regular season title, which the Gaels are trying to capture outright for the first time since 2012.
The metrics continue to show love to the Gaels, where they remain ranked No. 6 in the NCAA NET Rankings, and No. 7 in KenPom. With the eyes of the country increasingly on Saint Mary's, they were also chosen as the NCAA Team of the Week by national reporter Andy Katz, who has the Gaels at No. 11 in his Power 36 Rankings. And over at CBS News, writer Kyle Boone pegged the Gaels' victory over Gonzaga as the top game of the week.
“Saint Mary's tops our grades this week after wiping out No. 12 Gonzaga at home to extend its lead in the WCC standings by two games. Aidan Mahaney was nails late to lead the Gaels to a comeback, scoring 16 of his 18 in the second half and overtime.”
Up Next: Road Games vs. LMU and Portland
The Gaels will look to keep the good times rolling on the road next week with a pair of road games, part of three-straight away from home. Saint Mary's first plays at Loyola Marymount on Thursday, February 9 at 6 p.m. on regional sports networks around the state before heading all the way up to Portland on February 11 for a showdown with the Portland Pilots. That contest will tip-off at 3 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
#GaelsRise
Read the original story and watch an interview with Aiden Mahaney at SMCGaels.com
Read more: “Saint Mary’s Ranked Inside the Top-15 for the First Time Since 2018”