Gonzaga’s Questionable Late Baseline Out of Bounds Execution Ends in Saint Mary’s Victory, 62-58

The Zags have now lost to the Gaels five out of the last nine meetings in the West Coast Conference rivalry.

Another down to the wire finish ends in a Gonzaga disappointment. Heard this storyline way too many times this season.

The final offensive possession on that baseline out of bounds play from coach Mark Few’s brain was drawn up for Khalif Battle. The transfer guard looked to be held down by Saint Mary’s forward Luke Barrett. It eventually ended up in Graham Ike’s hands in the right corner but did he need to fire that three-point attempt right away?

Time on the clock was available for Ike to swing over to Battle near the top of the key if he were to push through and do something out of that mess of a possession. None of that played out.

Don’t get it wrong, Ike was easily the best player on the floor. A game-high 24 points on 10-19 from the field and team-high 8 rebounds. Along with his lead guard Ryan Nembhard (double-double with 11 points and 12 assists plus a game-high 3 steals), the tandem had 35 of Gonzaga’s 58 total points. No one else scored in double-digits for the Zags.

“Our guys fought like crazy, played some really solid basketball. Just didn’t make enough plays down the stretch. We aren’t making shots at the end of these games.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few

Moving over to what went entirely wrong after the 117th meeting in one of the best rivalries in college basketball between Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. Coach Randy Bennett and the Gaels continued to prove that they are the best offensive rebounding team in the country this season.

The Gaels grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and had second chance over and over again. Saint Mary’s won the total rebounding battle which was a major key coming into this matchup against Gonzaga, 40-34. When last season’s West Coast Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year Mitchell Saxen (9 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal) fouled out at the 4:22 minute mark, Ike and the Zags should’ve taken over down low. Far from the narrative.

Offensively for the Zags, the shot-making was absent at the highest level. Gonzaga finished with their second-worst three-point shooting performance on the season going 3-17 3PT (17.6%).

It starts with Battle’s inconsistent confidence, streaky shooting ability for the past two weeks. Does Few trust his transfer guard or not? Impossible to tell.

As just a freshman, Saint Mary’s guard Mikey Lewis from nearby Oakland in the Bay Area made the biggest impact for the Gaels. He came into his own at the biggest part of his young collegiate career, finishing with a team-high 16 points off the bench.

The Lithuanian duo of Paulius Murauskas (12 points, 8 rebounds) and the reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis (8 points, 9 rebounds) know all the angles of the McKeon Pavilion basketball court. Everything was going Saint Mary’s way after witnessing two banked-in three-point attempts and the Moraga home crowd was loving it.

Harry Wessels only played 9 minutes but hit a pair of key free throws down the late stretch to put the Gaels in front. He stepped up defensively once Saxen was unavailable with a massive block over Ike in the closing seconds.

“This win was big. They have been the standard for so long and still are nationally. That’s who we have to go through to win this league. To get the one at home is huge. We couldn’t do it last year. We went 15-1 at home and couldn’t get that one.” – Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett

The tiresome question that has been asked throughout this season is who will heed the call for the shot in the final minutes. Who can pull out a key win against an important opponent for NCAA Tournament seeding purposes? All of Gonzaga’s seven losses this season have either come by an average margin of four points in regulation or in overtime. At this point in the start of February, it’s looking bleak.

The Gaels have full control of the West Coast Conference standings with a perfect 10-0 record (20-3 overall) and a three-game lead while the Zags fall to 16-7, 7-3 in league. Saint Mary’s should be in the AP Top 25 come Monday. Next crack for Gonzaga against the Gaels will be in the Kennel on February 22nd.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho