MORAGA — There was a lot to deal with after beating Saint Mary’s No. 9 Gonzaga 70-59 in front of a deafening home crowd and a national ESPN audience in their final regular season meeting as West Coast Conference rivals.
For coach Randy Bennett, one thing stood out above all else. “We won the conference championship,” he said. “That’s a big deal.”
Four in a row, actually. The Gaels and Zags shared the 2023 regular season crown before Saint Mary’s won back-to-back titles the next two seasons.
This was seen as accessible on Jan. 31, after the Zags defeated the Gaels 73-65 in Spokane to extend their lead to two games in the standings. A WCC heavyweight for a quarter-century, Gonzaga appeared to be on its way to an outright championship in its bye season before joining the rebuilt Pac-12 next year.
“I think it’s a testament to the consistency of the program and coach Bennett,” said sophomore guard Mike Lewis, who scored 31 points Saturday night. “Winning four titles in a row is difficult, we are still two games back and we have never talked about it out loud, but we knew that to get back to this place we have to win.”
The Gaels are undefeated, going 8-0 in February, including an 86-67 win over Santa Clara on Wednesday that avenged an earlier loss and set up Saturday’s game.
“We accomplished a lot this week,” Bennett admitted.
The Gaels (27-4, 16-2) picked up their first Quad 1 win and completed a flawless 17-0 home run, which extended their streak to 26 consecutive victories at the University Credit Union Pavilion. They improved their record against the Zags to 6-5 over the last four seasons.
Saint Mary’s will be the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament, which begins Thursday in Las Vegas. That gives the Gaels a chance to advance to Monday’s semifinals. Gonzaga (28-3, 16-2) is the No. 1 seed.
Regardless of what happens at Orleans Arena, the Gaels are assured of their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament bid. They were No. 22 in the NET computer rankings before the Gonzaga victory and will surely move up a few spots as a result.
“It feels amazing,” said Lewis, an Oakland native. “That was fun. I mean, the atmosphere there . . . obviously, winning makes it a lot better. But that was one of the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball.”
Point guard Joshua Dent, who scored 14 points, found out what the crowd of 3,500 was in for tonight when Lewis buried a 3-pointer in the Gaels’ first possession.
“When Mike hit that par 3, I thought my ears were going to start bleeding,” the Australian sophomore said. “If we start making 3s and go on our little runs, this place is a jungle.”
The Gaels trailed 36-29 at halftime, despite four 3-pointers and a game-high 12 points from Lithuanian freshman Mantas Juzenas, who is averaging just 1.7 points. “He kept us in it,” said Lewis.
Lewis led the offense in the second half, scoring 21 points, including five of seven 3-pointers. The Gaels shot 16 of 33 from the arc, outscoring the Zags 48-15 from deep.
“I think we can jump teams early in the second half and make it difficult for them,” said Dent.
Ranked fifth nationally in rebounding, the Gaels were on the short end of a 22-18 deficit in the first half. They dominated the boards 24-15 in the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Zags 11-0 in second-chance points.
The Gaels’ defense held firm again, with the duo of Harry Wessels and Andrew McKeever limiting Zags star Graham Ike to four of his 17 points before fouling out with 3:45 to play.
The Gaels and Zags will meet again in the WCC tournament title game a week from Tuesday if both win in the semifinals. Bennett will welcome another duel with Zags coach Mark Few, their 72 seasons over 25.
“I love that game. You don’t get that much,” Bennett said. “If you can be a part of that, it’s special.”
