SPOKANE – The Gonzaga Bulldogs let a pivotal West Coast Conference clash slip through their grasp down the stretch in a 64-62 loss to Saint Mary’s on Saturday night.
A hot start saw the Bulldogs (16-6, 7-2 WCC) jump out to an 11-2 lead early before the Gaels (18-6, 9-0 WCC) weathered the storm to make it a 1-point game at halftime. Gonzaga struggled to pull away amid the slugfest, as both sides took turns dominating in the paint.
Joshua Jefferson capped off an 8-0 scoring run for the Gaels with a stepback 3-pointer over Braden Huff, which made it a 60-55 game with 2:37 left in regulation. After Ben Gregg’s hustle play following his own missed 3-pointer made it a 3-point game, Mitchell Saxen missed two free-throws on the ensuing possession, though Gonzaga couldn’t capitalize.
Then, a wild sequence led to Augustus Marciulionis nailing a clutch 3-pointer at the top of the arc to give Saint Mary’s a 63-57 lead with 48 seconds left. A second look on the replay monitor appeared to show that Gaels’ point guard Aidan Mahaney had stepped out of bounds with the ball prior to Marciulionis’ 3-pointer.