Mikey Lewis’ career night leads Saint Mary’s to upset of No. 9 Gonzaga
by Theo Lawson · The Seattle TimesMORAGA, Calif. — Gonzaga did many of the things usually required to beat Saint Mary’s during its final excursion to UCU Pavilion as a member of the West Coast Conference.
Somewhere near the top of the list is limiting high-scoring Gaels forward Paulius Murauskas. The Zags were successful on that front — highly successful, even — while holding the WCC Player of the Year candidate to nine points on 2-for-10 shooting.
Gonzaga eliminated what the Gaels tried to do inside the three-point line, holding them to 21% shooting on two-pointers. The Zags were in front on the scoreboard and looked to be in control of the game when they took a seven-point lead into the halftime break.
But pop over to the three-point shooting column and it’s easier to understand how the Gaels overcame the early deficit, pulled in front just minutes into the second half and ultimately handed the ninth-ranked Zags a 70-59 loss at UCU Pavilion.
Sophomore Mikey Lewis got loose for seven three-pointers and a career-high 31 points, but he wasn’t the only player involved in the Gaels’ perimeter shooting barrage.
Saint Mary’s made a season-high 16 shots from the three-point line, going 9 of 15 from distance in the second half to win its 26th consecutive home game and secure at least a share of the WCC regular-season title for the fourth straight season.
Gonzaga’s third loss could have NCAA tournament seeding implications, but it won’t impact Mark Few’s team next week at the WCC tournament in Las Vegas.
The Zags claimed a share of the regular-season WCC title by beating Portland earlier in the week and will still head to the conference tournament with the No. 1 overall seed. Saint Mary’s clinched the No. 2 seed and a bye to the semifinal round with its victory over Santa Clara on Wednesday.
Short-handed Gonzaga faced its longest WCC rival without senior wing Jalen Warley, who missed his second straight game with a left quad contusion. Warley’s defensive activity would’ve been helpful, but probably not enough to overcome the Gaels’ outside shooting avalanche.
Saint Mary’s conceded 13 first-half points to Gonzaga forward Graham Ike and the Zags played solid defense early to carve out a seven-point halftime advantage. Gonzaga contained the Gaels to 10 first-half field goals and 20% shooting inside the arc.
But Saint Mary’s scored eight consecutive points coming out of the break, including a pair of three-balls from Joshua Dent, and never cooled off from the three-point line. Lewis reached the 30-point mark and delivered the 16th three-pointer for Saint Mary’s with 1 minute, 29 seconds remaining to give the Gaels a 14-point lead.
Ike, who’s still possibly the front-runner for WCC Player of the Year honors, was productive in the first half but almost invisible in the second. The senior forward finished with 17 points and just four after halftime, making 7 of 14 shots from the field before fouling out with under four minutes to play.
Adam Miller scored 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting and 1 of 5 from the three-point line while Tyon Grant-Foster had 13 points and six rebounds in his first start since November.
Dent scored 14 points for the Gaels, freshman Mantas Juzenas added 12 on four three-pointers and Dillan Shaw led all players with 10 assists.
Gonzaga (28-3, 16-2) faces an eight-day layoff before opening its final WCC tournament March 9 at Orleans Arena. The top-seeded Zags will open in the semifinals against the winner of a quarterfinal game between fourth-seeded Oregon State and an opponent to be determined.