Bad News, Bubble Teams: Saint Mary’s Dominates Zags In WCC Title Game

After being swept during the regular season by Gonzaga, the Gaels came out and played arguably their best basketball of the season. Even with Omar Samhan struggling from the field, St. Mary’s used an outstanding defensive performance and some key contributions from Ben Allen and Mickey McConnell to pull out the 81-62 victory.

McConnell, who didn’t even score when these teams met in Spokane in early February, led the way for the Gaels with a game-high 26 points and six assists. With so much of the attention being paid to slowing down Samhan in the paint and McConnell on the perimeter, Allen took advantage of numerous open looks, scoring 20 points on 8-11 shooting.

Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) – Mickey McConnell and Ben Allen each hit four three-pointers to key the Gaels’ terrific shooting effort, as St. Mary’s downed No. 18 Gonzaga, 81-62, to capture the West Coast Conference Tournament title.

McConnell ended with 26 points, six assists and four steals, while Allen added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Gaels (26-5), who used a 14-3 run midway through the second half to secure the win and their sixth NCAA Tournament berth.

As for Saint Mary’s, they continue to impress the country in games not against Gonzaga and tomorrow night’s championship game is of enormous importance to the Gaels. That win over Portland did little for their resume except to boos their confidence. They need to beat the Zags tomorrow night to get off that dreaded “bubble” they’ve been sitting on for the past few years. Randy Bennett will have to find a way to get one of the members of Saint Mary’s supporting cast to have a big night. In previous games against Gonzaga, their guards have struggled mightily to get off open shots and take the pressure off Samhan. Dellavedova was able to get off for a bit in the first half of the initial match up but point guard Mickey McConnell has been quiet in both affairs.

The fifteen-point victory might be a bit deceiving to the average viewer as Loyola once again gave Mark Few’s team all they could handle. Playing the role of the aggressor, the Lions did not make life easy for Gonzaga star Matt Bouldin. The West Coast Conference player of the year was held to two points through the first half and finished with only 12 points, mostly coming in late parts of the game. Luckily for the Zags, Bouldin’s backcourt mate Steven Gray stepped up early and often. Gray finished with 18 points on 6-10 shooting and played a complete game on both ends of the court. He added seven assists and six rebounds to his impressive stat line. Freshman phenom Elias Harris also had a great game for the Zags. The German freshman import had 16 points, shot 100% from the field, and buried two three-pointers. He once again did a lot of his work from the free throw line, shooting 6-8. Newcomers Bol Kong and Mangisto Arop also had solid performances for the Bulldogs. Kong totaled nine points and drained some huge shots while Arop pulled down eight boards.

Update: Saint Mary’s has just defeated Portland by a score of 69-55 to reach the conference tournament finals for the second straight season. The Gaels were once again led by star center Omar Samhan who finished with 16 points and 13 points. Samhan’s point total was matched by two other Gaels in a great show of balance as both Mickey McConnell and Matt Dellavedova scored 16 apiece as well. Where as Gonzaga’s win over LMU was tighter than it appeared, this one could be classified as a rout.

Drama really isn’t something we are used to seeing in the West Coast Conference come March.

For the past decade, Gonzaga has been head and shoulders above the rest and their tournament record proves it. Eight times in the past ten seasons, Mark Few’s team has cut down the nets at the tournament championship. The Zags enter as the No. 1 seed once again this season but this might be one of the most difficult WCC fields in recent memory. The conference has plenty of star power and they are just itching to get their chance to knock off the top dog.