Saint Mary’s shockingly outscored No. 9 Gonzaga 41-23 after halftime, clinching a share of the WCC title behind Mikey Lewis’ career-high 31 points and proving the Gaels are March-ready.
The West Coast Conference pecking order just flipped. Saint Mary’s roared back from a seven-point halftime deficit to stun No. 9 Gonzaga 70-59 in Moraga, seizing a share of the league’s regular-season crown and handing the Bulldogs their loudest wake-up call of the year.
Lewis unleashes the shot of his life
Mikey Lewis buried a career-high seven triples on his way to 31 points, the most by any Gael in a marquee WCC game since 2019. Every time Gonzaga crept within one possession, Lewis answered—first with a transition triple to snap a 44-44 tie, then with back-to-back daggers that stretched the lead to 67-50 with 4:09 left.
Second-half blitz rewrites the rivalry script
Saint Mary’s shot 48 percent after the break and limited Gonzaga to 29.6 percent, flipping a 36-29 deficit into a 15-2 run to open the half. Joshua Dent supplied 14 points and four threes, while Mantas Juzenas added 12, ensuring the Gaels’ eighth straight victory carried real weight.
The numbers stack up as the most lopsided second half in this rivalry since Randy Bennett’s staff started keeping advanced pace stats a decade ago.
What the share means for March
Both teams finish 16-2 in conference, but Gonzaga claims the No. 1 seed in next week’s WCC tournament thanks to a tiebreaker. The twist: Saint Mary’s has now won seven of the last 13 meetings, the first time any program has hovered near .500 against Mark Few since BYU left for the Big 12.
Bracketologists immediately bumped the Gaels to the No. 6 seed line in early NCAA projections, while Gonzaga slipped from a projected No. 2 to a No. 3 in the West Region Sunday morning.
Bulldogs face identity questions
Graham Ike’s 17 points and Adam Miller’s 14 weren’t enough once Ike fouled out with 3:44 left. Without their interior anchor, the Zags missed six of their final seven shots and committed four turnovers, exposing a half-court offense that looked suddenly ordinary.
Mark Few now has six days to solve a defense that surrendered 1.17 points per possession in the second half, the worst efficiency allowed by Gonzaga in any WCC game this decade.
Final chapter, new beginning
Saturday’s thriller closed the 71-year, 150-game regular-season series as Gonzaga exits for the rebuilt Pac-12 in July. The Gaels sent their fiercest rival packing with a signature statement: Saint Mary’s isn’t merely the king of Moraga anymore—it’s a legitimate West coast power capable of March chaos.
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