Good morning. I watched a replay of the first half when I got home (bedtime, 2!), got up for a phone interview with KJR in Seattle and then watched the second half. Entertaining game full of big plays, drama and questionable calls both ways that ended with Mickey McConnell draining a tough, leaning 15-footer to win it (pictured above in photo by S-R's Dan Pelle).

Can't say I'm a big fan of those 8 p.m. starts (that almost always become 8:10-8:15). I typically file a 6-8 inch game story for first edition right after the game, then make a mad dash to get a couple of interviews and a quick rewrite for final.

Here are the links: S-R gamer, John Blanchette column, S-R photos, A.P. gamer and Contra Costa Times gamer.   

Much more below in my day-after post.

--Let’s begin with Saint Mary’s guard Mickey McConnell, who has been at his worst (zero points, four turnovers, three assists in last year’s 80-61 loss in Spokane) and best (26 points, six assists in the WCC title game; and 27 points, six assists last night) against the Zags in the last calendar year.

Saint Mary’s really isn’t complicated at either end of the floor. The offense runs through McConnell first and occasionally Matthew Dellavedova. They spread the floor, those two often initiate offense with a perimeter screen, usually with an option to go right (where Rob Jones sets a screen) or left (where one of SMC’s four bigs sets a screen). From there, the guards take what’s available, whether it’s a drive, a pull-up, a floater, a drive-and-dish.

And if nothing’s there, they’re patient and freelance until they can generate a good look.

Case in point. GU led 65-62 inside four minutes. Dellavedova tried to run David Stockton off high-post screens to his left and his right, but Stockton did a good job of staying in front of him. Delladevoda tossed the ball to Jones, who had just missed two straight 3s, one an airball. He declined to take the 3 and his drive was stymied by Harris 14 feet from the bucket. McConnell, stationed on the left wing in front of Saint Mary’s bench, faked a cut to the hoop, losing Goodson, and drifted back behind the 3-point line for a 23-footer that evened the score.

“I had zero (points last year), but you have to take each game how it is,” McConnell said. “Even a game like tonight you have to turn the page and get ready for Portland. Definitely, I had the zero in the back of my mind after (last year), and I wanted to make a conscious effort to, probably, not let that happen again.

“I wanted to come out and be aggressive. I got some good looks and it held up.”

Same type of simplicity on the defensive end. The Gaels played man-to-man, rarely helped inside, even when Sacre and Dower were having a field day in the paint, until late in the contest. They don’t apply much pressure, in part because a couple of injuries have left them with a short bench and because McConnell and Dellavedova play a ton of minutes (40 each last night).

In the Gaels’ case, it’s not how much they do, but the execution of their game plan.

“Our guys, I thought they held their composure,” SMC head coach Randy Bennett said. “They got down a little bit; they played through it. McConnell hit some huge shots.”

--Gonzaga made another change to the starting lineup, inserting Mathis Mönninghoff over Mathis Keita or Manny Arop. The three have basically split that starting spot all season, so that wasn’t a big surprise. The surprise was that neither Keita nor Arop played in the game, even with Gray in foul trouble for much of the second half. It was Arop’s first DNP of the season and Keita’s first since Baylor on Dec. 18.

It was Mönninghoff’s first start since Lafayette on Dec. 29. I’m guessing the thinking was to get another perimeter shooter (not Keita’s specialty) on the floor against a defense that might try to pack inside on Sacre and Harris. Probably the same reason Mönninghoff came in late (2:40-ish remaining) with the Gaels determined not to let Sacre operate one-on-one inside at crunch time.

In my rush after the game, I forgot to ask Few about Arop and Keita, but I checked this morning and was told it was strictly a coaches’ decision. Both players are healthy.

--Gonzaga had some unusual combinations, to say the least, on the floor, particularly after Gray exited with his fifth foul. At one point, Stockton, Goodson and Carter, essentially the team’s three point guards, were on the floor together.

Carter made several key plays. He scored four of GU’s final six points and swatted a shot by Dellavedova in the lane. Carter drove and connected on a short bank shot with 3:10 left to give Gonzaga a 67-65 lead. Trailing 71-69, Stockton missed a 3-pointer and Sacre kept the rebound alive. Carter grabbed the ball and was fouled on a shot attempt in the lane.

Carter made the first free throw. After a Gaels timeout, Carter calmly made the second to tie the score.

“I practice free throws all the time,” Carter said. “I knew I had to knock them down. I just stepped to the line, just relaxed and breathed in a couple times and knocked them down.”

Stocktonalso showed he wasn’t afraid to take the big shot, but he misfired on a 3 in the closing seconds (good look, but might have had Sacre open, rolling down the lane for a split second). Stockton also drew a foul on McConnell with 1:12 remaining, but missed the free throw.

Sam Dower, meanwhile, nearly single-handedly brought the Zags back from a six-point deficit in the second half. He finished with 13 second-half points, including a nine-point spurt in roughly 3:30. Dower picked up two early fouls, but was solid at both ends of the floor in the second half. He also had five boards to go with his 15 points in 16 minutes.

“I just knew Saint Mary’s was going to bring it and give it their all so I came in thinking I had to match that or beat their mentality,” Dower said. “That’s what I tried to do, but we ended up coming up short.”

Dower added two more field goals later in the half.

“I was just feeding off the crowd,” he said. “That’s what I’m here for, to bring energy, get some rebounds. Luckily I got some rebounds, hit some big shots, but this game is over now. It’s on to the next game.”

Few was impressed with the contributions of Dower and Carter, who have played limited minutes much of the season.

“To come in and make plays in a tight game like that … and for Marquise to make those two free throws when you haven’t been playing long stretches of game, he deserves a lot of credit,” Few said. “And Stocks gave us great minutes.”

Of Dower, Few said: “I’m really proud of him. We kept telling him and talking to him that sooner of later it’s going to be his time. He’s been so positive. He’s playing behind a really good player (Sacre). For him to give us a lift like that in a game like this was really impressive.”

Dower came on after Sacre picked up his third foul with 14:48 left. The Gaels quickly built their lead to six and the Zags were forced to bring Sacre back in. However, he was stuck at the scorer’s table because there wasn’t a break in the action. With Dower draining shots, when Sacre finally got into the game it was for Harris, not Dower.

--Gray fouled out with 4:58 left and GU nursing a three-point lead. His fifth foul probably wouldn’t have been called under most circumstances, but it was a virtual replay of the possession before when Gray drove to his right and cleared some space on Clint Steindl for an 8-footer in the lane. He tried the same move on the next play and when he dipped his shoulder, Steindl exaggerated his fall back and got the call.

Gray had been guarding Dellavedova, but Few switched him to Steindl after Gray picked up his fourth foul with 8:04 remaining.

“I switched him to somebody else because I thought he could stay out of foul trouble and he gets an offensive foul,” Few said. “Tough call.”

--Sacre had 15 points and seven boards in the first half. He made a living at the free-throw line, hitting 7 of 8, and he eventually had three Gaels’ big men in foul trouble. The second half was a different story as Sacre picked up several quick fouls, his third with 14:48 left, and his fourth with 9:47 left.

 He returned and was clearly GU’s main option in the closing minutes but the Gaels did a better job of helping their post defender. On one play Sacre tried to go baseline but his shot attempt was too hard. Later, he tried to work into the middle of the lane against 2-3 defenders but he lost his balance and missed an 8-foot shot while falling down.

“I thought Phil Benson gave us a big lift guarding Sacre, and Mitch Young did a great job on him down the stretch,” Bennett said.

Sacre played just eight minutes in the second half and finished with 17 points and eight boards.

STATS OF NOTE

--When David Stockton missed the front end of a 1-and-1 at the free-throw line with 1:12 left it was his first errant FT of the season. He was 9 of 9 on the season to that point.

--The Zags dropped to 44-2 in WCC games in the new Kennel.

--Gray had five turnovers and one assist. Gonzaga finished with 10 assists and 13 turnovers. SMC also had more turnovers (13) than assists (12). McConnell and Dellavedova combined for 11 assists and eight turnovers.

--Rob Jones finished with 15 points and 13 boards. The Gaels also got 16 points combined from Mitchell Young, Tim Williams and Kenton Walker inside, mainly on feeds from penetrating guards.

--Despite an 11-9 edge in offensive rebounds, GU was outscored 13-9 on second-chance points. GU had a 9-4 edge in the first half, but only converted that into a 7-5 advantage in second-chance points.

--Gonzaga made 12 of 15 first-half free throws and 4 of 5 (all five in the last 2:12) in the second. The Gaels were 0 of 1 in the first half, 7 of 10 in the second.

--Sacre was 4 of 13 from the field, 0 of 3 in the second half. His last made field goal came with 4 minutes left in the first half.

QUOTES

McConnell on GU losing Gray to fouls: “All their players are capable of defending and playing well, but he’s their main option offensively, him and Sacre, so it was definitely a blow for them.”

Carter on his two FTs with 10.2 seconds left: “I think that’s probably the biggest (free throws of his career).”

McConnell on winning at the MAC: “Yeah, we haven’t won up here in 16 years, so it’s definitely a huge win for us. Not too many teams in our league win up here. It’s one of the toughest places to play in the country, so it’s a great step for us as a program.”

Carter on the post-game locker room: “It was a really bad feeling when we first got in the locker room, but Coach (Few) came in and told us that we battled, and we really did. We fought hard. He (McConnell) threw up a shot and it went in.”

Bennett: “It was a great game, a great college basketball game. We happened to get the last shot and Mickey hit a real tough shot. It’s big. We haven’t beaten them up here since I’ve been here.”

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