Difference makers: Anton Watson delivers offensive, defensive highlights to help Gonzaga outlast Saint Mary’s

Anton Watson

The senior delivered crucial plays on both ends of the floor to help Gonzaga establish an early advantage and take a 13-point lead into halftime . Watson scored eight of his 17 points before halftime, including a one-handed dunk over Saint Mary’s forward Mitchell Saxen while drawing a foul, and later converted a putback on a Drew Timme miss. The Gonzaga Prep made 7 of 11 shots from the field to finish with 17 points and eight rebounds. Watson, who finished with four steals – one short of his career high – three assists and one blocked shot, added a two-handed dunk to make it 69-62 with 2:44 seconds left.

Logan Johnson

The hottest stretch of Johnson’s career continued in his birth city of Spokane. The senior guard carried the Gaels’ slow-starting offense in the first half, scoring 12 of his team’s first 19 points. Johnson had 15 points by halftime while no other Saint Mary’s player had more than three points . Johnson, who took an unofficial visit to Gonzaga before signing with Cincinnati and eventually transferring to Saint Mary’s, finished with a game-high 27 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, 2 of 2 from the 3-point line and 11 of 15 from the free-throw line. Johnson couldn’t lift Saint Mary’s to a second win over Gonzaga, but he finished the regular season averaging 25.1 points over his past six games.

Turning point

The Zags couldn’t weather Aidan Mahaney’s late scoring in a 78-70 overtime loss in Moraga, California, on Feb. 4, and the Saint Mary’s freshman guard had another one brewing midway through the second half. Mahaney, scoreless through the game’s first 24 minutes, made a pair of 3-pointers and beat Watson to the rim for a layup to cut Gonzaga’s lead – once as large as 19 points – to six with nearly 12 minutes left. The Zags prevented Mahaney from doing much further damage and he threw the ball away for his fourth turnover before missing consecutive shots – the second of which was stuffed by Malachi Smith. Gonzaga limited Mahaney to one point the rest of the way.