Buzzer breakdown: Gonzaga’s Senior Night tradition goes sideways and SMC’s Mikey Lewis strikes off the bench

Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 74-67 West Coast Conference loss to Saint Mary’s on Saturday night at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Lewis comes up in clutch

Mikey Lewis will have vivid memories of his first two experiences in the rivalry series with Gonzaga.

The Saint Mary’s freshman made a number of key shots in the second half of the Gaels’ 62-58 win earlier in the month, scoring 16 points off the bench.

Lewis turned in another masterful performance on Saturday in Spokane, scoring a team-high 18 points off the bench while making 5 of 9 from the field and 5 of 7 from the 3-point line.

Nembhard creeps up on WCC record

Ryan Nembhard was unable to break Emmett Naar’s single-season WCC assist record in the game against Naar’s former team, but the Gonzaga senior put himself in position to eclipse the mark next week in the Bay Area.

Nembhard needed 12 assists against the Gaels to match the 184 totaled by Naar in 2017-18, but he came up short after totaling seven in the rematch between the conference rivals.

The point guard will need five more next week in road games against Santa Clara and San Francisco, plus at least one game in the WCC Tournament.

Senior-oriented lineup digs early hole

As has been Senior Night tradition under Mark Few, Gonzaga’s starting lineup was exclusively made up of seniors.

The Zags rolled out a unit that included three regular starters, Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman and Ben Gregg, along with backup forward Michael Ajayi and walk-on guard Joe Few.

The lineup yielded nine points in two minutes, 10 seconds, and allowed the Gaels to take an 11-0 lead.

Graham Ike subbed in and put the Zags on the board at the 17-minute mark.