MORAGA — Harry Wessels, within the recreation as a result of beginning middle Mitchell Saxen fouled out, made two free throws with 50.4 seconds left and blocked a shot 20 seconds later as Saint Mary’s held off Gonzaga 62-58 on Saturday evening to stay undefeated within the West Coast Convention.
The Gaels (20-3, 10-0) received their tenth straight recreation and now personal a 3-game lead within the loss column on the Zags (16-7, 7-3) and USF.
Jordan Ross clinched the victory by making two free throws with 0.7 seconds left after Gonzaga’s Graham Ike missed a possible game-tying shot with 4 seconds left as a capability crowd went wild.
Freshman Mikey Lewis delivered an enormous efficiency for the Gaels, scoring 16 factors, 10 of them within the second half, and ahead Paulius Murauskas had 12 factors and eight rebounds.
Ike scored 24 factors for the Zags and level guard Ryan Nembhard had 11 factors and 12 assists whereas taking part in all 40 minutes.
The Zags scored the primary seven factors of the second half to erase a lot of a 36-28 deficit on the break. Nembhard had three assists throughout that 2-minute burst to set off the Gonzaga offense.
Saint Mary’s Mikey Lewis (0) shoots previous Gonzaga Bulldogs’ Ben Gregg (33) throughout the second half of their recreation at St. Mary’s School in Moraga, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.Saint Mary School defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 62-58. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Space Information Group)
The guests took their first lead of the evening on a put up transfer by Ike for a 39-38 edge with 16:11 left.
In the meantime, the Gaels started to develop critical foul bother. Heart Mitchell Saxen was hit along with his third foul at 18:14 and level guard Augustas Marciulionis collected No. 4 on an offensive foul with 12:59 left and went to the bench for 4 1/2 minutes.
However the rating was even at 49-all after a floater by Lewis with 8:46 left and the freshman guard pushed the Gaels right into a 53-50 lead when he made a jumper with 5:17 to play.
When Lewis took a cross from Marciulionis and nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the evening, the Gaels led 56-51 with 4:44 left.
Saxen, who had 9 factors and 11 rebounds, fouled out 22 seconds later however the Gaels continued to climate the storm.
Lewis missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the suitable nook with 1:38 left however Murauskas transformed the putback for a 58-55 lead.
That lasted till Nembhard drilled a 3-pointer from the highest of the important thing with 1:18 left, knotting the rating at 58-all.
Saint Mary’s led 36-28 at halftime, however the margin may have been greater. The Gaels, who shot 70 p.c from the free throw line, transformed simply 5 of 15 foul photographs over the primary 20 minutes.
They have been significantly better from the sector, making 11 of their first 16 makes an attempt (together with 6 of 8 from the 3-point arc) to forge a 14-point lead with lower than 8 minutes left within the half.
Murauskas buried a 3-pointer with 7:41 left, capping a 10-0 run that propelled Saint Mary’s to a 32-18 lead.
The Gaels then went almost 5 minutes with out scoring, enabling the Zags to chisel the deficit to 32-24. A 3-pointer by Luke Barrett with 3:17 left ended the drought.
Saint Mary’s by no means trailed within the first half and wound up at 50 p.c for the interval. Murauskas scored 10 factors and Marciulionis had eight factors and 7 assists. Ike scored 10 factors within the half for the Zags, who had their very own points on the free throw line, lacking all three makes an attempt.
Subsequent up for the Gaels is a Thursday evening rematch at USF.
Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett acknowledges the group after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs throughout their recreation at St. Mary’s School in Moraga, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.Saint Mary School defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 62-58. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Space Information Group)
