Bad News, Bubble Teams: Saint Mary's Dominates Zags In WCC Title Game

It seems that the St. Mary’s Gaels finally got sick of being part of the NCAA Tournament bubble discussion. After being left out of the “Big Dance” last season, the Gaels locked up a berth in the NCAA Tournament with a tremendous victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

After being swept during the regular season by Gonzaga, the Gaels came out and played arguably their best basketball of the season. Even with Omar Samhan struggling from the field, St. Mary’s used an outstanding defensive performance and some key contributions from Ben Allen and Mickey McConnell to pull out the 81-62 victory.

McConnell, who didn’t even score when these teams met in Spokane in early February, led the way for the Gaels with a game-high 26 points and six assists. With so much of the attention being paid to slowing down Samhan in the paint and McConnell on the perimeter, Allen took advantage of numerous open looks, scoring 20 points on 8-11 shooting.

With Gonzaga clearly out of rhythm and missing the presence of the injured Mangisto Arop, it’s no surprise the Zags shot only 42.9% from the field. Steven Gray capped off an excellent WCC Tournament performance, scoring 16 points and providing Gonzaga with their only consistent offensive player. Both Matt Bouldin and Elias Harris struggled mightily on the offensive end, shooting a combined 5-21 from the field.

While Gonzaga already was considered a lock for the NCAA Tournament, this loss likely ends any chance of the Zags playing the first two rounds in Spokane. However, if both Gonzaga and St. Mary’s can play at a high level next week, there should be the expectation that both teams could advance beyond the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) – Mickey McConnell and Ben Allen each hit four three-pointers to key the Gaels' terrific shooting effort, as St. Mary's downed No. 18 Gonzaga, 81-62, to capture the West Coast Conference Tournament title.

McConnell ended with 26 points, six assists and four steals, while Allen added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Gaels (26-5), who used a 14-3 run midway through the second half to secure the win and their sixth NCAA Tournament berth.

A 10-for-21 effort from three-point land and 14 forced turnovers helped spark the second WCC tournament crown in St. Mary's history.

Steven Gray scored 16 points and Matt Bouldin went for 14 on 2-of-8 shooting for the Bulldogs (26-6), who had swept the season series against the Gaels and beat them by 25 in last year's conference championship tilt.

The Zags are still expected to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced on Sunday.

It was a two-possession game through the first 10 minutes of the second half, as a Gray bucket had Gonzaga, the WCC regular season champs, within 50-47.

Allen's three with just under nine minutes to play sparked the game-altering stretch, which ended appropriately on a McConnell three-ball for a 64-50 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left.

The margin was 64-54 before Allen and Jordan Page each hit from long distance, and Page's tear-drop while being fouled on the next possession put the finishing touches on an emphatic victory for St. Mary's.

McConnell scored the first seven points of the game to give the second-seeded Gaels an early lead. The Bulldogs settled down from a slow start, and though they never led in the opening 20 minutes, were within 30-29 at the break.

St. Mary's has won five straight overall, while Gonzaga was riding a five-game winning streak coming in...The only other WCC tourney title for the Gaels came back in 1997...The Bulldogs own 10 WCC Tournament titles and had captured five of the previous six crowns...Page ended with 11 points, while Omar Samhan had nine points and seven rebounds for the Gaels...Elias Harris posted eight points on 3-of-13 shooting for Gonzaga.

Saint Mary’s has just defeated Portland by a score of 69-55 to reach the conference tournament finals for the second straight season. The Gaels were once again led by star center Omar Samhan who finished with 16 points and 13 points. Samhan’s point total was matched by two other Gaels in a great show of balance as both Mickey McConnell and Matt Dellavedova scored 16 apiece as well. Where as Gonzaga’s win over LMU was tighter than it appeared, this one could be classified as a rout.

The Pilots finish what has to go down as a relatively disappointing WCC season. They struggled with injuries and just could not live up to the early season hype which landed them a spot in the rankings as many thought they would be the ones to knock Gonzaga off the top of the conference.

As for Saint Mary’s, they continue to impress the country in games not against Gonzaga and tomorrow night’s championship game is of enormous importance to the Gaels. That win over Portland did little for their resume except to boos their confidence. They need to beat the Zags tomorrow night to get off that dreaded “bubble” they’ve been sitting on for the past few years. Randy Bennett will have to find a way to get one of the members of Saint Mary’s supporting cast to have a big night. In previous games against Gonzaga, their guards have struggled mightily to get off open shots and take the pressure off Samhan. Dellavedova was able to get off for a bit in the first half of the initial match up but point guard Mickey McConnell has been quiet in both affairs.

As an interesting sidenote, both Omar Samhan and Gonzaga’s Steven Gray were injured in their respective games. Omar rolled his ankle early on in the affair and Gray came down hard on his elbow and then jammed his fingers on the backboard against LMU. Samhan appears to be fine but Gray was heavily favoring that elbow after the game so it will be interesting to see how a night of rest affects those two injuries.

Gonzaga had revenge on its mind tonight as they made their debut in the 2010 West Coast Conference tournament. Less than a month ago, the Zags were upset by Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles and they weren’t about to let history repeat itself. In front of a capacity crowd at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, the Bulldogs took down the Lions of LMU by a score of 77-62.

The fifteen-point victory might be a bit deceiving to the average viewer as Loyola once again gave Mark Few’s team all they could handle. Playing the role of the aggressor, the Lions did not make life easy for Gonzaga star Matt Bouldin. The West Coast Conference player of the year was held to two points through the first half and finished with only 12 points, mostly coming in late parts of the game. Luckily for the Zags, Bouldin’s backcourt mate Steven Gray stepped up early and often. Gray finished with 18 points on 6-10 shooting and played a complete game on both ends of the court. He added seven assists and six rebounds to his impressive stat line. Freshman phenom Elias Harris also had a great game for the Zags. The German freshman import had 16 points, shot 100% from the field, and buried two three-pointers. He once again did a lot of his work from the free throw line, shooting 6-8. Newcomers Bol Kong and Mangisto Arop also had solid performances for the Bulldogs. Kong totaled nine points and drained some huge shots while Arop pulled down eight boards.

Loyola Marymount took a while to get going and that was the defining factor of the game. Once they woke up in the second half, it was too late. Small forward Drew Viney led the way for LMU with 15 points but the key for them was great balance. Four of their five starters were in double figures on the evening and they got gutty efforts from guys like Ashely Hamilton and Kevin Young. They were absolutely the enforcers for LMU tonight and if it weren’t for a few missed free throws late in the game, they could have really pushed for another upset. Regardless of tonight’s performance, this won’t be the last time you hear LMU making a big push in the WCC. The talent is there and with a few more years to gel, they will be a serious contender to make the NCAA Tournament.

Update: Saint Mary's has just defeated Portland by a score of 69-55 to reach the conference tournament finals for the second straight season.  The Gaels were once again led by star center Omar Samhan who finished with 16 points and 13 points.  Samhan's point total was matched by two other Gaels in a great show of balance as both Mickey McConnell and Matt Dellavedova scored 16 apiece as well.  Where as Gonzaga's win over LMU was tighter than it appeared, this one could be classified as a rout.

The Pilots finish what has to go down as a relatively disappointing WCC season.  They struggled with injuries and just could not live up to the early season hype which landed them a spot in the rankings as many thought they would be the ones to knock Gonzaga off the top of the conference. 

As for Saint Mary's, they continue to impress the country in games not against Gonzaga and tomorrow night's championship game is of enormous importance to the Gaels.  That win over Portland did little for their resume except to boos their confidence.  They need to beat the Zags tomorrow night to get off that dreaded "bubble" they've been sitting on for the past few years.  Randy Bennett will have to find a way to get one of the members of Saint Mary's supporting cast to have a big night.  In previous games against Gonzaga, their guards have struggled mightily to get off open shots and take the pressure off Samhan.  Dellavedova was able to get off for a bit in the first half of the initial match up but point guard Mickey McConnell has been quiet in both affairs.

As an interesting sidenote, both Omar Samhan and Gonzaga's Steven Gray were injured in their respective games.  Omar rolled his ankle early on in the affair and Gray came down hard on his elbow and then jammed his fingers on the backboard against LMU.  Samhan appears to be fine but Gray was heavily favoring that elbow after the game so it will be interesting to see how a night of rest affects those two injuries.

Over the course of the WCC season, four teams seemed to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. With Gonzaga and St. Mary’s already waiting in the semi-finals, LMU and Portland joined them with convincing victories over USF and USD respectively.

Despite entering the game as the lower seed, LMU came into the match up with USF having recently defeating both Gonzaga and Portland in the final month of the season. After a hotly contested first half, which saw the two teams tied at 38, LMU used their experienced and talented starting five to pull away for the convincing 84-76 victory. The Lions were led by the experienced combination of Drew Viney and Vernon Teal, who each scored a team-high 18 points. In a losing effort, Dior Lowhorn finished his illustrious career with 18 points and nine boards.

In the second game of the night, Portland controlled the tempo throughout the 40 minutes, setting up a tantalizing match up with St. Mary’s tomorrow night. In a typically tough and gritty performance, the Pilots used their size and experience to completely control the game from the opening tip. T.J. Campbell dictated the game from the point guard position, scoring 15 points and dishing out eight assists. When Campbell is able to score and push the tempo on the offensive end, Portland is a very difficult team to match up with.

Tomorrow night will provide two terrific games for fans of the WCC. Gonzaga will take on LMU in the first game of the night, with the inexperienced but talented Lions hoping to extend their season another game. The second game of the night will see Portland and St. Mary’s match up, with these two teams splitting their season series. It should be a very competitive and compelling night in Sin City.

The West Coast Conference tournament started off with a bang tonight at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. While the top teams in the conference have all earned byes, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine got things started and provided us with some drama we can hopefully expect to see all the way through Monday.

The Lions of LMU took the court as the favorites in this first round match up but Pepperdine wasn’t about to sity idly by. The Waves actually lead the game early on thanks to a great individual performance from star guard Keion Bell. LMU stormed back and took a double-digit about ten minutes through the second half. Pepperdine then came back with a flurry of their own but the Lions were able to seal the deal down the stretch with free throws to come away victorious by a score of 87-84. LMU’s Vernon Teel led all scorers with 27 points while Pepperdine’s Bell finished the game with 25. the Lions now advance to the second round of the tournament where they will match up in a highly anticipated game with San Francisco. Tip off is Saturday night at 6 PM.

Defense was the theme of the late game between Santa Clara and San Diego tonight at the Orleans Arena. The game was tight throughout but the Toreros were able to survive and advance thanks to some balanced scoring and outstanding team basketball.

Santa Clara actually had a chance at the end to tie the game and send it into overtime but there inbounds play with 0.4 seconds remaining failed and sent the Toreros to the next round. USD was paced by senior center Roberto Mafra who finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists in 30 minutes of action. They also got a solid showing from senior guard Brandon Johnson. For the Broncos of Santa Clara, it was once again freshman guard Robert Smith leading the way. Smith put up 16 points tonight for Santa Clara but it just wasn’t enough to outlast San Diego. Next up for the Toreros is Eric Reveno and the University of Portland Pilots. That game will tip off at 8:30 PM pacific time.