Gonzaga Smacks Saint Mary’s in Regular Season Finale

Jan 29, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward/center Sam Dower (35) reacts after scoring a basket against the Santa Clara Broncos during the second half at Leavey Center. The Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 54-52. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

It was all Gonzaga (25-9, 15-3) from the get-go, as the Bulldogs smashed the Saint Mary’s Gaels (21-10, 11-7) 75-47 to improve its NCAA tournament resume.

The Gaels got the first three points of the game, but Gonzaga countered that with a 21-3 run to open up a 15 point lead. Gonzaga built on that lead throughout the course of the first half and into the second half, allowing the Zags to ultimately rout Saint Mary’s in their own building.

Sam Dower led the Bulldogs tonight with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The senior forward recorded his seventh double-double of the season in the victory. David Stockton led the Bulldogs in assists with 5. Przemek Karnowski and David Stockton also finished in double figures with 10  points.

Saint Mary’s leading scorer on the night was Stephen Holt, who scored 10 points. He went 0-6 from the field, but made 10 of his 10 foul shots. Matt Hodgeson got the start for Saint Mary’s, and led the Gaels in rebounding along with Kerry Carter and James Walker III with 4 boards. Beau Levesque led the Gaels with 4 assists.

Gonzaga had the one seed in the WCC tournament and the WCC regular season title locked up, but needed a quality road win for their NCAA tournament resume. With Gonzaga winning in convincing fashion today, they are giving the selection committee a good “eye-test” win.

As for Saint Mary’s, they are firmly in the four spot for the upcoming WCC tournament. They needed a win tonight as well as a San Francisco loss at LMU. However, the Gaels could not take care of business tonight, solidifying them as the four seed.