by Michael Vernetti

There are some sinister forces lurking within the NCAA Selection Committee. Consider the committee’s deliberations on this year’s field of 68 for the NCAA National Tournament.

For a 6-11 match-up in Sacramento, the committee could have chosen Saint Mary’s, with its 17 RPI ranking and 14 KenPom ranking and its year-long top 25 ranking in both the AP and USA Today polls as the 6th seed. The opportunity to play in Sacramento would have been a nice bonus for a team that has been sent hither and yon in past years — from Providence to Omaha to Little Rock.

But no, the committee handed Creighton that plum 6th seed in Sacramento, even though Creighton (25-9) is ranked 27th by KenPom and 26th in the RPI, and is not ranked in the top 25 by either AP or USA Today. This is because the selection committee awarded Creighton the no. 24 overall seeding for the NCAA tourney. The other three 6-seeds are SMU, Cincinnati and Maryland, ranked 21-24 by the selection committee.

Saint Mary’s was ranked no. 25, just outside the possibility of receiving a 6-seed. Of the four teams rated higher by the committee, SMU and Cincinnati had RPI and/or KenPom rankings comparable to Saint Mary’s. Creighton and Maryland fell way below the Gaels in both the rating services, with Maryland a distant 45 in KenPom and 24 in the RPI.

In other words, despite all the talk coming from the selection committee or those close to it about the stringent objective criteria used in choosing and seeding tournament teams, some of them just liked Creighton and Maryland better than Saint Mary’s, no matter what the record showed. Thus, the Gaels are a 7th seed, headed toward a Thursday match-up against the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams in Salt Lake City.

The good and the bad

So be it. The Gaels are in good shape to make the 7th seed work for them just as they would have with that 6-seed in Sacramento. Their opponent, in fact, is from the same conference as would have been their foe in Sacramento –the Atlantic 10 — and will be of comparable difficulty as the Sacramento team, Rhode Island. Both VCU and Rhode Island competed with Atlantic 10 regular-season champion Dayton, whom the Gaels defeated back in November.

VCU, which is associated in the minds of most college hoops fans with the Shaka Smart-coached squad which became the darling of he 2011 NCAA tourney by advancing to the Final Four before losing to Butler, finished one game behind Dayton, splitting with the Flyers in the regular season. They finished 26-8 and 14-4 in the conference.

VCU is a veteran team, starting four seniors and one junior. They are not particularly big, with two forwards, Mo Alie Cox and Justin Tillman, at 6-7, but also have two guards, Jordan Burgess and Doug Brooks, at 6-4/6-5. They like to press and trap, and their top scorer is the smallest guard, 6-1 Je Quan Lewis, who averages 14.7 PPG, followed by Tillman at 12.4 PPG.

If you happened to catch any VCU action on television this season you probably noticed the most hirsute player in college hoops, VCU reserve Jonathan Williams. Williams is a 6-1  guard who boasts dreads and a full beard, so he is hard to miss.

Handicapping the game, one would give the Gaels a good chance to break down VCU’s press and wreak havoc on the back line. Jock Landale has certainly faced bigger opponents than either Cox or Tillman, but his teammates must get him the ball. Dead-eye shooters Calvin Hermanson and Evan Fitzner may also have an opportunity to shine if the Gaels execute their half-court offense effectively.

Arizona awaits

If the Gaels  get past VCU, they most likely would face number-2 seed Arizona on Saturday. The best thing Saint Mary’s has going for it in taking on the deep and talented Wildcats is familiarity, as they have scrimmaged against Arizona in two recent pre-seasons. The current pre-season, however, wasn’t one of them, so the Gaels will be facing Arizona’s freshman phenom, Lauri Markkanen, for the first time. It will likely be memorable.

Markkanen is a 7-foot, 230-lb. forward who shoots from three-point range when he isn’t dominating underneath. He is averaging 15.6 PPG, and has launched 155 three-pointers, making 43% of them (for reference, the Gaels’ most prolific three-point shooter is Hermanson, who has attempted 190, sinking 44%).

Listing all Arizona’s depth might be frightening, but they do have a spare 7-footer, Dusan Ristic,  to back up Markkanen, and a 6-11 sophomore, Chance Comanche, in case they want to go small. The Wildcats’ most dangerous scorer is guard Alonzo Trier, a 6-5 sophomore who is averaging 17.3 PPG, but they have plenty of other guards as well. Trier was under team suspension and not playing in Arizona’s two pre-conference losses, 69-65 to Butler, and 69-62 to Gonzaga.

Bad planning

As proof of the malevolent intent of the selection committee, note that the Gaels were placed in the same West bracket as Gonzaga. Simply to avoid pitting two teams who faced each other during the regular season in another game during the tournament, the NCAA tries to avoid this kind of thing. For the Gaels, who have already lost to Gonzaga three times this year, they made an exception. Thus, if Saint Mary’s gets past VCU and Arizona to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in San Jose, Gonzaga will stand between them and the Final Four.

One does not like to envisage the sight of Zags’ Coach Mark Few opening a vein at center court should Saint Mary’s, indeed, play Gonzaga in the Elite Eight game and defeat them, but one can’t rule it out. Of all Gonzaga’s manifest accomplishments over the years, one triumph has evaded them — advancing to the Final Four.

If it were Saint Mary’s standing in the way, and if the Gaels were to prevail, there would be much weeping and gnashing of teeth in Spokane. All thanks to those good folks on the NCAA Selection Committee.

It’s all hands on deck this Thursday for the Saint Mary’s Gaels, pictured above, embarking on the NCAA Tournament chase for the first time in three years. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

It was Baylor all over again.

Just as in the 2010 Sweet 16 game, when Saint Mary’s laid a giant egg in Houston’s Reliant Stadium, losing 72-49 to a talented, athletic Baylor team, the Gaels fell flat in a big game in the WCC Tournament championship game in Las Vegas.

The 18-point loss to Gonzaga, 74-56, followed two dominating wins over Portland (81-58) and BYU (81-50). In 2010, the shellacking by Baylor followed two rousing wins at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI, over Richmond (80-71) and number-two seed Villanova (75-68).

The empty feeling in fans’ stomachs, the sense of incredulity, the shock were the same Tuesday night in Las Vegas as they were on that day in Houston seven years ago. How could this happen? What happened to my team? Will they even come out for the second half? These were questions roiling the scattering of Gael fans in the Gonzaga-fan-dominated Orleans Arena.

Given Coach Randy Bennett’s speechlessness in the opening minutes of the post-game news conference, one can imagine Bennett didn’t have a lot to say at halftime after his charges fell behind by 39-18. Maybe he remembered his words from 2010 when the halftime damage totaled 46-17, but in either case it was probably irrelevant. After  complete meltdowns such as occurred in Houston and Las Vegas, it is up to the players to find whatever redemption they can.

It is to the Gaels’ credit that they mounted a 14-5 start to the second half, and kept up the pressure until the 10-minute mark when a three-pointer by Evan Fitzner brought them to within five points at 51-46. They had held Gonzaga to 12 points at that point, but the dam burst shortly thereafter as Gonzaga — led by the dynamic Nigel Williams-Goss — went on an 11-2 run to  end any hopes of a dramatic comeback.

Outscoring Gonzaga 38-35 in the second half was small consolation to the Gaels considering their first-half incompetence. Ten turnovers and 21.4% field goal percentage (6-28) were the statistical lowlights, but one didn’t need to know any numbers to realize that Saint Mary’s was completely out-played from the opening tip-off. Although they battled the Zags’ valiantly on defense, their offensive malfeasance rendered defense excellence meaningless.

They couldn’t dribble, pass, catch or shoot, making one think they had expected a different team from the ruthless Gonzaga gang that was waiting to make them pay for every miscue. Zag rebounders pounced on the seemingly endless clunkers hoisted by Gael shooters and raced down court to capitalize. No defense can withstand such an onslaught from a talented team, and Saint Mary’s soon withered under the Zag attack.

Broncos did better

Watching the Gaels tie themselves into knots driving into the paint, finding no one open to receive a pass and either committing a shot clock violation or a turnover, one thought back on the effort made by Santa Clara against Gonzaga the night before. Santa Clara Coach Herb Sendek didn’t expect his undersized (Nate Kratch) and moderately-talented (Emmanuel Ndumanya) front court to butt heads with Zag stars Przemek Karnowski, Zach Collins and Johnathan Williams, so he devised a different strategy — isolating guards Jared Brownridge and Matt Hauser on the Gonzaga bigs. And it almost worked.

Brownridge was brilliant, scoring 32 points on 12-25 shooting. Hauser was less successful, scoring 13 points on 5-17 shooting, while Kratch chipped in with nine points on 4-9 shooting. The effect was to deny Gonzaga the opportunity to create momentum from blocked shots and to limit turnovers — the Broncos committed only five for the game. Although eventually unsuccessful, the 77-68 loss was a lot less disheartening to Santa Clara than the Gaels’ defeat was to them.

Saint Mary’s seemed flustered by the Zags’ defense, even though Tuesday night’s game was their third try against Gonzaga. Dane Pineau, a tiger on defense, was an almost total loss offensively (two points, 1-5 shooting). As the ball settled into his hands on rotation, the Zags sagged so far off Pineau looked lonely. Yet he refused to take the numerous open three-pointers they offered him, missing on two  attempts.

Meanwhile, the Gaels’ brilliant three-point shooter, Evan Fitzner, spent most of the night on the bench. When he did get floor time (19 minutes), he connected on three of three long-range attempts. Bennett must resolve the season-long conflict between Pineau’s defense and Fitzner’s offense before the post-season begins, or the Gaels may face other offensive breakdowns.

Vegas as a whole

The Gonzaga disaster aside, Saint Mary’s did reach several of its goals during the WCC tournament. By throttling Portland and especially by dominating BYU, the Gaels took two opportunities away from skeptics who might have been looking for reasons to eliminate them from the NCAA Tournament. A 28-4 record with three of the losses coming to an outstanding Gonzaga team constitutes a commendable resume, better even than the 27-5 mark they offered the NCAA Selection Committee last year at this time (and which the committee not-so-politely rejected).

Saint Mary’s improved its out-of-conference schedule, winning road games against Dayton and Stanford and home games against two potential conference champions in Nevada of the Mountain West and UC Irvine of the Big West. Gonzaga solidified its claim to a one seed in the West Regional, and the Gaels were the runner-up to them in the WCC. Bennett should get some more opportunities to unstick his sometimes-grindy (his word) offense in the NCAA Tournament.

The Gaels probably won’t schedule a fan-watching ceremony for Selection Sunday on March 12, but the televised presentation of the tournament brackets should help remove the bitter taste from the Gonzaga defeat.

Evan Fitzner, shown above in a game from last year, seemed like an antidote to Gonzaga’s shutdown of in-the-paint opportunities, but he played only 19 minutes against the Zags, sinking all three three-pointers he attempted. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

As gratifying as was Saturday’s 70-56 win over Santa Clara, Saint Mary’s finds itself ensnared in the drama created by BYU’s shocking 79-71 win over Gonzaga in Spokane.

Last week in Provo, BYU was rendered nearly comatose by the totality of the Gaels’ 70-57 win. News reports indicated BYU was in shock, doubting itself and understandably worried about the rest of the 2016-17 season. Facing a hard charge by Santa Clara, BYU could envision losing its exclusive hold on third place in the WCC: Santa Clara had the opportunity to finish at 11-7 (wth a win over Saint Mary’s), which would match BYU’s record if, as expected, BYU lost at Gonzaga.

BYU coach Dave Rose is not often compared with Knute Rockne (or Slip Madigan) in the ranks of inspirational speakers, but either he rallied his troops or they found something within themselves. They bounced back from the Saint Mary’s defeat with a forceful 97-78 win over Portland Thursday and then downed Gonzaga for the third time in three years to end the Zags’ undefeated season and put themselves right back in the WCC Tournament picture.

As a third seed, BYU will face Saint Mary’s in the WCC semis next Monday, assuming both teams get past their opening-round games against conference bottom-feeders. For the Gaels, advancing to a championship showdown against Gonzaga on Tuesday night will mean defeating the suddenly-aroused BYU for the third time this season.

As the Gaels’ 85-75 loss to Gonzaga in last year’s WCC Championship indicates, beating good teams three times in the same season is not easy.  So, the Gaels face not only a potential showdown with Gonzaga for their own shot of redemption, but another showdown against BYU. Got your tickets to Las Vegas?

About Santa Clara

The BYU-Gonzaga furor will drown out any accolades Saint Mary’s might have earned by compiling its best-ever record of 26-3 with the Santa Clara win. If the Gaels win at least two games in Las Vegas, someone will probably note that 28-4 is a pretty good record considering three of the four losses came from the number one team in the country. If they run the table in Vegas, astounded scribes will probably marvel that this undervalued team earned a fourth seed or better in the NCAA Tournament. Such is the lot of under-the-radar teams.

The Gaels were not about to let Santa Clara derail them on the way to Las Vegas, even though the Broncos had more riding on the outcome than Saint Mary’s. As noted, the Broncos came into Moraga hoping for an upset and a Gonzaga victory over BYU. That would have given first-year Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek a tremendous record of 17-14 and 11-7 in the WCC.

Just as they have in every game since losing to Gonzaga 74-64 on Feb. 11, however, Saint Mary’s ratcheted up the defense and scored just enough to win convincingly. They fought to a 41-29 halftime lead that presaged a 20-point-or better victory margin,  but struggled through a poor second-half offensive performance (29 points) to win by 14.

The most encouraging sign for the Gaels was the inspired play of up-and-down guard Emmett Naar. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but we might have witnessed a turning point with Naar’s performance. He led the team in scoring in the first half, going 4-4 from the floor and missing out on an additional three-pointer because of a bone-headed moving screen by Jock Landale. This wasn’t one of Landale’s occasional slightly-too-hard bumps on a screen — he wiped out the Santa Clara defender to enable Naar to get off the shot.

Undeterred, Naar came right back on the next possession and buried a three-pointer without interference from Landale. Of his 11 first-half points, however, a drive  at the seven-minute mark was the most spectacular, perhaps his best move of the season. Driving against the Broncos’ 6-8 Nate Kratch, Naar made a  cross-over move and finished with his left hand. It was the kind of play we saw over and over again from Naar last year but that has been missing for most of the current season.

Second half blues

Naar slowed down in the second half to finish with 13 points and four assists, but he was joined by most of his teammates. After a promising start by dropping a dime on Dane Pineau for a bunny on the Gaels’ first possession, Naar and his mates struggled through seven straight possessions without a basket. The slump included such beauties as a Pineau travel, a Calvin Hermanson charge and two missed bunnies by Pineau. Landale mercifully ended the drought with a soft hook over Santa Clara big man Emmanuel Ndumanya for  45-33 lead.

Keeping Santa Clara from capitalizing on this dry spell was the Gaels’ now-expected crushing defense. Although Saint Mary’s only scored five points in the first eight minutes, Santa Clara scored only seven in nearly 11 minutes. Thus, the Gaels were up by 19 at that point, and extended it to 20 (62-42) on a Hermanson three-pointer with seven minutes left. The only drama down the stretch was Joe Rahon’s twisted knee with about 10 minutes left.

The ultra-competitive Rahon initially didn’t want to come out, although he was obviously in some pain and was limping noticeably. He finally removed himself, went to the locker room and let the suspense build. Less that two minutes later, Rahon came trotting out of the locker room, went right by the Gaels’ bench and coach Randy Bennett and presented himself at the scorers’ table.

It was vintage Rahon, combining swagger with the knowledge that his status with Bennett doesn’t include quibbling over such things as whether to go back into the game or not. He played a few more minutes before heading to the bench one last time, capping a spectacular two-year run in Moraga that included 55 wins and counting. There was no official word on his condition, but no Gael fan in the land expects Rahon to miss any action in Las Vegas.

The WCC tournament

The Gaels begin WCC Tournamnt play next Saturday, March 4, with a 9 p.m. game against the winner of the San Diego-Portland game — a toss-up if there ever was one. BYU and Gonzaga precede the Gaels with contests against Loyola Marymount for BYU and the Pepperdine/Pacific winner for Gonzaga. It would be a shock, indeed, if any of these games knocked out Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga or BYU.

The action then resumes on Monday the 6th, allowing for the required Sunday day-off in deference to BYU. Gonzaga, by virtue of its number-one seeding, has the better match-up against the winner between Santa Clara and San Francisco, while the Gaels will meet BYU.

There is no telling how much BYU’s win over Gonzaga will energize the Cougars, who have experienced not only doubt but harsh fan and pundit criticism over their six losses in WCC play (21-10 overall). Although it is hard to imagine LMU could upset BYU in the first-round game, the Gaels can only hope that the confidence they gained from defeating the Cougars decisively in two previous contests will propel them to the championship game.

Where all they’ll have to do is defeat a Gonzaga team smarting from the BYU loss that cost them their hopes for an undefeated season and, possibly, their number one national ranking. Piece of cake.

Emmett Naar, shown above in an earlier game, resembled his old self against Santa Clara, scoring 13 points and dishing out four assists. The Gaels will need him in top form to get through the upcoming WCC Tournament successfully. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Comes now Saint Mary’s, fresh off a resounding victory over BYU, rising to 18th place in the coaches’ poll (20th in the AP Poll) and eyeing a WCC Tournament championship rematch with mighty Gonzaga.

Are the Gaels to be knocked off their perch — and robbed of their destiny — by the likes of Pepperdine this Thursday in Malibu or Santa Clara this Saturday in Moraga? Let’s consider the possibilities.

Regarding Pepperdine, the inclination is to say, “No way!” and point to dismal recent performances by the Waves: a 106-55 shellacking by Santa Clara last Thursday in Santa Clara and an 82-61 loss at Loyola Marymount on Saturday. Apparently deciding that guarding three-point shots is too draining for its depleted roster — three starters are injured — Pepperdine gave up a WCC-record-tying 22 three-pointers  against Santa  Clara and another 16 against LMU.

But…one can easily overlook the fact that Pepperdine was riding a three-game winning streak — including a 99-83 drubbing of BYU — heading into the Santa Clara game. In a hyperbolic burst of enthusiasm, the school’s promotional department called the Waves “the hottest squad in the WCC outside Gonzaga.” Seven minutes into the Santa Clara game, however, the Waves’ double-double machine, erstwhile Gael Chris Reyes, went down with an aggravated foot injury, and it may have been the straw that broke the Waves’ back.

The Waves were already short-handed, having lost starting two-guard Amadi Udenyi to an Achilles tear and promising sophomore forward Kameron Edwards to a jaw injury before the season began. Reyes had been a lifesaver for Pepperdine, routinely racking up double-doubles and following scoring machine Lamond Murray Jr. as the Waves’ second leading scorer. Reyes sat out the LMU game and his current status is “day to day.”

Reyes did not rattle the Gaels, who had recruited him out of high school but cut him loose after a redshirt season, in a Jan. 21 game in Moraga, as he scored only eight points following 13 straight double-double performances. Saint Mary’s cruised to an 85-65 win, withstanding a 29-point barrage by Murray.

Assuming Reyes is back for the Saturday rematch in Malibu, Pepperdine must be considered a potential headache, particularly after defeating the Gaels twice last season. Murray and senior point guard Jeremy Major comprise a potent one-two punch, and if Reyes is back and the Waves sense an opportunity to play spoiler, it could be an unpleasant evening in Malibu.

Realistically, however, I can’t see the Gaels allowing Pepperdine to upset them. Saint Mary’s should easily exploit Pepperdine’s weakness against the three-ball, and the Gaels’ three-headed post contingent of Jock Landale, Dane Pineau and Jordan Hunter should dominate the Waves’ Nate Gehring, Nolan Taylor and Reyes —  if he plays. The Gaels are on a quest to sweep everyone in the WCC besides Gonzaga, and Pepperdine doesn’t seem the force to stop them.

Bucking the Broncos

As for Santa Clara, a reasonable question might be, “Which Bronco squad will show up?” After dropping 106 points on Pepperdine, Santa Clara entertained San Diego at the Leavey Center with the table set for a momentous evening. The Broncos knew Saint Mary’s was playing BYU on the same night, and knew that a win over San Diego coupled with a Saint Mary’s win would bring the Broncos even with BYU for third place in the WCC at 10-6.

And they lost, to a struggling San Diego team that had lost five in a row and six out of seven, including an embarrassing 71-27 loss to Saint Mary’s. It took two overtimes and a buzzer-beating jumper by Tyler Williams to do it, but San Diego beat Santa Clara 60-58. That puts Santa Clara in a tie with San Francisco for fourth place in the WCC at 9-7, and could make the Saint Mary’s game a battle for fourth with San Francisco or even a long shot bid for third place if BYU stumbles in its last two games — road contests at Portland and Gonzaga.

Despite the San Diego stumble, Santa Clara has two things going for it against the Gaels. First, they know the 72-59 Saint Mary’s win at Santa Clara on Jan. 28 was closer than it looked. And second, they don’t like Saint Mary’s very much and would love to be the squad that upset the Gael express heading to the WCC Tournament.

Under new coach Herb Sendek — new only to Santa Clara after a long career including stops at North Carolina State and Arizona State — the Broncos have weaned themselves away from over-reliance on brilliant shooting guard Jared Brownridge, and have emphasized an inside game featuring, primarily, Nate Kratch, and occasionally Emmanuel Ndumanya.

Ironically, Kratch has optimized his inside game by developing into a consistent three-point shooter as well. He was the star of the Broncos’ assault on Pepperdine, scoring 32 points, including 5-7 three-pointers. The Gaels learned of this expertise, apparently to their surprise, when they beat Santa Clara in January. Evidently disbelieving rumors of Kratch’s long-range ability, Gael defenders Pineau and Evan Fitzner left him alone and waved as his initial three-point attempts settled comfortably into the basket.

Before they began taking him seriously, Kratch had sunk three of five three-pointers en route to 19-point game in which he shot 9-12 overall. The Gaels, in the person of Joe Rahon, did not sleep on Brownridge, however, holding him to 13 points. Overall, the Gaels held Santa Clara to 6-22 on three-point attempts, so they probably won’t face a Pepperdine-like barrage.

In addition to the final stop on its push for a 16-2 conference record, Saturday night marks the final home appearance for Gael stalwarts Rahon and Pineau, with parents, flowers, photographs and maybe a few tears sharing the McKeon Pavilion floor. It is hard to conceive they would mar such an auspicious occasion by suffering a defeat by Santa Clara.

Gael fans are well aware of the brilliance of Joe Rahon, shown above in a game against Stanford last year, but they have their last chance to see him in Moraga on Saturday night against Santa Clara. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

It was cloud cuckoo land in the WCC Saturday night.

With Jock Landale present mostly as an observer, Saint Mary’s relentlessly plowed to a 69-44 lead over BYU in Provo before relaxing for the last seven minutes on the way to a 70-57 win.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara celebrated its momentous 106-55 destruction of Pepperdine on Thursday by succumbing to San Diego  60-58 in two overtimes. That’s right, the Broncos struggled to score 58 points — 48 in regulation — two days after scoring 106. Consistency, thy name is not Santa Clara.

All the collapse cost Santa Clara was a tie with BYU for third place in the WCC. BYU fell to 10-6 with the loss to Saint Mary’s and the Broncos now sit at 9-7. They could have matched BYU at 10-6 with a win over mighty San Diego, losers of seven of eight coming into the Santa Clara contest.  Go figure.

Back to our boys, who are now on track to complete the conference season at 16-2 if they can get past woeful Pepperdine in Malibu and erratic Santa Clara in Moraga. That would produce nice momentum for the WCC tournament March 2-7 in Las Vegas, where an opportunity for a third shot at undefeated Gonzaga awaits.

The drubbing of BYU was a  big step in setting up the potential Gonzaga showdown. The Gaels did it not with their usual inside game built upon Landale, but with consistent three-point shooting by Calvin Hermanson, Evan Fitzner, Emmett Naar, Joe Rahon and Tanner Krebs, who combined for 10 three-pointers in 26 tries, and stifling defense.

Introducing Evan Fitzner

Hermanson was the overall star, as his four three-pointers and 17 total points more than compensated for a seven point, 14-minute effort by Landale. Close behind came Fitzner, whom coach Randy Bennett seems to have discovered in the last two games (28 points) after relegating him to semi-oblivion in favor of workhorse Dane Pineau. Fitzner made only 3-10 three-pointers,  but his three driving lay-ups demonstrated great versatility and energized his teammates. Bennett noticed, too, as he left Fitzner  on the floor for a Rahon-like 36 minutes.

As the game announcers pointed out, Fitzner this year had been averaging 10 minutes a game fewer than during his stellar freshman season, and his scoring had been almost halved from nearly 10 PPG to a little more than five. Bennett, seemingly realizing what fans and helpful critics have been pointing out all season, said afterwards, “We are a little different team with Fitzner out there and the way he spaces the floor.” Ya think?

Landale, perhaps  bothered by the altitude in Provo or the raucous fans (or solar flares — who knows), was never in the game. He picked up two quick fouls on BYU star Eric Mika, was replaced by Pineau, who was as ineffective against Mika as Landale had been, then came back in to flub a pass to a cutting Naar. The best break the Gaels received in the game came when Landale went to the bench for good with about 12 minutes left in the first half.

Since Pineau also had two fouls, Bennett called on sophomore Jordan Hunter to man the post against Mika, and the difference was evident. Instead of playing Mika not to foul him as Landale had done — and picked up two fouls anyway — Hunter harassed the BYU big man. On one possession, Hunter swatted the ball out of Mika’s hands two times before Mika finally got off a closely-contested shot — and missed.

Soon after, Hunter was seemingly trapped under the basket by the BYU bigs, but managed to squeeze out a pass to Hermanson alone in the short corner. Hermanson converted the three-pointer for a 26-18 lead that demoralized the BYU fans for one of several times during the game.

After Hermanson sank his third three-pointer of the first half to push the Gaels’ lead to 29-23, there followed a series of Gael possessions in which Hunter played like a seasoned veteran. He spun around Mika for one score, then converted a beautiful pick and roll pass from Naar for another basket to give Saint Mary’s a double-digit lead at 36-26. It seemed nothing could stop Hunter until the referees took on the assignment.

Defending Mika well outside the restrictive circle that determines the difference between a block and a charge, Hunter was flattened as Mika made a move to the basket. Mika received the benefit of the doubt, and Hunter was called for a foul. A few minutes later, Mika and Hunter were battling for a rebound when he refs decided that Hunter’s actions  deserved another foul — his third.

Although unfair to the Gaels’ emerging star, it mattered little in the big picture, as Hermanson was fouled by Yoeli Childs while attempting another three-pointer and sank all three free throws to give Saint Mary’s a 41-30 halftime lead. The Gaels had held on to, and increased, the nine-point lead they enjoyed when Landale went to the bench.

Second half blitz

Given a chance to redeem his first-half stumbles, Landale flubbed the first pass to him in the second. He then lost Mika on an out-of-bounds play and Mika converted an alley-oop. Fate was then unkind to the Gael big man who has been so instrumental to the team’s success this year, as Landale finally seemed to gain an advantage over Mika and scored a bunny in the paint. Ignoring the point of the restrictive circle, the referee called Landale for a  charge on the shot because his and Mika’s bodies collided.

Not only was Landale well inside the restrictive circle, he was in the shadow of the basket when he went up for the shot. Incredulous, Landale pointed to the spot on the floor that he occupied before the contact with Mika, but it was in vain. Bennett yanked him with his third foul.

The Gaels shrugged off the setback, riding an opportune three-pointer by Rahon — his only attempt of the game — a tough lay-up  by Hermanson against two BYU defenders and Fitzner’s first three-pointer of the game after several first-half misses. Pineau also started to gain ground on Mika, who started to wear down after carrying his team throughout the game.

Pineau defended Mika on two straight possessions, then forced a turnover and raced down court to receive a pass from Naar and convert a tough lay-up. That pushed the score to 60-40 with 10:39 left, and the nails were waiting for BYU’s coffin. After Landale made still another effort to have a positive impact on the game, he instead fouled Mika for the fourth time and went back to the bench.

It mattered little, as BYU was self-destructing from the impact of the Gael defense. One of the BYU spark plugs, Nick Emery, was held to four points on 2-10 shooting, and although high-scoring TJ Haws fared a little better with 11 points, it was not enough. When Fitzner drained the three-pointer that pushed the score to 69-44 with fewer than eight minutes left, the game was all but over.

“I haven’t seen Saint Mary’s play so well,” said dispirited ESPN announcer Adrian Branch, who obviously came to Provo to call a rousing BYU win and could barely hide his disappointment. At one point when Mika missed a free throw, Branch commented “Tough miss.” How is a blown free throw a “tough miss”? Were there blinding lights interfering with his vision? Was Hunter sending him evil thoughts?

Gaels on a roll

By holding BYU to its lowest score of the season, the Gaels completed a five-game stretch of holding opponents to 48, 41 and 27 points, marred only by the 74 they gave up against Gonzaga. The defense is clicking, and Bennett may have discovered some offensive spark by using Fitzner for extended minutes. If he adjusts his rotation to use Pineau solely as back-up to Landale — with Hunter available for emergency duty — that will clear the way for Fitzner to stay on the court long enough to do some good.

The other bugaboo facing the Gaels is the state of Naar’s play — and health. Although he scored on all three attempts in the first half — including a now-rare three-pointer — Naar was shut out in the second. He did a yeoman’s job guarding Emery, but can’t seem to muster the energy or physical strength to affect the game offensively — especially in the second half. Similar to the underused weapon represented by Fitzner, Bennett has the option of spelling Naar with Jordan Ford — but seems unwilling to utilize it.

It would seem that Ford had established himself with 13 solid minutes against Loyola Marymount Thursday night, but he didn’t get in against BYU until the final minute. At one point, Bennett kept Krebs on the floor as a guard alongside Rahon, but Naar still played for 37 minutes and Ford remained glued to the bench.

The Gaels have an opportunity to finish the season strong and give themselves a shot at an NCAA Tournament berth either by defeating Gonzaga for the automatic WCC bid or earning an at-large bid by dint of outstanding overall play. The resurgence of Fitzner in the past two games underscores the benefit of unlocking underused assets, and Gael fans hope that process continues with additional opportunities for Ford.

Calvin Hermanson, shown above in an earlier game, came up big against BYU, leading the Gaels in scoring with 17 points, including four three-pointers. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Saint Mary’s breezed past the preliminary bout, but now comes the main event.

After throttling Loyola Marymount by 81-48 Thursday night in Moraga, the Gaels face BYU on Saturday in the decidedly unfriendly Marriott Center. BYU is in a familiar position heading into the last week of WCC play — stuck perilously close to irrelevance at 10-5, but unwilling to throw in the towel. They have mounted late-season runs in past years, and would consider a win over Saint Mary’s as, at least, vindication for a disappointing season.

For Randy Bennett’s Gaels, the agenda is different. After losing a chance to virtually guarantee an NCAA bid by beating Gonzaga last Saturday (L74-64), Saint Mary’s is looking to run the table straight through to the WCC championship game March 7 in Las Vegas. There they can  expect to meet Gonzaga for a third time, and can hope to win an automatic NCAA bid by defeating them. Odds are, they would secure an at-large  bid just by playing well in the championship match-up.

Step one was beating LMU, and there was reason to wonder how the Gaels would respond to the deflating Gonzaga loss amid the hoopla of facing the number one rated team in the  country before the scrutiny of a nationwide audience.

They responded well.

Shotmakers appeared

Jock Landale got some shooting support that was lacking against Gonzaga, with Evan Fitzner, Calvin Hermanson and Tanner Krebs loosening up the LMU interior defense enough for Landale to dominate. He had 16 points by halftime, Fitzner had 13 and Krebs had seven in a two-minute stretch: he made four free throws after being fouled twice while shooting and sank his first three-pointer in five games to end an 0-16 streak from long distance.

Oddly enough, neither Landale nor Fitzner scored in the second half, but the point was moot since the Gaels kept up the defensive intensity that held LMU to its lowest point total of the season and a 38% shooting percentage. Bennett cleared his bench, with even Iron Man Joe Rahon taking a seat for the last five minutes or so. Jordan Ford got an extended run at the point for Saint Mary’s and acquitted himself well overall, sinking two three-pointers and coughing up the ball only once against a frantic LMU press. He had another turnover when the Lions’ Munis Tutu swiped the ball out of his hands after an inbound pass, but generally played smart and confidently with the ball in his hands.

There is  clearly an undeclared competition between Ford and longtime star Emmett Naar for the back court position alongside Rahon. The minutes against LMU were distributed heavily in Narr’s favor, 27 to 13, but Bennett benched Naar with nearly six minutes left in the first half when he was ineffective. Before sitting down, Naar had missed two wide-open three-pointers and had not penetrated LMU’s interior defense.

In one stretch, he forced a pass inside to Landale that was intercepted, then made a halfhearted drive with the shot clock winding down that was easily defended by Steven Haney of LMU. Before Gael fans could even start up a demand to insert Ford, Bennett did just that. Naar converted a couple of lay-ups early in the second half, but as he did against Gonzaga, also missed two easy shots in the paint before Bennett benched him for Ford with about 12 minutes left. Ford stayed in the rest of the way.

It’s becoming apparent that there will be no miracle recovery by Naar, whether from an undisclosed injury or just a season-long funk. I have fallen for the “Naar is back” narrative, particularly against San Francisco on Jan. 26 (W66-46), when he had 18 points and six assists and looked like his old self. He has not replicated the energy and effectiveness he displayed in that game, however.

Whither Pepperdine?

The Gaels’ next opponent after BYU is Pepperdine in Malibu, a game that was shaping up to be as contentious — or more — as BYU. Leading up to Thursday’s home encounter with Santa Clara, the Waves had won three in a row, including a 99-83 drubbing of BYU. It looked like a nightmare scenario for the Gaels — get past BYU on the road and then face a team that dropped nearly 100 points on the Cougars — also on the road.

Inexplicably, Santa Clara annihilated Pepperdine on Thursday, 106-55. I don’t know what is more remarkable about that result — that Santa Clara could score 105 in a single game, or that Pepperdine could play so poorly. Santa Clara made an astonishing 22 three-pointers (61%), with Nate Kratch leading the way with five three-pointers and 32 points overall.

The Santa Clara result may or may not affect Pepperdine’s effort against Saint Mary’s,  but certainly coach Marty Wilson will try and rally his troops with memories of the Waves’ two victories over the Gaels last season — victories that may have been the key reason Saint Mary’s did not receive an NCAA at-large bid despite compiling a 27-5 record with two wins over Gonzaga before Selection Sunday.

If Pepperdine proves no more difficult than LMU, the Gaels are still not out of the woods. Their last home game of the season on Feb. 25 is against, you guessed it, the suddenly invigorated Santa Clara Broncos. Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek has survived some ups and downs, but has his team sitting at 9-6, one game behind BYU for third place in the WCC. If the Gaels knock off BYU on Saturday, Santa Clara may be playing for undisputed possession of third place in the Feb. 25 encounter with the Gaels.

Happy end-of-season, Gaels.

It’s been a long time since Evan Fitzner (above in a game from last year) had a strong performance in his sophomore season, but he came up big against LMU with 13 points on 5-8 shooting in only 23 minutes. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Last March in the WCC championship game against Gonzaga, the Gaels’ Emmett Naar scored 25 points, dished out six assists and committed only two turnovers.

He drove the Zag bigs, Damontas Sabonis and Kyle Wiltjer, almost at will, and made two of five three-pointers to boot. At that point in the season, Naar was the dominant player on a 27-5 Saint Mary’s team.

Saturday afternoon, Naar went two for 11 for five points, and turned the ball over (four times) as often as he made assists. This is not to blame Naar for the Gaels’ lackluster effort in losing to Gonzaga 74-64 — believe me, he had plenty of help — but it does underscore some hard realities facing Saint Mary’s.

For one, the Zags’ current front court of Przemek Karnowski, Johnatnan Williams and subs Zach Collins and Killian Tillie, is superior to the Sabonis-Wiltjer combo. Naar attempted a couple of drives — at least probes — but backed out on most of them. The sheer bulk of Karnowski was too daunting, and either Williams or Collins was lurking as a secondary defender.

Secondly, the Gaels’ offense has changed dramatically since last year, when Jock Landale was a little-used substitute and Pineau, the dominant post option for the Gaels, was not a major factor — he attempted only three shots against Gonzaga in the championship game. Everything goes through Landale now, and that cuts off some opportunities for Naar and back court mate Joe Rahon to drive the lane.

That being said, the Gaels must face the reality that Naar is not nearly the force that he was last year. The extent — or the existence — of an injury to his left leg or knee has been discussed informally, but there has been no definitive news from the coaching staff. Nor will there be, if past experience is any guide.

Ford in their future?

A snapshot should not be used as evidence of a trend, but consider this vignette with less than a minute left in Saturday’s game when Jordan Ford was inserted into the lineup for the first time. Ford made a nifty move to elude the Zags’ Jordan Matthews, drove the baseline and drew attention from Collins. Ford dropped off a nifty pass to Landale, who went up for a dunk or lay-up. Collins, recovering too late, fouled Landale and Landale made both free throws to cut the Zags lead momentarily to eight points at 72-64. Unfortunately, there were only about 30 seconds left in the game.

That was only one play among scores throughout the game, but one couldn’t help wonder if some creative guard play might not be effective in breaking down the Zags’ front line. Gael Coach Randy Bennett has to decide whether he is going to stick with Naar no matter how little he contributes, or whether he is going to take a chance with the talented Ford. The Gaels cannot be thought of as serious challengers to Gonzaga in a potential WCC championship rematch with an ineffective Naar in the lineup.

The rest of the story

What to make of the Gaels’ overall play against Gonzaga? One is tempted to say they cut a 23-point pasting in Spokane to a 10-point loss in Moraga, and cite that as progress. It is true that Saint Mary’s limited the damage done by the Zag guards from 46 points in the first game to 32 on Saturday — and that is progress. But Karnowski scored at will during his 25 minutes on the court, scoring 19 points on 9-13 shooting. He had only nine points in the previous game.

And the Gaels continued to have no answer for Williams, the talented transfer from Missouri. Williams improved his 14-point total in the first game to 17 in the second, and more than anyone was responsible for the Gaels’ inability to get stops against the Zag offense. Calvin Hermanson and Dane Pineau were seemingly unable to decide whether to help out the Gael front line or stick with Williams or one of the guards Hermanson was guarding. Every time one or the other tried to double-team Karnowski or Collins, the ball would come out to Williams (or Josh Perkins or Silas Melson) and he would stick a jumper — he shot 7-9 in the game.

Indecision over one of the major strategic points of the game — how to play the Zag front court — typified the Gaels’ spasmodic play. After some preliminary skirmishing, Gonzaga reeled off 10 straight baskets to take a 2-2 game to 21-12 with about 13 minutes left in the first half.  Karnowski did most of the damage with a variety of soft hooks and put-backs after gaining position over Landale. He had 10 of the Zags’ first 12 points, and Collins continued the assault when he relieved Karnowski. In nether of these possessions did Landale receive any help guarding Karnowski or Collins, other than some ineffective ball swipes from Hermanson.

To the Gaels’  credit, they refused to wither under this initial assault, and fought back to a 23-23 tie at the 9:24 mark. Then Zag Coach Mark Few made a strategic move that proved decisive throughout the game — he called time out. It is indicative of the Zags’ character that they came back from the few Gael runs with a vengeance. After the 23-23 tie, they went on a 17-2 tear to increase their margin to 40-25. Only a personal 6-0 run from Landale allowed the Gaels to go into the halftime break with some semblance of hope, trailing 40-31.

Second half blues

The second half was more of the same, with the Gaels constantly fighting back from large deficits, but never achieving the continuity needed to actually pressure the Zags. Some examples:

–Landale started the second half where he left off in the first, sinking a 15-foor jumper for his eighth straight point and cutting the lead to seven points. On the ensuing Zag possession, Pineau got caught helping out down low and left Williams wide open for an uncontested three-pointer. Instead of shrinking the lead, the Gaels allowed Gonzaga to increase it to 43-33.

— A little later, the Gaels made their only (somewhat) sustained push by getting some defensive stops: after a steal, Hermanson made a difficult pass to Naar in traffic and Naar converted the tough lay-up (his only score of the second half). After another stop, Hermanson finally sank a three-pointer — he was 1-5 from distance for the game — and the Gaels had cut the lead to 49-44 and given the  crowd something to cheer about. Then Few called time-out.

The Zags rallied behind Nigel Williams-Goss, who was guarded more effectively by Rahon in this game than the first. Williams-Goss sank a floater in the lane, then a Rahon pass was intercepted, leading to a wide-open corner three by Melson to put the lead back up to 10, 54-44. There was more basketball to be played over the next 12 minutes, but Melson’s three-pointer essentially settled things.

One ensuing play epitomized the Gaels’ frustration Saturday afternoon. After the Zags’  Matthews helpfully missed two free throws, Williams grabbed the rebound between two Gaels and scored to push the lead to 58-45 with 10:40 left.

The play of Gael reserve post man Jordan Hunter deserves attention. As Landale, who was brilliant with 24 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes, got in some foul trouble, Hunter provided stellar back-up. He scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in 13 minutes of play, but more than that brought some energy to the game that his teammates strangely lacked. On one possession, he drove Collins, picking up a foul and converting two free throws to bring his team within nine points at 58-49.

The Gaels then gave up a floater in the paint by Melson to dull that initiative and put the Zags back in control. Landale sparked one more push with his best play of the game, a strong drive on Karnowski that resulted in a bucket and free throw to bring the Gaels within 10 at 64-54.

Naar then missed wide-open floaters in the paint on two successive possessions, and Pineau flubbed a pass from Naar that led to a Zag run-out and a Melson free throw. And so on and so on, throughout the remaining four minutes. Gonzaga showed a persistent inability to put away the game, but the Gaels just as consistently refused to capitalize — a missed bunny by Pineau off a Landale miss, missed corner three-pointers by Rahon and Naar and another errant pass by Rahon, who may have shown signs of fatigue for the first time in memory. When Rahon scored on a driving lay-up in the waning minutes, it was his only basket of the second half after a strong start — seven points in the first half.

That brought the total contribution from the Gael guards in the second half to four points on a lay-up each. The Gaels will beat no one of substance down the stretch with that kind of production.

Jock Landale made a heroic effort against Gonzaga, but his teammates offered little assistance in a 74-64 loss to the Zags on Saturday in Moraga. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Joe Rahon played 26 minutes — that’s all anyone needs to know about the Gaels’ 71-27 victory over San Diego Saturday afternoon.

There was nothing of consequence revealed during the Toreros’ two hours of agony, but the game did settle a question that has haunted Gael fans since last season — what would it take to get Rahon out of a game. Before Saturday, the choices were:

1. Natural disaster (earthquake, flood, etc.)
2. Injury
3. A court order

Turns out, it is a 40-point rout. So, with the Gaels leading 52-13 with 11:25 left in the second half, Jordan Ford subbed in for Rahon for the rest of the game. Since Stefan Gonzalez had replaced Emmett Naar a few minutes earlier, Gael fans tuning in late would have wondered what happened to the back court that has embodied Saint Mary’s basketball since the opening game of the 2015-16 season.

They were enjoying themselves on the bench, and were soon joined by the last remaining front line player, Dane Pineau, who exited upon picking up his fourth personal foul with 7:30 left. The lineup the rest of the way was Gonzalez and Ford at guard, Tanner Krebs at small forward, Kyle Clark at power forward and Jordan Hunter at center.

They played pretty well, outscoring San Diego’s starters 15-12 down the stretch. Gonzalez, who has seen reduced minutes since Krebs took over as back-up to Calvin Hermanson, was particularly effective, making a nice driving lay-up with his left hand and one of his patented three-pointers.

Clark, who has also been the victim of a changing lineup — with Pineau subbing for Evan Fitzner most of the time — gained some confidence by nailing a corner three-pointer and going 4-4 at the free throw line. Ford also made a three-pointer, and Hunter scored on a power move in the paint.

Only Krebs failed to find some solace in the game, as he missed another three three-point attempts to go with his 0-5 night against Pacific on Thursday. Going 0-8 on a signature shot would worry most players, but Krebs has shown he can bounce back from a shooting slump and regain his effectiveness.

About the starters

The Gael starters played well enough to roll up a 32-9 halftime lead — the second time in seven games they have held an opponent to nine first-half points — and showed requisite resolve not to slack off after the break. With Jock Landale scoring on three straight possessions between a driving lay-up by Hermanson and a three-pointer by Naar, the Gaels increased their margin to 43-9 within the first six minutes.

Landale finished with 14 points in 22 minutes, and Hermanson scored the same amount in 26. No other Gael registered double-digits, but overpowering offense is hardly necessary when your opponent goes 9-46 (19.6%) for the game. San Diego was terrible throughout, and Coach Lamont Smith has some work to do to salvage a season that looked promising as recently as Jan. 14 with an 88-75 home win over BYU.

Demonstrating refreshing candor, Torero leading scorer Brett Bailey blamed his team’s performance on shoddy preparation.

“It’s a product of our preparation this week,” Bailey told the San Diego Tribune. “We had a bad week, a terrible week of practice…We didn’t come prepared today and got what we deserved.”

Bailey certainly shouldered a great deal of the blame himself, as he got several open looks at the beginning of the game but could not sink anything. He didn’t score until stuffing in a  bucket with 1:30 left in the first half. For the game, Bailey wen 1-9. Fellow scoring leader Olin Carter III was just as bad, going zero for the first half and salvaging some pride with three second-half three-pointers that had little effect on the game’s outcome.

The path forward

The biggest thing about the San Diego game from the Gaels standpoint was it moves them closer to the Feb. 11 showdown against Gonzaga. Saint Mary’s has only to surmount one more obstacle — Portland on Feb. 9 — before squaring off with the Zags for, well, everything.

ESPN has anointed the contest with its Gameday brand, guaranteeing day-long coverage and a prime time broadcast (5:15 Pacific time) with real, live announcers — Jay “I went to Duke and don’t you forget it” Bilas and the inoffensive Dan Shulman. As smug and condescending as Bilas can be, he is still a major upgrade from the “Wayne’s World” effect of recent ESPNU broadcasts involving remote crews watching from a studio someplace.

Gonzaga has seemed invincible lately, tearing through second-tier WCC teams such as Pepperdine (96-49) and Santa Clara (90-55) before looking human in an 85-75 win over BYU in Provo last Thursday. The Zags face up-and-down Loyola Marymount on Thursday in Los Angeles to keep their undefeated record and number one ranking intact for the Saint Mary’s game.

The Gaels are considered the last remaining obstacle between the Zags and a perfect season heading into conference tournament play and the NCAA tournament, and Saint Mary’s would also like to beat the Zags for its own reasons. Not only would Randy Bennett’s program receive a tremendous public boost by upsetting the Zags, but also the Gaels want to replicate last season’s tie with Gonzaga for the WCC regular-season title. Having already lost to Gonzaga in Spokane, Saturday is their last opportunity to pull even with the Zags at 14-1 (assuming an SMC win over Portland and a Zag win over LMU) and retain hope for wins in four remaining league contests.

A second straight conference title, national TV audience, number one team in the country? Got ’em just where you want ’em, right coach?

Stefan Gonzalez (above in a game from earlier in the season) rekindled excitement about his status as a Gael substitute with a solid second-half performance against San Diego. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

The Gaels played well. Really.

Fans may look at Thursday’s 74-70 win over Pacific in Stockton as a squeaker against a team with a poor record (8-16) — and it was. But there are squeakers and there are squeakers.

Saint Mary’s did not squander a big second-half lead through blunders, inattention or poor execution. They didn’t turn over the ball excessively (12 for the game); they got a massive game out of Jock Landale, which was a nice response to his second half swan dive against Santa Clara last Saturday.

And they had Joe Rahon when they needed him.

Tigers get hot, Gaels go cold

The factors contributing to Pacific’s 16-4 run that closed a 58-39 gap at the 12:43 mark to 62-55 at 6:40 were twofold:  aggressiveness by Pacific on the offensive boards and a near-crippling inability of Saint Mary’s to make a three-pointer.

The run began innocently when Pacific executed a good play out of a time out: a down screen on the Gaels’ Dane Pineau to free Jack Williams for a long three-pointer. Williams, a 6-8 sophomore transfer from Long Beach State, didn’t play in the Gaels’ 62-50 win over Pacific in Moraga on Jan. 19, but was a factor on Thursday (eight points, nine rebounds). Even though Pineau recovered in time to get a hand in Williams’ face, Williams made the three-pointer to give Pacific a life at 58-44 (Pacific had made two free throws previously).

Pineau retaliated with a lay-up underneath on the Gaels’ next possession to make it 60-44, and the Gaels seemed back in control. They had widened a 41-34 halftime lead to 16 points, and were executing crisply. Landale, in particular, was a beast after the break, scoring 10 points in the first six minutes, several on thunderous dunks. He was not the timid, turnover-prone player from the Santa Clara game, who either couldn’t catch an entry pass or do anything with one when he caught it.

He had reverted to the mindset that I described, perhaps a bit indelicately, as “See basket, put ball in basket.” Little did the Gaels know, however, that Landale was finished offensively at the 14-minute mark.

The biggest factor in Pacific’s comeback was 6-4 junior guard D.J. Ursery. Gaels’ Coach Randy Bennett seemed unsure how to guard Ursery, switching between Calvin Hermanson and Tanner Krebs, but Ursery made two quick jumpers in the paint and a pair of free throws to close the gap to 60-50. He flummoxed the Gaels because of his elusiveness and ability to hit pull-up jumpers.

Three-point options disappears

The Gaels simply could not retaliate, missing three straight three-point attempts, two from a snake-bit Krebs, who ended up the night going 0-5 from the three-point stripe. Landale, suddenly denied entry to the basket from the paint, even stepped out to clank a three-pointer of his own.

During this period, Pacific did not shoot particularly well — 30% in the second half — but they kept possessions alive by tipping missed shots and keeping rebounds out of the hands of the Gaels’ usually greedy rebounders. Pacific’s leading scorer, T.J. Wallace — kept in check (5-15 shots made) by another excellent defensive effort by Rahon — cashed in on one extended possession to cut the lead to 60-55 with about seven minutes left.

On the ensuing possession Rahon was fouled with a one-and-one opportunity facing him, and Gaels fans probably were of two minds: “OMG, it’s Rahon, who shot only 54% last year!” Or, “Relax, this is the new and improved Rahon, who has upped his free throw percentage to 77% this year.”

The new and improved Rahon stepped confidently to the line and swished both attempts to give the Gaels some breathing room at 62-55. It was their first score in nearly six minutes. Rahon then cemented Player of the Game honors with a driving lay-up against a hard defensive effort from Wallace. Wallace fouled him on the shot, and then became embroiled in some extra-curricular pushing and shoving underneath the basket with Landale.

After an interminable video review by the referees, the decision was made to assess a technical foul against both Wallace and Landale, with no free throws coming to either. Rahon then stepped to the line and converted his free throw from the Wallace foul, and the Gaels were up 69-61 with 3:20 left.

The last three minutes were hardly a thing of beauty, as the Gaels rode 3-4 free throws by Naar (7-8 for the night) and another by Rahon to hold off Pacific. Gael guards had to call three time-outs in a row after one Pacific basket just to inbound the ball, then Rahon made a terrible pass to Jordan Ford, coming off the bench as he did against Santa Clara to add ball-handling expertise in the closing minutes. Ford barely got his hands on the ball as he fell out of bounds, but the scorekeeper ruled it a turnover against him instead of Rahon.

Takeaways

Because the Gaels left Pacific immediately for a quick trip to San Diego for Saturday’s game, it is unlikely that Bennett will have time to review tape of the Pacific game. If he did, he would undoubtedly concentrate on what went wrong on the defensive boards for his team. Pacific is not big, as 6-5 Anthony Townes logged most minutes in the paint, but they are quick off their feet. Although the Gaels dominated the boards by a 20-9 margin in the first half, Pacific reversed that to a 25-16 advantage in the second, to end just a little behind at 36-34.

Williams, Townes and Tonko Vuko were the leading boardsmen (20) for Pacific, with Vuko tipping in one perplexing miss with about five minutes left that cut the lead to 62-59, the smallest of the night. It was not lack of effort by Landale or Pineau down the stretch, it was a combination of Pacific’s interior quickness and some long bounces off missed threes that kept the ball out of their hands.

Bennett may also revisit his decision to keep Evan Fitzner glued to the bench in the second half — he logged only nine minutes on the night — especially considering the Gaels’ shooting woes. Fitzner canned his only three-point attempt in the first half, and he was dialed in on defense as well. Pineau’s tenaciousness and effort on defense seemed to sway Bennett more than Fitzner’s offensive promise, however, even when Pineau picked up his fourth personal foul. He stayed in to the end, and Fitzner will have to hope for greater opportunities against San Diego.

It’s becoming a frequent habit for the Gaels’ outstanding senior guard Joe Rahon — bailing out his teammates with stellar defensive and offensive efforts. His 14 points and six assists against Pacific were matched by a gritty defensive job on explosive Pacific guard T.J. Wallace. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Following the 72-59 Saint Mary’s win over Santa Clara Saturday night, one can imagine Bronco star guard Jared Brownridge having a recurring nightmare: whatever he did — eat breakfast, brush his teeth, listen to music — Joe Rahon would turn up with a hand in his face.

You can’t blame Brownridge, who in the four games preceding the Saint Mary’s contest had averaged nearly 26 PPG and shot right at 50% on both three-pointers and regular field goals. He was on a roll, and Santa Clara needed him to continue rolling if it was to upset the Gaels. That’s where Rahon came in.

Hounding Brownridge mercilessly, fighting through the myriad screens Santa Clara set to get their ace free, Rahon ended up where he wanted to be as Brownridge received a pass and contemplated a shot — with a hand in Brownridge’s face. At the end of the first half Saturday, Brownridge had made one two-point shot and two free throws. He ended the game going 3-14, 2-8 from three-point land, and two of his 13 points were a gift from Referee Horace Shields (more on that later).

Rahon was not alone in shutting down the engine of Santa Clara’s offense. Back court mate Emmett Naar also had a daunting task in guarding Santa Clara’s explosive point guard, KJ Feagin. Feagin managed 11 points, but took 15 shots to sink five buckets. Combined, Rahon and Naar held Brownridge and Feagin to 8-29 shooting — a meager 28%.

Not a thing of beauty

Excellent guard play aside — Rahon and Naar also totaled 14 assists against three turnovers — the game was not the exercise in efficiency that two previous Gael wins over Pepperdine and San Francisco had been. The difference was playing on the road against an aroused opponent. Santa Clara was feeling good about itself after beating BYU two nights earlier and ending the first half of the WCC conference race tied with the Cougars at 6-3. They were sensing a win over Saint Mary’s before going on the road for four straight games, including the dreaded Pacific Northwest two-step against Portland and Gonzaga.

The Gaels denied Santa Clara the upset it was hoping for, and it was excellent team defense that prevailed over sometimes erratic offensive play and some brain-dead moments. As the game unrolled, the Gaels looked unstoppable. Notwithstanding a quick start from Santa Clara — the Broncos made their first five shots — the Gaels rolled to a 26-11 lead at the eight-minute mark. The possibility existed of a 16-20-point first half for the Broncos and the path to a rout.

What happened instead was a lesson in how teams stop themselves when their opponents seem unable to do it. After Santa Clara made its first basket in seven-and-a-half minutes to cut the score to 26-13, the following ensued:

Jock Landale, with 14 first-half points en route to a 20-11 night, committed a turnover by traveling under no particular pressure; Even Fitzner passed up an open look on the Gaels’ next possession, leading to a shot clock violation; Landale traveled again, giving Santa Clara another opportunity, which the  Broncos gladly accepted. They ran off eight straight points following the Gael miscues, and climbed back in the game at 27-19.

Then the Gaels went to sleep on Santa Clara’s undersized forward Nate Kratch (listed at 6-8 but looks more like 6-6). Kratch should have registered on the Gael radar with a 16-point, four three-pointer effort against BYU. Indeed, he sank an early three-pointer on Saturday, but Saint Mary’s still ignored him. He repaid that effort by scoring nine points down the stretch of the first half to bring Santa Clara to a manageable 35-30 deficit at halftime. Opportunity for rout wasted.

Second half repeat

The second half bore a strong resemblance to the first: the Gaels streaked ahead by 15 points (47-32) with less than five minutes gone, then frittered that lead away. This time it was the resurgence of Bronco Center Emmanuel Ndumanya, who was victimized several times in the first half by his team’s insistence on doubling up Naar or Rahon as they executed pick and roll plays. Ndumanya was consistently found out of place, and Rahon and Naar dropped dime after dime on Landale or Dane Pineau.

I call the next eight minutes the Revenge of Ndumanya, as the 6-10, 260-pounder from Nigeria made up for first-half lapses and then some. Landale seemed to go to sleep after a dominating first half that saw him score 14 easy points, mostly on bunnies created by Ndumanya being out of position. In succession:

— Landale missed a bunny with Ndumanya on his back, and seemed bothered by the miss, but Ndumanya hustled down court for a run-out dunk with Landale nowhere to be seen. A four-point swing.

— Landale, again pressured by Ndumanya on an entry pass, made a weak pass that was intercepted.

— After making his final field goal of the game at about the 10-minute mark, Landale missed another bunny with Ndumanya guarding him. On the next possession, Ndumanya scored easily over Landale in the paint, but the Gaels still had a comfortable margin at 53-39.

— The next possession was crucial, because Ndumanya again swatted away an entry pass to Landale (a turnover for Naar, but partially caused by Landale’s lack of aggressiveness). This turnover led to a run-out by Brownridge and his first three-pointer of the game, which energized the Broncos and the crowd, and brought the score to 53-42.

— Then Ndumanya simply knocked the ball out of Landale’s hands, leading to another Brownridge three-point attempt. Here’s where Referee Shields took center stage, as Brownridge missed the shot with Rahon taking a swipe at the ball from behind. Replays clearly showed what everyone in the crowd saw — Rahon did not come close to touching Brownridge, but Shields called a foul and sent Brownridge to the line for three free throws.

Shields shows off

Rahon was apoplectic over the call, which clearly wounded his pride because he is the last person to foul a jump-shooter on a three-point try. Even though he had blown the call, Shields assumed the posture that used to drive WCC fans crazy when it was exhibited by former referee Ken Ditty: he puffed out his chest and seemed to stare down Gael Coach Randy Bennett while gesturing forcefully that Rahon had committed the foul. It was the attitude as much as the blown call that enraged Gael fans, just as Ditty used to do.

Brownridge made two free throws, cutting the lead to 55-44, but Bennett was beside himself over Landale’s several minutes of boneheadedness and he replaced Landale with Fitzner. Fitzner rewarded Bennett’s confidence in him by losing Ndumanya on a switch and allowing the big man to score on a bunny of his own. Landale went back in and Fitzner avoided Bennett’s gaze as he returned to the bench.

Landale was still nonplussed, either by Ndumanya or life in general, as he proceded to commit two unnecessary fouls, then miss two free throws when he himself was fouled. Back to the bench, Jock, but this time Fitzner rose to the occasion. After Brownridge sank his second three-pointer of the game to close the gap to 55-50 with six minutes left, Fitzner hit a crucial three-pointer to push the lead back to eight.

Rahon strikes back

Calvin Hermanson, who had a quiet night of 13 points following five superb games in a row, hit another clutch three-pointer a little later to give the Gaels the cushion to ride out the victory. All that was left of drama fell to Rahon, who enjoyed a delicious moment of revenge on the referees.

With little more than a minute left and Santa Clara pressing aggressively, Rahon was cut off on the sideline by Brownridge and the ball dribbled out of bounds. The referee, not Shields unfortunately, called it out on Rahon and awarded the possession to Santa Clara. Rahon didn’t bat an eye, but instead made a circling motion with his finger that called for a review of the play, which is allowed in the final two minutes of a game.

A replay showed that Rahon was right and the referee wrong, and the call was reversed. So, to cap off a night when he played all 40 minutes, shut down one of the most prolific shooters in the nation and chipped in two crucial three-pointers of his own along with five assists, Rahon assumed the duties of game referee. And did it better than the professionals had done.

Emmett Naar (left above) and Joe Rahon didn’t wear bow ties to Santa Clara Saturday night, but they hog-tied Santa Clara’s high-scoring back court to key a hard-fought road win. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.