by Michael Vernetti

Saint Mary’s prided itself on defense last season, finishing in the top 10 nationally in points allowed while playing offensive powerhouse Gonzaga three times along with other top-rated programs.

The North Texas State Mean Green, Saint Mary’s opponent on an unusual late afternoon game in Moraga on Sunday, could sneer at that record. It was the nation’s top-ranked defensive team in 2021-22, allowing opponents a meager 55 points per game, en route to a 25-7 season and a narrow loss to Virginia in the second round of the NIT. Clearly, something had to give when these two teams met.

It wasn’t the Gaels.

Unleashing its most complete defensive effort since vanquishing a strong Colorado State team by 53-33 in 2020, Saint Mary’s held the Mean Green to four field goals and 12 points in the first half, and a total of 33 points for the game in a convincing 63-33 win. The Gaels were simply unyielding.

Inside didn’t work

The Mean Green felt it could punish the Gaels inside, and over and over again sent 6’5″ sixth-year guard Tyree Eady, or 6’3″ guard Kai Huntsberry, into the paint in an attempt to juke the Gael defenders out of position and make an easy bucket. Gael forward Alex Ducas, who drew the assignment on Eady, and guard Logan Johnson, who guarded Huntsberry, weren’t having it.

Ducas, who had found himself replaced early in the Gaels’ first two games for allowing easy three-point buckets, stayed down against Eady and used his height advantage — either one or two inches whether you believe Ducas is 6’6″ or 6’7″ — to stifle the North Texas version of Tommy Kuhse. Eady was 0-4 for the evening, but did sink a free throw.

Huntsberry fared little better against Johnson, who has earned a reputation as one of the premier defensive players in the nation. He was 2-14 on the night for five points, and got his comeuppance near the mid-point of the first half. Trying to back down Johnson in the paint, Huntsberry saw Johnson swat away his dribble, then take a return pass and race toward the Gaels’ bucket. Johnson finished with a graceful finger-roll over Huntsberry as if to punctuate the danger of trying to get by him on defense.

Another potent weapon for North Texas coming into last night’s game was 6’10” forward Abou Ousmane, who averaged 15.2 PPG last season and 17.2 PPG the year before. Ousmane’s nemesis was the Gaels’ 6’10” junior center Mitchell Saxen, who swatted away several attempts by Ousmane and held him to one point on 0-9 shooting from the floor.

Saxen, who has allowed Gael fans to quit worrying about the graduation of stellar post man Matthias Tass, has flirted with a double-double in each game this season. When he tallied his 12th rebound with plenty of time left in the game and eight points to his credit, it seemed like Sunday would be the night. The Gaels’ comfortable lead over North Texas allowed Coach Randy Bennett to give his reserves more rein, however, so Saxen sat out the rest of the game.

Raining three-pointers

The Mean Green’s defensive prowess was no mirage, and Saint Mary’s had trouble penetrating the paint for drives or easy lay-ups. They did, however, take advantage of a handful of deadly three-point shooters to sink 6-9 shots from distance in the first half and 10-18 overall (56 per cent). Ducas and Aidan Mahaney had three each, super-sub Luke Barrett was 2-2 from distance and Johnson and Kyle Bowen contributed one each.

It wasn’t a big night for offensive numbers, and the Gaels were held below the 78.5 PPG average they compiled in their first two games, but their ability to pass out of double-teams and find open shooters on the perimeter wrecked any chance the Mean Green had of staying in the game.

Sophomore guard Augustus Marciulionis, fighting hard to prove to Bennett that he deserves the role of starting point guard in Kuhse’s absence, seemed determined to break down the tough Mean Green interior defense. Marciulionis has shown a more determined mindset in his game this season after Kuhse knocked him out of the starting guard spot last year, and he attempted five drives or short jumpers in the paint despite the menace awaiting him.

He got a bloody nose for his efforts early in the first half, but got patched up and sank a resulting free throw for an early 5-0 lead (he scored the first five points). For the night, he made 4-8 field goals and a free throw for nine points, matching his total for each of the previous two games. With he and freshman sensation Mahaney — 25 points in his first collegiate game — battling it out for floor time, and the veteran Johnson lurking in the shadows and picking his spots to attack, the Gaels have a powerful guard rotation. There will be no need for Bennett to use only two guards to play nearly every minute of every game this year, which should bolster the Gaels’ in post-season play.

The reserves romp

Befitting a romp, the Gael reserves got a lot of floor time Sunday. Barrett has already established himself as an excellent back-up to Ducas at one wing position, but freshman big man Harry Wessels — 7’1″ and 250-plus pounds — forward Joshua Jefferson and guard Chris Howell, also logged major minutes. Howell seems to be having rouble fitting into the offensive smoothly, but has shone on defense, while Jefferson has shown versatility while playing both the post and strong forward positions.

But the night belonged to Wessels, who made three spectacular plays to bring a lethargic Sunday-afternoon crowd to its feet. Early on, Wessels crashed the boards after a Gael attempt and jammed home the rebound with emphasis that only a true big man can provide. In the second half, Wessels picked up a loose ball and headed downcourt for a breakaway that looked more like an elephant stampede.

Perhaps inelegantly but with determination, Wessels gained control of the loose ball and out-dribbled the Mean Green defenders to slam home another emphatic bucket. Just to show the home folks he had some more tricks up his sleeve, Wessels juked his defender in the post and scored on a nifty spin move as the clock wound down. Three-for-three plus a free throw for seven points, two rebounds and a steal made quite a nice line for 11 minutes on the floor.

The Gaels continue their five-game home schedule Wednesday against Southern, then complete the homestand on Nov. 19 against Hofstra. Other more menacing opponents lurk on the horizon, but so far Bennett’s charges have shown defensive spine and offensive chops to raise fan hopes for another memorable season.

Augustus Marciulionis shown above lifting a floater in the paint against North Texas, has scored nine points in each of the first three games while sharing the floor at point guard with Aidan Mahaney. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Coming off a tougher-than-expected 78-70 win over Oral Roberts University in its season-opener Monday night in Moraga, the Saint Mary’s Gaels were expecting another stiff challenge when the Vermont Catamounts rolled into town Thursday. Vermont, defending champion of the America East Conference, compiled a 28-6 season in 2020-21 that included a narrow 75-71 loss to powerhouse Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

To make things worse, Vermont had helped replenish its lineup after four starters graduated by adding former Bellarmine University star Dylan Penn as a graduate transfer. Yeah, that Dylan Penn, who scorched the Gaels for 27 points as Bellarmine gave Saint Mary’s one of its toughest non-conference games of the season last November before falling 73-64.

No worries, Gael fans, call on Kyle Bowen when the going gets tough. Bowen, the Gaels’ 6’8″ senior power forward from Australia, had a rough night himself against ORU (or Oral Bob as one wag dubbed them). Bowen scored only five points Monday night, and looked uncomfortable playing the post when Mitchell Saxen got into into foul trouble.

As if to emphasize that Monday was an aberration, Bowen started the scoring against Vermont by sinking a three-pointer within the first 30 seconds. He ended up scoring 10 points on 4-9 shooting, including another three-pointer, and grabbed six rebounds to go with his 11 from Monday, as the Gaels smothered the Catamounts (that’s Vermont for mountain lion) 79-53.

But it was what he did to Mr. Penn that had knowledgeable Gael fans smiling after the game.

As stated, Bowen is a 6’8″ forward. Penn is a shifty, 6’3″ guard who does not shoot the three-ball and gets his points by juking defenders in the paint. No way Bowen can stay with that dude, some fans might have thought. But he did, holding Penn to a measly five points until late in the game when Gael Coach Randy Bennett began substituting freely and other Gael defenders such as redshirt freshman Chris Howell, who is considered a defensive stalwart, struggled to contain Penn. Penn ended up with 13 points on the night, but Bowen had neutralized a major threat.

Symbol of a renaissance

Bowen’s game was indicative of the qualitative improvement Bennett’s charges demonstrated against Vermont. They faltered in the second half against ORU, losing the scoring battle by 10 points, 41-31, something that was unheard of last year as they dominated second halves. Last night, they added to an 11-point halftime lead (35-24) by shooting 63 per cent in the second half and pulling away for a 26-point romp.

Also uncharacteristically against ORU, the Gaels relied on one player, freshman Aidan Mahaney, for the majority of their points. Mahaney, making the most sensational Gael debut in memory, scored 25 points on 19 attempts, a big number for a Saint Mary’s guard. Mahaney came down to earth against Vermont, as a swarming defense showed the disadvantages of drawing a lot of attention to oneself. He ended up with one bucket on the night, a three-pointer late in the game.

Never fear, however, as five Gaels — that’s five as in the number of players allowed on the floor at one time — scored in double figures: senior floor leader Logan Johnson had 15; senior small forward Alex Ducas had 14; Saxen, following a 16-point effort against ORU, had 11 and flirted with a double-double as he did against ORU by grabbing eight rebounds; as mentioned, Bowen had 10 and guard Augustus Marciulionis, making a statement after being overshadowed by Mahaney in the opener, almost cracked double figures with nine tough points, mostly on determined drives in the paint.

Then there’s Luke

The fifth Gael in double figures was former walk-on Luke Barrett, pride of nearby Piedmont High School. Barrett earned his spurs against ORU by throttling explosive guard Kareem Thompson, as Bennett decided that Ducas was not up the job. That alone made him a standout, and he settled for three points on 1-4 shooting.

Against Vermont, Barrett again entered the game in relief of Ducas, after Ducas surrendered two early three-pointers and was embarrassed by former San Diego Torero Finn Sullivan by having a shot blocked that led to a run-out bucket and a 7-5 lead for Vermont. Barrett tightened up the Gaels’ three-point defense, and managed one first-half bucket on a put-back, but was saving the best for later.

On a personal 9-0 run midway through the second half, Barrett hit three three-pointers in a less-then-two-minute span to turn a comfortable lead into a rout at 57-39. True to his character, Barrett didn’t break into a big smile or wildly gesticulate. He is all-business on the floor, and acted as if he knocks off nine-point bursts on a regular basis.

Substitution pattern evolves

Another improvement for the Gaels came in the substitution pattern. Bennett, having only 10 scholarship players available with the departure of Leemet Bockler, the continued foot injury of Matt Van Komen and a decision to redshirt grad transfer Mason Forbes, doesn’t feel comfortable yet in relying solely on Aussie freshman Harry Wessels to back up Saxen in the post — no matter that Wessels has played well in limited minutes.

Bennett moved Bowen to the post against ORU, and it wasn’t pretty. Last night, he called on prize recruit Joshua Jefferson, a high-scoring forward at Liberty High School in Henderson, NV outside Las Vegas. And it worked. Jefferson is a splendid athlete, who will eventually become a star for the Gaels, probably at power forward. But he handled his post duties beautifully in 11 minutes on the floor, and scored his first bucket as a Gael with a nifty turnaround jumper in the paint.

And, although Barrett played well in relief of Ducas as he did against ORU, Bennett used Ducas more extensively against Vermont, and it paid off. Ducas sank two three-pointers, as he did against ORU, but also made several strong drives along the baseline and in the paint to show his offensive prowess. Ducas will be counted on to supply much of the Gaels’ offensive muscle this season, and he needs to shore up his defense early in the game to win minutes from Barrett.

Senior Kyle Bowen, shown above launching a three-pointer against Vermont, shut down Vermont’s explosive Dylan Penn and scored 10 points of his own to spur a Gael win Thursday. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Saint May’s led Oral Roberts 49-27 at the half of last night’s 2022-23 opener for both teams in Moraga. I was happy.

Oral Roberts won the second half by 41-31, and Saint Mary’s held on for a 78-70 win. Instead of a convincing win over a quality opponent, the Gaels won by eight in a game various oddsmakers picked them to win by nine or 10. I was not happy walking out of the mostly sold-out pavilion once known as McKeon.

Among many statistical causes for heartburn was the 40 per cent shooting percentage for Oral Roberts on three-point attempts — 12 for 30. The Gaels were among the nation’s leaders in three-point denial during last year’s magical ride to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Allowing opponents to shoot 40 per cent from distance will not get them anywhere the top 10 this season.

Here’s another: nine. That was the total number of Saint Mary’s assists, a paltry sum compared to the routine 15-20-odd assists they racked up in most games last season, occasionally topping 30. The two Gael point guards, starter Augustus Marciulionis and super-sub Aidan Mahaney, accounted for just one of those nine — Marciulionis making none against two turnovers and Mahaney scratching out a single assist against one turnover.

What should a fan take away from Monday’s game? Joy in the win and in the mind-boggling debut of Mahaney, the Lafayette resident who set Campolinda High School on fire during a sensational high school career?

Relief that junior post man Mitchell Saxen exorcised any ghosts of Matthias Tass, the four-year starter in the post who left Moraga for the playing fields of pro ball in Estonia? That, too, as Saxen did everything possible to prove that he will continue the Gaels’ tradition of post superiority.

About that glass

Half-full or half-empty?

It must be said that Oral Roberts is a tough, veteran team with four players who can shoot the three-ball consistently: their star guard, Max Abmas, his running mate, Issac McBride, pony-tailed 6’5″ bull of a guard, Kareem Thompson, and the 7’5″ string bean Connor Vanover. Those four accounted for 11 of OR’s 12 made threes, and will undoubtedly top that number many times this season when faced with defenses less inspired than the Gaels.

For some of the Gaels did play inspired defense, especially the indefatigable Logan Johnson, who hounded the quick and dynamic Abmas throughout the game, holding him from his accustomed 20-plus PPG to a respectable 14.

And former walk-on now scholarship holder Luke Barrett, who was pressed into action when Gael star Alex Ducas left his feet once too many times guarding Thompson or Carlos Jurgens. Barrett logged 21 minutes in relief of Ducas (22 minutes), and absolutely refused to leave his feet when Thompson tried head fake after head fake, and was unyielding when Thompson tried to play bully-ball in the paint.

Taming the giant

Saxen also wins praise for not succumbing to the pressure of playing against Vanover, whom Gael fans may remember from a 2018 game in Moraga as a freshman at Cal. Last night, Vanover harassed the Gaels all game long, swatting away six shots and making three-of-six three-point attempts. But Saxen kept going at him, using a sweet jump hook to help rack up 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and led the Gaels in assists with five. He also had three of the Gaels eight steals.

I couldn’t help thinking of a time in the regrettable 20-21 Covid season when the Gaels with Tass in the post crumbled under the shot-blocking prowess of another 7’5″ center, Matt Haarms of BYU, in a mortifying 65-51 loss in Provo. Vanover, who was listed as 7’3″ when he was at Cal, did not have the same devastating effect on the Gaels as Haarms did, and most of the credit goes to Saxen.

So, what’s to worry about if the Gaels withstood a tremendous comeback by Oral Roberts, seeing a once-solid 21-point lead shrink to four points, righted themselves and won? For one, who’s the Gael point guard, a question usually subjected to major scrutiny by pundits and the fan base? Marciulionis started, and seemed to carry over his commanding performance in the Blue-White scrimmage several weeks ago. He looked strong and confident, but Gael Coach Randy Bennett trusted him with the ball in his hands for exactly four minutes and 50 seconds.

It was at the 15:10 mark of the first half when Mahaney came off the bench and replaced Marciulionis, who had attempted one errant three-point shot and neither scored nor made an assist in his short stay. Less than a minute after entering the game, Mahaney sank his first three-point shot of the night, one of five (in 12 attempts) he would make on the way to a commanding 25-point performance reminiscent of Patty Mills’s 31 against Oregon in his freshman year (but not his first game).

There is no other word for Mahaney’s debut except sensational. Unless you choose unsettling, thinking of the confusion over who is going to lead this Gaels’ offense going forward. Mahaney is a lot of things, but he does not seem to be point guard in his heart — he is a scorer. Will Marciulionis be given another chance to run the point? We’ll find out Thursday night, when the Gaels face another strong mid-major team in the Vermont Catamounts.

Whither Ducas and Wessels?

Gael fans will also be wringing their hands over the role of Ducas as the season progresses. Is he deep in Bennett’s dog house or just lying on the front porch? Barrett was stellar on defense against OR, but scored just one bucket in four attempts. When the Gael offense went stagnant during OR’s second-half run, it seemed certain that Ducas would re-enter the game to loosen things up. But he didn’t.

And why was Wessels relegated to the bench after a promising two-minute debut in the first half, when he grabbed two rebounds and a steal? When Saxen was whistled for his fourth foul, Bennett rejiggered the lineup to play Kyle Bowen in the post instead of Wessels, who is the putative back-up to Saxen. What was that about? Was Wessels injured during his brief appearance? No telling, although he did not appear to be hurt.

The story continues Thursday night.

Aidan Mahaney, the freshman from Campolinda in Moraga, led all scorers with 25 points Monday night, including the attempt pictured above. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Sometime in the early going of Saint Mary’s second-round NCAA game against UCLA on Saturday — when the Gaels were looking suspiciously like the squad that had annihilated Indiana by 29 points (82-53) two days earlier — UCLA Coach Mick Cronin found himself chafing under a sideline reporter’s annoying questions.

“Why had Saint Mary’s cruised to leads of 16-9 and 20-13 against his defensive-minded team?” she asked. “They’re too comfortable,” Cronin snapped, meaning his team had not harassed the Gaels sufficiently to disrupt their offensive flow. The Bruins took their leader’s advice and made things anything but comfortable from about the mid-point of the first half until the end of a disappointing 72-56 loss.

As if a switch had been thrown by the basketball gods, Saint Mary’s lost the glow that came from the Indiana win and the hope of facing North Carolina next week in the Sweet Sixteen round of March Madness. Turnovers, missed shots and blown defensive assignments brought the Gaels from that 16-9 lead with 12:29 left in the first half to a seven-point halftime deficit of 36-29.

Two turnovers, one a travel in the paint by a beleaguered Matthias Tass and the other a botched pass by Alex Ducas, gave UCLA life. A block of a Tass shot by Jaime Jacquez Jr. — an early best bet for tournament MVP — led to a run-out goal by UCLA that cut the deficit to 22-19, and then ensued a nightmare series for Tass’s back-up, sophomore Mitchell Saxen.

In the next several possessions, Saxen missed two bunnies that would have halted UCLA’s momentum, misfired on a put-back of a missed lay-up attempt by Tommy Kuhse, and finally tapped in a miss by Logan Johnson, but was called for basket interference. Saxen probably hated the Gaels’ flight home from Portland more than most of his teammates, but his troubles overshadowed the progress he has made his year and the promise he shows for the future.

Saxen wasn’t alone in the misery that took the Gaels from a comfortable-seeming lead to a 24-22 deficit at the 6:30 mark of the first half: Alex Ducas, one of the stars of the Indiana win, missed a floater in the paint and Tass missed a put-back; Johnson misfired on a three-point attempt, then couldn’t finish a drive; Kuhse followed suit with a missed drive of his own, then Johnson failed to convert another drive to the hoop; Kuhse turned up the misery index by then missing a jumper in the paint, and the Gaels had left 15 points on the floor over a span of about three minutes.

UCLA responds

Seemingly at every Saint Mary’s miss came a UCLA basket: following the blocked Tass shot, Jacquez scored on a run-out, then scored again when he drew Kuhse on a defensive switch, a bucket that brought UCLA dangerously close at 22-21. After Johnson’s missed three-pointer, the Bruins’s star of the future, Jules Bernard, sank a three-pointer over Kuhse that gave UCLA its first lead at 24-22. Another Bruin sub, Peyton Watson, put the finishing touch on the run by sinking a jumper in the paint to push UCLA’s lead to 26-22.

To emphasize the Gaels’ frustration, Johnson then threw away what should have been a routine entry pass to Tass, which earned Johnson a seat on the bench. Johnson, who would lead the Gaels in scoring with 18 points following a 20-point effort against Indiana, could only sit in misery as his substitute, Augustas Marciulionis, was burned twice by UCLA’s dynamic point guard, Tyger Campbell, to push UCLA’s lead to 30-22.

Although Saint Mary’s would creep to within a point, 38-37, thanks to a five-point run by Ducas, and, later to within four points, 48-44, at the 11:42 mark of the second half, that first-half push by UCLA seemingly doomed the Gaels. They wilted while the Bruins soared, and Saint Mary’s couldn’t find the magic that marked the final weeks of what remains a glorious ’21-22 season.

Gritty, not pretty

An undefeated home record — first in program history — a league win over Gonzaga and the team’s highest-ever NCAA seed, 5th, ensured that the “Gritty, not pretty” crew will be long remembered by Gael fans. Due to the uncertainties of Covid-related rules changes, Gael Coach Randy Bennett cannot be sure who will show up for the first day of practice next October.

Although Tass, Johnson, Dan Fotu and Kuhse received the traditional going-away honors on Senior Night before the Gonzaga game, all of them except Kuhse could invoke the new rules and return, even though Bennett has recruited three strong players to take their spots: center Harry Wessels of Australia, forward Joshua Jefferson of Liberty High in Henderson, NV, and guard Aidan Mahaney of Campolinda High in Moraga.

Questions remain about next year to be sure, but Bennett and the Gaels changed the conversation about Saint Mary’s basketball this season, quieting talk of competitors such as BYU, San Francisco or Santa Clara surpassing the Gaels as primary challengers to Gonzaga as league leaders.

BYU is on the way out of the WCC by a football-driven decision to join the Big 12 Conference, and San Francisco has lost is dynamic young coach, former Gael Todd Golden, to the allure of a six-year, $18 million contract with Florida. Bennett, finishing his 21st year in Moraga, doesn’t appear to be headed anywhere, and he relishes the opportunity to coach Mahaney, a childhood friend of his sons Chase and Cade, in the coming season.

Shed a tear for what might have been in Portland, but don’t despair of the Gaels’ future.

Logan Johnson, shown above from an earlier game, shone as a defensive and offensive star for the Gaels in the NCAA Tournament, totaling 38 points in the two games. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

The turning point of Saint Mary’s two-day stay in Las Vegas — the point that determined it a favorable result instead of a titanic triumph — came at the 9:13 mark of he second half in last night’s game against Gonzaga.

Following a steal by Alex Ducas and a foul on Dan Fotu on the ensuing run-out, the Gaels pulled within two points of Gonzaga, 52-50, with Fotu’s two made free throws. That sequence topped a steady erosion of Gonzaga’s 10-point halftime lead, 38-28. It put the Gaels in position to complete a two-game, 10-day sweep of the Zags that would have stunned the college basketball world and possibly endangered Gonzaga’s position as the overall no. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Alas, it wasn’t to be.

Many observers felt that Saint Mary’s 67-57 win over the Zags Feb. 26 in Moraga required a perfect performance by the Gaels — a razor-thin margin between just another good try and the massive effort required for a monumental upset. The Gaels had that edge on Feb. 26, but the Zags got it back last night.

How perfect was the Zags’ response to the Gaels nipping threateningly at their position atop college basketball?

Following Fotu’s free throws, Gonzaga made five tough, contested shots in a row — including a step-back three-pointer by Rasir Bolton with Tommy Kuhse in his face — while Saint Mary’s countered with just a Matthias Tass tip-in and two free throws from Ducas. While the Zags were perfect, Saint Mary’s suffered an agonizing miss by Logan Johnson on a ferocious drive into the paint that just rolled off the rim, and another near-miss on an equally-determined drive by Fotu.

That burst of excellence by Gonzaga and heartbreak by the Gaels turned a tenuous, two-point lead over a determined challenger, to a seven-point lead, 61-54, that must have seemed massive to the gritty Gael defenders. With the Gaels wounded, Gonzaga continued to separate, with Bolton extending the margin to nine points with a runner in the paint and a free throw to counter a single free throw by Kuhse.

Still fighting, Saint Mary’s crawled back behind another tough drive by Johnson to cut the margin to 65-57. As if to punish Johnson for his effrontery, Andrew Nembhard, the Zags’ scoring leader, sank a cold-blooded three-pointer with Johnson sagging off just enough to make the shot possible. The ensuing 11-point lead, 68-57, at the 4:15 mark, almost mirrored the final margin of 13 points, 82-69, and marked the unofficial end of the Gaels’ challenge.

Gonzaga was perfect, the Gaels merely scrappy, and that was the difference.

Similar to Santa Clara game

Ironically, the Gaels facing a stretch of nearly flawless basketball resembled the situation on Monday night against Santa Clara. In that instance, however, Saint Mary’s was in seeming control of the game with a 65-51 lead and 9:06 left in the game. The lead nearly increased to an insurmountable 68-53 when Kuhse apparently sank a three-pointer after a rebound scramble, but a review showed that the ball was still in Kuhse’s hand as the shot clock expired.

Whether Santa Clara drew strength from that reprieve, or just summoned its own inner excellence, the Broncos made life miserable for the Gaels from that point on. Their weapons were ferocious offensive rebounding to keep key possessions alive and some remarkable shooting by Josip Vrankic and Keshawn Justice.

Vrankic, who has been a menace to the Gaels throughout a standout career at Santa Clara, led the charge by rebounding a teammates’ miss and going up for a put-back. The Gaels’ reserve center, Mitchell Saxen, blocked Vrankic’s initial put-back attempt, but Vrankic recovered the ball and scored on a second effort to bring the Broncos to 65-56 with 7:12 left in the game.

A series of unfortunate calls and ball-control miscues ensued, including a traveling call on Tass, followed by Tass throwing away the ball on a routine pass. On the ensuing run-out by Santa Clara, Johnson made one of the best defensive efforts of the tournament, standing his ground under the basket as Vrankic charged into the lane and neatly taking the ball out of Vrankic’s hands before he could shoot.

His reward for that stellar bit of defense? A foul call by one of the referees, sending Vrankic to the free-throw line for two makes that cut the lead to 67-60. Vrankic followed up the free throws by taking a rebound away from Tass on a missed shot by Santa Clara star Jalen Williams and putting it back in to narrow the lead to 67-62.

Ups and downs for Tass

Gael Coach Randy Bennett showed his continued support for Tass by calling a play for the 6’10” Estonian out of a timeout — and Tass delivered a clutch bucket to give his teammates some breathing room at 69-62. Tass then suffered the same problem that Johnson did a few minutes earlier when an eager referee detected something amiss with a screen Tass set. Rigorous examination of the game tape could detect nothing more than a textbook screen by Tass, but, nevertheless, the result was a turnover to the Broncos at exactly the wrong time.

Then Mr. Justice made his presence felt in a painful way for the Gaels, sinking a corner three-pointer that brought the Broncos to within four points at 69-65. Following some back-and-forth action that moved the score to 73-67, the combination of offensive rebounding and Justice struck again.

Jaden Bediako usually provides Santa Clara not much more than a big body inside to intimidate shooters, but he showed the same determination on a miss by the Broncos’ PJ Pipes that hurt Saint Mary’s down the stretch. Bediako outfought Gael defenders after Pipes misfired, secured the ball and fired it out to the waiting arms of Justice in the short corner.

That Justice sank the three-pointer and cut the margin to one point, 73-72, should not have surprised any Gael supporters at the Orleans Arena or watching on ESPN. There were 42 seconds left in the game and the Broncos were in business, especially after Kuhse had a jumper in the paint blocked by Williams.

Williams, the Broncos star guard who had been hyped by ESPN announcer Sean Farnham into a potential lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft, steamed down court after blocking Kuhse. No one in the sensate world doubted he was taking his team’s destiny in his hands, and few doubted his ability to connect on one of his specialty shots — a runner in the paint.

But they didn’t count on Johnson, the epitome of Gael grit who had harassed Williams into a below-par 15-point effort, especially considering that Williams racked up 11 points in the first half alone. Johnson hovered near Williams’ right hand, then leaped into the air as the Bronco star released whet many thought would be a game-winning shot — and blocked it cleanly.

The Gaels’ Kyle Bowen rebounded the miss and shoveled it quickly to Johnson, who was promptly fouled. With 3.6 seconds left on the clock, Johnson calmly sank two free throw to put the Gaels ahead 75-72 and massively complicate Santa Clara’s chances for a buzzer-beater. Indeed, Johnson met Williams along the sideline after Santa Clara inbounded the ball, and forced him into a difficult heave that clanked harmlessly off the rim to give the Gaels a chance to face Gonzaga in the championship game.

Perfection/near perfection were the prime subjects of this two-day sojourn into the desert that left the Gaels’ regular-season record at 25-7 and solidly within the Top 20 teams in the nation. Selection Sunday on March 13 will determine which of those teams or the 40 or so other participants in the NCAA Tournament Saint Mary’s will face as the Dance progresses.

Tommy Kuhse has become the face of Saint Mary’s in the final weeks of the 21-22 season, including the WCC Tournament in which he scored 42 points and led his teammates in every way possible. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

This one was different.

Unlike other Saint Mary’s wins over Gonzaga through the years — scarce as hens’ teeth — there was no singular outstanding performance or memorable turning point in the Gaels’ 67-57 win Saturday night in Moraga.

No Paul Marigney 40-point outburst from back in the day, no Mickey McConnell floater in the paint in Spokane, no Jordan Hunter monster game four years ago for the WCC championship. This was a methodical disassembly of one of the most prolific offensive juggernauts in recent college basketball history.

The Gaels harassed, defended and befuddled Zag nemeses such as Drew Timme from the outset, blocking shots, digging out turnovers and stealing passes to hold Gonzaga some 30 points under its usual per-game average. They outshot the Zags by 44 per cent to 37 per cent, out-rebounded them 37-33 and forced 14 Zag turnovers against four assists. Defensive domination.

The Zags’ vaunted front court combination of Timme and 7’1″ Chet Holmgren — endlessly characterized by pundits, announcers and sportswriters as the best tandem in the country — scored 12 points between them. The Gaels’ combo of Matthias Tass, Kyle Bowen and Mitchell Saxen totaled 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Saxen, a sparingly-used sophomore from Washington, blocked three shots to Holmgren’s four, and outscored the Boy Wonder seven points to six — in 16 minutes compared to Holmgren’s 32.

Wire-to-wire

The Gaels blasted out of the gate to an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes behind the incomparable Tommy Kuhse and the oft-embattled Tass. The Zags’ first pass of the game was intercepted by Bowen, and Kuhse calmly waltzed down the paint at the other end of the court and scored a lay-up to start things off. Logan Johnson, who had a defensive game for the history books, promptly snatched the ball out of Holmgren’s hands and led a textbook fast break with Alex Ducas that ended with a Ducas lay-up and a 4-0 lead.

Tass, serving notice that the paint was not going to be Zag territory, followed with two scores around a three-pointer by the Zags’ stellar point guard, Andrew Nembhard, for a 10-3 lead that expanded to 12-3 on another lay-up by Kuhse before the first media time-out. The die was cast, although Saint Mary’s endured several stress points throughout the game.

To keep Tass from sinking into foul trouble — he picked up a quick one on a ticky-tack push-off call in the first five minutes — Gael Coach Randy Bennett subbed in Saxen. It turned out to be an inspired move, as Saxen immediately flummoxed Holmgren with a spin move, reverse lay-up and foul for a 15-5 lead. A few minutes later, the defensively-challenged Timme left Saxen alone while jumping out on a pick-and-roll initiated by Kuhse. Seeing Saxen alone under the bucket, Kuhse rifled a pass to him that he converted for a 19-12 lead (the Zags were rallying).

Saxen then defended Timme on his patented spin move, and on a subsequent possession knocked away an entry pass intended for Timme. When he finished his 10-minute relief stint for Tass with a put-back off a missed three-point attempt, Saxen had scored seven points, blocked three shots, grabbed three rebounds and stolen the ball once. Quality minutes, indeed.

Another bench star

Almost simultaneously with Saxen’s impressive play off the bench, Jabe Mullins made a mark of his own after subbing in for Ducas. After a bad miss by the Zags’ Hunter Sallis, Mullins pulled a trick out of the Gonzaga playbook and leaked out toward the Saint Mary’s basket. Johnson spotted him and sent a perfect lead pass that Mullins caught and laid in for a 24-16 lead with 6:32 left in the half.

Mullins, the sophomore recruiting class star with Saxen who is paying bigger dividends as the season progresses, then made back-to-back defensive stops. First came a clean steal from Timme, who was coughing up more turnovers (four) than he was making baskets (zero at that point). Nothing eventuated from that theft, but Mullins was just getting warmed up.

On the Zags’ next possession, Mullins victimized Holmgren with a steal of a weak cross-court pass and took off for the basket, finishing with his left hand when challenged at the rim. That brought the Gaels to a 31-16 lead and caused Gonzaga Coach Mark Few to call time out. At this point, Gael fans knew their heroes would face a severe Zag challenge to whittle away that lead before halftime, and they braced for the worse.

It looked as if it were coming, as Holmgren scored off an alley-top following the time out, Kuhse coughed up the ball under pressure and Nembhard made the Gaels pay with a three-pointer that cut the lead to 31-20. The Gaels held the lead at 10 points as the clock wound down under two minutes and Mullins positioned himself in the short corner of the offensive end. He confidently swished a three-pointer to push the lead back to 13 points and set the stage for a final Gael dagger before halftime.

Johnson turned the tables on the other excellent Gonzaga guard, Rasir Bolton, whom he had been battling throughout the game, by losing Bolton in traffic on an out-of-bounds play. Open under the bucket, Johnson converted to give his team a 15-point lead, 36-21 at the break. It was about as perfect a half as any Randy Bennett team has ever played, and major credit went to Saxen and Mullins and their 14 points off the bench.

The rest of the story

The second half began as did the Zag pseudo-run toward the end of the half, with Nembhard taking advantage of another SMC turnover — this one by Johnson — to nail a three-pointer. Then began a mystifying run of bad shooting by Bowen, who whiffed on four straight three-point attempts over the next 11 minutes. The Gaels didn’t wilt under the pressure caused by Bowen’s misfiring, however, bolstered by big buckets from Ducas — he hit his first three-pointer of the game at the 15:56 mark to keep the Gaels ahead by 44-30 — and a two-play mini-highlight reel by Johnson that sent a fevered crowd into near hysteria.

Following Timme’s first basket of the night at the 14:46 mark that brought the Zags within 46-32 and might have served as a rallying point for his team, Johnson again victimized Bolton on an out-of-bounds play. This time Johnson dribbled by Bolton at the top of the key and steamed toward the bucket, defended by Timme. Obviously judging his opponent correctly, Johnson challenged Timme with a slam-dunk attempt…and Timme blinked. He didn’t even challenge he 6’1″ Johnson, backing off his 6’10” frame as if to say, “I don’t want to be on a Gael poster.”

To say Johnson’s courageous slam riled up the crowd might imply that it was sleeping at that point. In fact, the Gael student body was on hyper-activity mode from the get-go, so Johnson’s play merely poured gasoline on a roaring flame. Johnson wasn’t about to let the fire go out.

With the Gaels still holding a comfortable lead, 50-34, Kuhse was stripped on one of his forays into the paint, and it looked as if the Zags were off to the races. Sallis was out front with the ball, but Ducas gave ground near the bucket and kept Sallis in front of him. Ducas’ heady play allowed Johnson to make up enough ground to soar across the paint and swat away Sallis’ lay-up attempt, and then corral the ball before it went out of bounds.

What’s the point beyond hysteria? Check the crowd shots from that moment and you will have an answer.

More drama

Despite Johnson’s momentous plays, the Zags still were not finished, and Bowen was not through clanking three-point attempts. After missing his fourth in a row, during which time the Gael lead shrank to 50-40, Ducas bailed out his fellow Aussie. Ducas and Bowen came to Saint Mary’s from the same part of Australia, and, by all reports, are inseparable friends. So friendly, in fact, that the shiner Ducas has been sporting since the San Diego game last Thursday, was compliments of an errant Bowen elbow thrown inadvertently while the two watched a Gael baseball game.

Ducas clearly harbored no hard feelings, as he chose the moment of Bowen’s offensive nadir — that fourth missed three-pointer — to can a second huge three-pointer of his own that restored the Gael lead to 53-40 with 7:42 to go. That didn’t get the Gaels out of the woods, however, as the Zags’ Julian Strawther, a thorn in the Gaels’ side to rival Nembhard and Bolton, nailed a three-pointer to bring the game back within range at 57-50.

So how did Bowen react to this ebb and flow, prominently featuring his long-range shooting ineptitude? By sinking his next two three-point attempts and restoring the Gael lead to nine points, 63-54 with less than two minutes left. So compelling was this plot turn that Zag Coach Few chose an out-of-bounds play in front of the Zag bench to chat up Bowen about it. It would take a mind-reader to describe exactly what was being said, but Few was obviously amused enough by Bowen’s chutzpah to break out a smile in the face of defeat.

And a defeat it was, one that gave the Gaels’ undeniable momentum heading into the WCC Tournament next week in Las Vegas, an undefeated home record for the first time in school history and an undoubted improvement in their national ranking. Their reward for all these good deeds? Potentially a rematch with Gonzaga for the WCC Tournament championship on March 8. Stay tuned.

Logan Johnson, shown above harassing the Zags’ Andrew Nembhard, led a stout Gael defense, while scoring 10 points, leading all Gaels with eight rebounds and picking up two steals and a block. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

This week began with Valentine’s Day on Monday, but it was anything but hearts and flowers for the Saint Mary’s Gaels, who faced two crucial games against WCC foes San Francisco and BYU.

Both foes were considered by pundits to be logical heirs to the Gaels’ long-held position as chief challenger to Gonzaga for WCC supremacy, and BYU held an early-season win, 53-42, in Provo. To make a difficult situation worse, Saint Mary’s lost its best outside shooter, Alex Ducas, early in the San Francisco game, and it was unknown whether he would be available against BYU.

Ducas did return for the BYU game, scored nine crucial points, grabbed five rebounds and created two steals as the Gaels finished out the nerve-wracking week with a 69-64 win over the Cougars — the same score by which they defeated San Francisco on Thursday. Suffice it to say, the Gaels were glad to put the week behind them, which is where every WCC team not named Gonzaga sits after the Gaels’ clutch performance left them with a 10-3 record with two games to go.

San Francisco and Santa Clara are tied for third place at 8-5, and BYU is in fifth place at 7-6. Therefore, if Saint Mary’s takes care of business with a road win over San Diego next Thursday, neither San Francisco, Santa Clara nor BYU can challenge the Gaels for second place behind Gonzaga and a double-bye in the upcoming WCC Tournament. By maintaining a two-game lead over its challengers, Saint Mary’s can even afford to lose its season-ending game with Gonzaga on Feb. 26, although they will hardly concede that.

How it happened

The BYU game held several characteristics of that against San Francisco, primarily an early chance to put an opponent away, followed by a dogged second-half BYU comeback when the Gaels seemed to have finally done enough to win — as in a 16-point lead, 62-46, with 8:15 left. Things got hairy instead of fun, however, as BYU closed to 67-64 with 1:46 left.

The Gaels dissipated their lead with a combination of cold shooting, poor ball protection and some gritty shooting by BYU stalwarts Alex Barcello and Caleb Lohner. Cold shooting hit first, as Ducas suffered a complete reversal of fortune after sinking his first two jumpers of the half to go with a three-pointer in the first half. From the 16:22 mark on, Ducas missed six straight shots, any one of which could have derailed BYU’s comeback.

The Gaels also suffered several cases of ball-itis, as first Tommy Kuhse — who was even more heroic against BYU than he was against San Francisco — then Logan Johnson coughed up crucial turnovers. Kuhse started down the slippery slope by simply over-throwing a routine pass to Kyle Bowen with no pressure on him. That one didn’t cost the Gaels an immediate bucket, but it made the crowd nervous.

Almost immediately, Johnson did the same thing, air-mailing a cross-court pass into the lower reserved section of the crowd. A few minutes later, after BYU had creeped to within three points, Johnson threw away another errant pass into a crowded lane, and the Gaels missed a golden opportunity to ward off BYU’s comeback. Ducas also got into the action by fumbling away the ball in traffic when BYU was charging.

Lohner, who had been looked upon as one of BYU’s leading lights based on his stellar freshman season, has been stumbling somewhat as a sophomore, but the Gaels gave him a boost. Taking advantage of a cut under his right eye suffered by the Gaels’ intrepid defender Bowen, Lorner slipped by Bowen’s replacement, Dan Fotu, for an easy lay-up to give BYU a crucial bucket at 62-50.

Shortly thereafter, Fotu found himself guarding BYU’s huge post man, 6’6″ freshman Fousseyni Traore, on a switch, and Traore scored another easy lay-up over Bowen’s replacement. Proving he could score against the first team as well, Lohner hit a big three-pointer after Bowen returned to the floor, this one bringing his team within nine points, 66-57, then sank a put-back after a scramble under the net to make it 67-59.

Enter Mr. Barcello

Barcello is far and away BYU’s best player, and even though he is a slightly-built 6’1″ in an era of giant guards, is a potential NBA player. Because of his quickness, he is extremely hard to guard and hits three-point shots at a nearly 50 per cent clip. With all that going for him, he had the impediment of Johnson’s dogged defense facing him all night, and struggled to make 2-8 three-point attempts.

After Lorner’s put-back and a free throw by Johnson, Barcello hit two free throws to narrow the lead further, to 67-61. Then the Gaels’ poor shooting struck again. Gael post man Matthias Tass got free along the baseline and had what seemed to be a wide-open lay-up which would have put Saint Mary’s back up by eight points, but he managed to hit the bottom of the rim instead.

That opening was made to order for a clutch performer like Barcello, and he didn’t disappoint. With Kuhse guarding him instead of Johnson, Barcello curled around a screen and launched a three-pointer that brought BYU from 16 points down to trailing by only three. Some mutual ball mishandling brought the clock down to 43.7 seconds, and the game was still on the line when Tass redeemed his earlier botched lay-up.

Fouled on a rebound attempt, Tass calmly sank two free throws to make it a two-possession game, 69-64. Then some good old-fashioned smarts helped out the Gaels. After a BYU miss, Bowen, not the Gaels most nimble ball-handler and not its best free-throw shooter, found himself surrounded by frantic BYU defenders. He called time out with 11.4 seconds left. Brilliant.

The move seemed to take the wind out of BYU, and after a successful inbound pass by Saint Mary’s, the Cougars chose not to foul any more, letting the clock run out. The Gaels didn’t mind, having withstood as tough a two-game stand as they have faced in Coach Randy Bennett’s 21-year tenure. It was time to exhale, and contemplate the final week of conference play.

Logan Johnson, shown above pulling down one of six rebounds against BYU to go with 17 points, a steal and a block, hounded BYU’s star guard, Alex Barcello, throughout the night, holding Barcello to 2-8 on three-point attempts. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

Facing a tough opponent in a must-win game, no team wants to play without its best outside shooter, with its leading scorer missing nine of 12 shots and its secondary long-distance bombers going 1-7 on three-point attempts.

And yet, that’s what Saint Mary’s faced Thursday night against San Francisco in a game for second place in the WCC. Despite all the negative headwinds, however, the Gaels had one major factor in their favor.

They had Tommy Kuhse, and he made up for the shortcomings of his teammates with one of the most commanding games of his six-year career: 22 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals in a 69-64 victory over the Dons, who fell behind Santa Clara into fourth place in the WCC at 8-5 with a showdown against mighty Gonzaga next Thursday in San Francisco.

Kuhse internalized the message Gael Coach Randy Bennett undoubtedly repeated over and over in preparation for the San Francisco game: don’t allow a repeat of the horrible start suffered by the Gaels in their first meeting with the Dons last month — falling behind by 21 points and needing a miracle comeback to pull out a 72-70 win.

Despite losing Alex Ducas and his potent three-point stroke in the first few minutes of the game — Ducas wrenched his back and didn’t return — Kuhse didn’t let San Francisco bolt ahead after two early three-point buckets by the Dons’ Gabe Stefanini gave them a 9-5 lead. Stefanini, the Columbia transfer who resembles the NBA’s Luka Doncic with his stocky 6’3″, 215-lb frame and deliberate style, was a thorn in the Gaels’ side all night long, finishing with 23 points.

After a back-and-forth period which saw the Gaels eke out a 17-15 lead behind a pair of corner three-pointers by Kyle Bowen and Jabe Mullins — filling in for Ducas — Kuhse located Mitchell Saxen inside, who converted for a 19-17 lead, then repeated the formula with another drop-off pass and conversion for Saxen and a 21-19 lead.

Then Kuhse conducted a lesson in guard penetration against the Dons’ excellent three-point shooter, Khalil Shabazz. Twice in a row, Kuhse utilized his well- developed stutter-step to get an angle on Shabazz and drive for lay-ups. At that point, Kuhse had scored six points, giving him 1001 for his Saint Mary’s career, and helped the Gaels to a 25-22 lead.

Easing off

With a timely three-pointer by Dan Fotu and another corner three-pointer from Mullins, the Gaels looked to gain early control of the game by moving into a 31-22 lead with 6:07 left in the half. They seemed able to give San Francisco a taste of its own medicine with a significant halftime lead.

Then they conducted a clinic in how to give up a promising lead.

Matthias Tass, the Gaels’ leading scorer who had made one inside shot then missed several others, deviated from his script of blowing bunnies by failing to convert a dunk set up by Kuhse that would have gave his team an 11-point lead. Showing unusual versatility, Tass followed up the missed dunk by badly missing a three-point attempt that led to a run-out and three-point basket by Shabazz. What could have ben a 33-22 lead became a 31-25 lead, but the Gaels weren’t through being generous to San Francisco.

Gael guard Logan Johnson coughed up a turnover, then Mullins fouled Stefanini on a corner three-point attempt he had little chance of converting. Displaying a Don weakness which would plague them throughout the game, Stefanini missed two out of three free throw attempts, but cut the once-promising lead to five points at 31-26.

As if attempting to rally his teammates, Kuhse drove Stefanini for a 33-26 lead, but Bowen took a quick three-point attempt that rivaled Tass’s in inappropriateness. Kuhse covered up that lapse in judgment by finding Saxen again for a score inside and a 35-26 lead, but Shabazz made the Gaels pay with a driving floater, then followed up another ill-advised Bowen three-point attempt with a three-pointer of his own to cut the lead to 35-31.

Jamaree Bouyea is San Francisco’s best player, but he had a horrible night against the Gaels, finishing with just one made basket in nine attempts and a goose egg, 0-6, on three-point attempts. But he was a constant pest against Gael ball handlers, swatting several balls away from behind, including one from Augustas Marciulionis, in for a brief time in relief of Johnson, who picked up three early fouls. That steal accounted for Bouyea’s lone bucket of the night, but it was enough to wipe away all thoughts of an early commanding lead and pulled the Dons to within two points at 35-33.

Once again, Kuhse tried to absolve his teammates’ errors with a three-pointer in the closing moments of the half, giving the Gaels a respectable-but-hardly insurmountable lead of 38-33.

Enter Mr. Johnson

Logan Johnson, as mentioned, had a bumpy first half, picking up three fouls and scoring only once, but he was far from finished for the night. The Gaels continued their wobbly play after the break, allowing the Dons to move within three points at 40-37. Johnson then scored on a driving lay-up to put the lead back to five points, then trailed Kuhse on a run-out following a Bouyea miss.

What followed was a thing of beauty, as Kuhse led a trio of Don defenders into the paint, each of them anxious to be the one who would swat away Kuhse’s expected lay-up attempt. Except Kuhse recognized that Johnson was behind him, and passed back to his teammate for an uncontested lay-up and a 44-37 lead at the 15-minute mark of the second half.

This might have deflated the Dons, but they responded with a pair of three-pointers from Zane Meeks and Shabazz to get back within a single point. Then the Kuhse-Johnson duet played a return engagement.

Kuhse once again led several San Francisco defenders deep into the paint, then assumed the position of a post player, adroitly passing off to a driving Johnson for a bucket that gave the Gaels some breathing room at 46-43. The by-play between Kuhse and Johnson far exceeded the rocky execution between Bouyea and Shabazz, although Shabazz bailed out his back court mate with some deadly three-point shooting.

It took the Gaels another ten minutes of back-and-forth tussle before they established what again looked like a comfortable lead, 59-49, with a little more than four minutes left to play. Largely because of outstanding play by Shabazz and Stefanini, however, the Dons did not wilt, and some dubious fouling by the Gaels abetted the Don stars.

Kuhse, in one of his few miscues on the night, fouled Shabazz on an errant there-point attempt, and Shabazz sank all three free throws to pull San Francisco within six points, 61-55, with 1:24 left. That boo-boo, however, was overlooked because a few minutes before Kuhse had made the defensive play of the night on Stefanini, the burly Don guard who had his way with a number of Gael defenders, including Ducas before he went out, Mullins and even walk-on Luke Barrett .

Kuhse had the duty with a little more than two minutes left, and Stefanini appeared to gain an edge on the Gael veteran as he headed for the bucket. Kuhse slapped the ball out of Stefanini’s hands, however, and it bounced off his leg for a Gael possession. It became a free-throw shooting matter from there on in, and Kuhse, Johnson and Bowen sank 6-8 to ice the game. Johnson, after his slow start, ended up with 16 points and four steals to complement Kuhse’s output.

Getting closer

With the win over San Francisco, Saint Mary’s cemented its hold on second place in the WCC with just three losses (8-3). San Francisco and BYU each have five, and the Gaels can sink BYU with a win at home Saturday evening. Santa Clara, now at 8-4, will be hard-pressed to avoid a fifth loss next Saturday as they take on Gonzaga in Spokane.

The Gaels’ path is clear: beat BYU on Saturday, then win their second in a few weeks against San Diego on the road next Thursday. If they accomplish those two goals, they will be at least two games ahead of San Francisco, Santa Clara and BYU in the loss column before facing Gonzaga in the conference finale next Saturday in Moraga.

That gives them the luxury of withstanding a possible loss to Gonzaga, which would leave them at second place in the conference at 11-4 and give them a bye until the semifinals of the WCC Tournament that begins March 3 in Las Vegas. Of course, an upset of Gonzaga would make that trip to Las Vegas much sweeter.

Tommy Kuhse drives on San Francisco’s 6’10” center Yauhen Massalski in last night’s game in Moraga. Kuhse finished the game with 22 points and Massalski with 10. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

What can Saint Mary’s take away from its 74-58 loss to Gonzaga Saturday night in Spokane?

Relief that it wasn’t a blowout of the 2019 variety when the Zags went off for a 48-point win, 94-46? Let’s hope it was more than that.

I think the Gaels discovered a path to, if not victory, then at least a much more competitive rematch in Moraga on Feb. 26, the last game of the WCC season and the lead-in to the conference tournament in Las Vegas.

The path was revealed over the last 17 minutes of the second half, when the Gaels tenaciously dug themselves out from a 21-point deficit at 47-28. Over that period, Saint Mary’s outscored Gonzaga 30-27, which although encouraging wasn’t nearly enough to eliminate the total deficit. What did they do to hold the Zags even for such a long period of time?

For one, Alex Ducas came alive after a mysterious first half when he was MIA. Ducas scored all 12 of his points after the intermission, scoring from all over — from deep (2-4 three-pointers), from underneath the basket and in the paint with a pretty runner.

Secondly, they got tough with the Zags’ two powerhouses in the paint, Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren. After letting Timme dance through the paint and under the basket for 15 first-half points on 7-9 shooting, Gael center Matthias Tass tightened down enough to hold Timme to 10 points in the second half (4-7 is better than 7-9). The Gaels got an important stop when Ducas helped Tass out and grabbed the ball as Timme spun toward the basket.

Kyle Bowen, facing seven-foot Wunderkind Holmgren, likewise decided to rough it up a little with the skinny-but-talented Minnesotan. Bowen forced Holmgren into a turnover that the Gaels couldn’t convert for a bucket, then defended him again on a subsequent possession. That possession led to a Ducas three-pointer when the Gael forward turned Gonzaga’s playbook against them — scoring quickly off a defensive stop.

Giving Holmgren a little more adversity, Mitchell Saxen, Tass’s back-up, drew a foul on him and sank one free throw to cut the margin to 53-38 with a little more than 13 minutes left. Saxen scored his only bucket of the game a little later and was fouled, but couldn’t convert the and-one. But he brought the Gaels a little closer at 58-44.

Using his bigs

Now comes the unsolicited advice from the peanut gallery that every coach just loves. When Saint Mary’s faces Gonzaga in two weeks, why not look at Tass and Saxen as a two-man defensive front against Timme with 10 fouls to give between them? Saxen played only six minutes last night, leaving Tass on the floor for the remaining 34.

Leave Bowen, with minimal relief from Dan Fotu, to deal with Holmgren, but pester Timme with alternating 6’10” fresh legs — belonging to Tass and Saxen. I know blaming a player’s miscues on fatigue is subjective, but look at Tass’ game against the Zags. He was effective early, scoring six of the Gaels’s first 12 points as they carved out a 12-11 lead after eight minutes.

Down the stretch, however, Tass mixed six inside shots after getting good position. He also made two shots in that stretch, including a short jumper that brought the Gaels under the 10-point deficit mark at 65-56, and a nifty spin move that left Holmgren looking lost and brought his team a point closer at 66-58.

That was it, however, for Tass and the Gaels. Tass missed twice more in the paint and the Gaels stalled out at 58 points while the Zags outscored them by eight to increase the final margin to 74-58.

The path revealed

That period, however, when the Gaels dug in on Timme and Holmgren and loosened up the offense behind Ducas, showed a path to follow in Moraga. It will take more, of course, including a better performance from Logan Johnson, who was 1-6 in the first half and only slightly better in the second, 1-4, to finish with six points. Johnson has had success by sticking to his guns many times this season, following up early misses with big buckets in the clutch.

He was the epitome of futility against the Zags, however, time and again forcing tough shots in the paint that he couldn’t convert. He came alive briefly after making his only shot of the second half by getting his only steal of the game on the next possession. He turned that steal over to Tommy Kuhse, however, and Kuhse promptly forfeited the advantage by throwing the ball away. Opportunity lost.

But let’s not dump on Kuhse, who had five assists to more than compensate for that one brain-fart, and led all Gael scorers with 16 points. Kuhse was good enough to divert the efforts of ESPN announcers Sean Farnham and Dave Flemming to enshrine Timme, Holmgren and Andrew Nembhard into the college Hall of Fame.

One again, Kuhse came to the Gaels’ rescue off the bench behind starting point guard Augustas Marciulionis. Kuhse started slowly, but made his mark shortly after the beginning of the second half by sinking a three-pointer that prevented the game from getting away from the Gaels and keeping them within the halftime deficit of 13 points, 39-26.

When Holmgren scored underneath off a nifty Timme feed, Kuhse immediately answered with a lay-up to keep the deficit under 20 points at 49-30. A little later Nembhard answered Ducas’s first three-pointer with a jumper of his own to dim the Gael enthusiasm, but Kuhse answered Nembhard with another lay-up. If the game was tit-for-tat at that point, Kuhse was the one answering for his teammates.

What lies ahead

Although a win over Gonzaga would have lightened the Gaels’ load over the last two weeks of WCC competition, they are still in the catbird’s seat to snag a No. 2 seed in the WCC Tournament. That is crucial because the top two seeds are automatically slotted to the conference semifinals on Monday, March 7. That means no messy quarterfinals or other distractions as they fight for the right to face, let’s face it, Gonzaga for all the marbles in the form of an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Saint Mary’ sits in second place in the WCC at 8-3, behind the undefeated Zags. San Francisco, a resounding winner over Santa Clara at Santa Clara yesterday, sits at 8-4, and Santa Clara at 7-4. The Gaels can ward off San Francisco when facing them next Thursday in Moraga, and the Dons still have a rematch with Gonzaga at home on Feb. 24. My personal preference is for San Francisco to lose to the Gaels and beat the Dons, but I seldom get my hoops wishes.

Santa Clara has no direct opportunity to derail the Gaels or Dons, but has a rematch of its own against Gonzaga in Spokane on Feb. 19. I would not like to have to count on an upset of Gonzaga on their home floor to overtake San Francisco and Saint Mary’s for second place, but that is Santa Clara’s problem.

After undergoing a tough week against San Diego, Santa Clara and Gonzaga, the Gaels face an even tougher agenda next week when San Francisco comes to Moraga on Thursday and BYU on Saturday. Going 2-0 next week would make those WCC hopes almost certain. Let’s hope the Gaels follow the right path.

Tommy Kuhse, shown above in action from earlier this season, was the Gaels’ brightest star against Gonzaga, scoring 16 points and dishing out five assists. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.

by Michael Vernetti

A reasonable assessment of Saint Mary’s efforts so far this week would be that they recovered the offense they misplaced in Tuesday’s 77-72 road loss to Santa Clara with a commanding 86-57 win over San Diego on Thursday in Moraga.

Reasonable but inadequate.

What the Gaels recovered against San Diego was their identity — defense first, leading to offense. No one besides a sports psychologist can explain why Saint Mary’s allowed a quartet of Santa Clara guards — PJ Pipes, Jalen Williams, Carlos Stewart and Giordon Williams — to score 47 points against them.

47 points! More than half of their entire offensive output from basically two guys — Pipes and Williams, both of whom were well-known to the Gaels since a 73-65 SMC win over the Broncos on Jan. 20 in Moraga. Williams, a full-blown WCC star and potential NBA player, led Santa Clara in the loss with 18 points, and Pipes, a grad transfer from Wisconsin-Green Bay, chipped in with 16. Should have had targets on their jerseys.

Williams at least had to struggle for his 18 in the rematch, fighting off the tenacious defensive efforts of the Gaels’ Logan Johnson to go 7-10 with one three-pointer, and, by the way, 10 assists.

Pipes did his damage against a trio of Gael defenders — Tommy Kuhse, Jabe Mullins and Augustas Marciulionis — but had most success against an overmatched Kuhse. As he cruised to 10 first-half points, Pipes put an exclamation point on his performance with an alley-oop pass to Parker Braun that stemmed from getting past Kuhse in the paint, forcing Kyle Bowen to come off Braun and challenge Pipes. It turned into the easiest slam dunk that Braun will ever experience, and gave Santa Clara a four-point lead at 33-29 that they would hold on to for a 35-34 halftime lead.

Big three MIA

Things deteriorated in the second half, culminating in an 11-point Santa Clara lead at 54-43 with 13:33 left in the game. The Gaels’ top three scorers, Matthias Tass, Johnson and Alex Ducas, scored a combined 9-28 baskets for the game, with Tass scoring his second bucket with a little more than 11 minutes left. At that point, he had as many turnovers — two — as field goals.

Sophomore Mullins provided a brief spark when he entered the game with about 10 minutes left, immediately hitting a three-pointer, then following that up with a sliding steal to set up Kuhse for a lay-up which halted the Santa Clara momentum. Then Mullins nailed another three-pointer that brought the Gaels within four points at 60-56, and emphasized how winnable the game was if the other Gael shooters could match Mullins’ output.

Alas, they couldn’t, and Santa Clara held on for a win so important to them that their fans rushed the court after it was over. The Gaels rushed off the court for the bus back to Moraga, and, it would seem, nightmares of Williams and Pipes riddling their defense.

Cut to San Diego

So what accounted for the defensive turnaround against San Diego? Again, consult that sports psychologist to explain the beat down of a team that back in January battled Santa Clara to a 78-74 overtime loss on the Broncos’ home court. In other words, San Diego played Santa Clara tougher than did the Gaels in that encounter, although Santa Clara cruised to a 79-66 win in the rematch.

One reason was the play of two of those Gael guards who were embarrassed by the Bronco guards– Kuhse and Johnson. Kuhse, who despite his woes led Saint Mary’s in scoring with 16 points against Santa Clara, was hot early against San Diego, accounting for seven of the Gaels’ first nine points as they led 9-7. Then came a period of defensive genius by Johnson that seemed to knock San Diego off its axis and set the stage for an overwhelming victory.

With the game tied at 9-9, Johnson picked the pocket of San Diego guard Jase Townsend, but was unable to capitalize on the steal and missed a three-point attempt. Minutes later, Johnson swiped an errant pass from the Toreros’ Joey Calcaterra, one of a few recognizable San Diego players left after a two-year raid on the transfer portal that left the San Diego lineup looking like a guide to college hoops elsewhere — St. John’s, Rice, Pittsburgh and New Mexico.

This time, Ducas made the Toreros pay for the misplay, as he weaved through the paint and finished with a left-handed lay-up for a 17-9 Gael lead. Johnson then hit his first of two three-pointers on the night to give Saint Mary’ a 22-15 lead, and looked for another theft opportunity. It came at the 7:11 mark, as Johnson, his leonine mane billowing in the wind, swiped the ball from a hapless San Diego guard and sprinted for a rousing dunk and a 28-18 lead that quelled a brief San Diego comeback.

On the Toreros’ next possession, Johnson made his fourth steal of the half and cruised once again toward the basket, settling for a conventional lay-up this time, and giving Saint Mary’s a 30-18 lead signaling that the rout was on. One player seldom accounts for a team’s overall success, but Johnson’s four-steal performance certainly set the tone for what followed — a 56-39 Saint Mary’s advantage.

Maintaining the edge

It is hard for a college team to maintain a 30-point lead once it begins subbing in bench players for starters, but the Gaels didn’t falter with the likes of Leemet Bockler, Judah Brown, Mitchell Saxen, Luke Barrett and Mullins on the floor. Indeed, that makeshift lineup with only one guard on the floor — Mullins — held things together and gave several role players an opportunity ro shine.

No Gael sub has riveted Gael fans’ attention more than Bockler, the 6’6″ win from Estonia, who in a brief, eight-game span last year demonstrated shooting excellence and overall court presence that promised great things. Bockler went down with a recurring foot injury, however, suffered an ankle injury this year just as he was recovering from foot surgery, and has had a hard time getting on the floor.

Bockler looked good against San Diego, scoring five points and grabbing a rebound in his 12 minutes of play, and making good a recent pronouncement from Gael Coach Randy Bennett that he was on the verge of being whole. Also shining was Mullins, another recruit from the class of 20-21 who had a brief, shining moment in his freshman campaign and has struggled to recapture that magic.

Mullins regularly plays with the starters, usually in relief of Ducas, but occasionally logs time at guard, his high school position. He looked every bit the floor leader as he led the subs down the stretch against San Diego, scoring once on a spinning drive in the paint that had both the fans and the Gael bench erupting in rapture.

Also scoring points more than figuratively was Brown, another 20-21 recruit who has stoked fans’ hopes that he can recapture the stardom he displayed in high school. Brown, who scored 16 points in one half against Gonzaga last year, led the subs with eight points off two three-pointers and a rousing dunk on a baseline drive.

On to Spokane

The final score, 86-57, was just under the 30-point margin that existed when the subs took over, but keeping San Diego at bay was nevertheless a signature accomplishment by the bench. Now, it’s up to the starters to cap off the week with a date against no. 1 Gonzaga — that’s nationally not just in the WCC, where it is undefeated.

The most reliable touchstone by which to judge the Gaels’ chances in Spokane is a Jan. 20 match-up between the Zags and San Francisco, also in Spokane. In that game, San Francisco trailed by just three points at half, 36-33, before succumbing by 16, 78-62. The Zags’ fearsome front court duo of Drew Timme and freshman sensation Chet Holmgren had their way against San Francisco, scoring 23 and 22 points respectively.

The Gaels’ best hope for an upset rests on the ability of its best defender, 6’8″ forward Bowen, to discombobulate Holmgren, and for the center combo of Tass and Saxen to contain Timme, who is the most talented post player in the country. It may be a long shot, but the Gaels also have a rematch against the Zags in Moraga on the last day of the 21-22 season, Feb. 26.

Logan Johnson, shown above in last night’s game against San Diego, led the Gaels in scoring with 16 points, to go along with five steals and nine rebounds. Photo courtesy of Tod Fierner.