No stopping the Gaels: Mikey Lewis drives against the Zags. He went 5–7 on three-point attempts—and he buried one from the corner late in the game that broke Gonzaga’s momentum. / Photo by Piper Westrom for SMC Athletics
Gaels Crowned Conference Champs with a 74–67 Victory over Gonzaga at the Kennel
Mikey Lewis leads the way with 18 points. It’s the first time Saint Mary’s has won the title outright in back-to-back seasons. Include the shared title of the year before, and that’s an unprecedented conference title threepeat for SMC.
For the first time in program history, the Saint Mary's Gaels (25–4, 15–1 West Coast Conference) are back-to-back outright WCC regular season champions! The Gaels accomplished this feat on Saturday night by defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs (21–8, 11–4 WCC) by 74–67 in the Kennel, their storied home court in Spokane, on Gonzaga’s senior night.
The Gaels opened the game on an 11–0 run and never trailed. Freshman Mikey Lewis led the Gaels with 18 points, connecting on 5–7 from three, including a three-pointer that sparked the run that sealed the game. Defending WCC Defensive Player of the Year Mitchell Saxen was not far behind, with 16 points and nine boards. Relentless Luke Barrett chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, playing the entire 40 minutes. The Gaels were +12 on the glass and +7 on second chance scoring, the major key to the win.
With Saturday’s victory, the Gaels have now won back-to-back WCC regular seasons outright for the first time in program history. The year before, SMC shared the title with Gonzaga. Include that, and SMC has won three straight WCC regular season titles for the first time in program history.
This is Saint Mary’s first regular season sweep of Gonzaga since the 2015–16 season. It’s also their first time winning three straight meetings against the Zags under Head Coach Randy Bennett. Last but certainly not least, the Gaels on Saturday night became the first team ever—other than Gonzaga—to clinch the conference title outright inside the McCarthey Athletic Center. Call it icing on the cake: Mikey Lewis also garnered his fourth accolade as WCC Freshman of the Week.
Unstoppable Saint Mary’s
The fact that Saint Mary’s opened the game on an 11–0 run immediately took the wind out of Gonzaga fans’ sails. The Zags found their footing and twice cut the deficit to three points, but the Gaels closed the half on a 19–12 run to take a double digit lead into the halftime break, 41–31.
In his program record tying 150th game as a Gael, Mitchell Saxen was the driving force behind the Gaels offense in the first half, with 11 points on 5–7 shooting. Luke Barrett chipped in seven points and a team-high six rebounds, leading the Gaels to a +7 lead on the glass at the half.
Gonzaga countered with a strong second half start, outscoring the Gaels 15–5 over the first 7:10 of the half, but a Mitchell Saxen hoop and harm gave the Gaels a 49–46 lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. The Zags continued to give Saint Mary’s everything they had, narrowing the score to within one, 58–57, before Mikey Lewis hit a four point play, sparking a 16–10 run to end the game in favor of the Gaels.
And it was Lewis who led scoring for SMC in the second half, dropping 12 on the Zags. Luke Barrett went for seven in the second half, while Mitchell Saxen scored five and ripped down a team-high six boards. Again, the Gaels dominated on the glass, to the tune of +5 in the second half.
Mikey Lewis: Gonzaga’s Worst Nightmare
After going for a team-high 16 points against the Zags in Moraga earlier this season, Mikey Lewis was back at it again when the Gaels brought the game to Spokane. Along with scoring a team-high 18, including 5–7 three point attempts, Lewis also made the biggest impact play of the game late in the second half. With the Zags surging, down by just one, Lewis buried a corner three despite having his shooting hand hit. He converted the free throw for a four point play to push the Gaels back ahead by five. The Gaels would build that lead up to 11, before eventually earning the seven point victory.
Making More History…and Top 20 in the Country
As noted, this win marks the Gaels’ first regular season sweep of Gonzaga since 2015–16. It was also Saint Mary’s first time winning back to back games over Gonzaga at the Kennel since 1989 and 1990.
When they arrived in Spokane, the Gaels found themselves ranked No. 24 nationally in the USA Today Coaches Poll. On the Monday following the victory over Gonzaga, SMC climbed to No. 17 in the country. Saint Mary's is also ranked No. 16 in the country in NCAA NET rankings. Along with winning percentage, the NET rankings take into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses. For the NCAA, it's both a results-driven and predictive metric. The Gaels also earn a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 Basketball Poll, ranking No. 23 in the nation.
With the regular season title secure, Saint Mary’s wraps up conference play this week: facing the LMU Lions in Los Angeles on Thursday night and hosting Oregon State at UCU Pavilion on Saturday, March 1. Then it’s on to the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas.
UP NEXT: The Gaels have their final road game of the year on Thursday, February 27, as they take on LMU in Los Angeles. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. Watch the game live on CBS Sports Network.
Story updated February 24 at 10 a.m. Pacific with latest rankings.
