Gonzaga Takes Care of St. Mary’s

St. Mary’s knew that defeating Gonzaga a second time this season would be a tough chore. The 11th-ranked Bulldogs were making their eighth consecutive appearance in the West Coast Conference tournament championship game.

Adam Morrison scored a career-high 30 points to lead Gonzaga over the Gaels, 80-67, Monday night and clinch an NCAA tournament berth in front of a capacity crowd of 4,500 in the Leavey Center.

Morrison, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, led a second-half charge one day after scoring a team-leading 25 points in a semifinal against San Diego.

“Adam is a big-time player,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said. “The bigger the moment, usually the better he is. But the reason we’ve run off how many straight we have is that he’s defending and he’s rebounding and making extra passes. He’s making everybody around him better at both ends.”

Gonzaga (25-4) withstood an early test by the second-seeded Gaels to win its 12th consecutive game. Few wouldn’t speculate but the Bulldogs figure to get at least a top-four seeding when the tournament bracket is announced Sunday.

Gonzaga and St. Mary’s split their regular-season games, with each winning at home. The rubber match looked just as tight from the early going.

The Bulldogs scored the first five points but St. Mary’s Daniel Kickert, who had 27 points, responded with three consecutive three-point baskets to spark an 11-0 run. Blake Sholberg’s dunk and Paul Marigney’s three-pointer gave the Gaels a 23-14 lead.

Gonzaga didn’t panic. Center J.P. Batista scored five points in a row to spark a run at the end of the first half and Derek Raivio, who had 16 points, made a three-pointer to pull the Bulldogs closer.

As the Gaels cooled off, the Bulldogs drew fouls and got to the free-throw line in pulling to within 35-34 at intermission. They had 13 tries compared to St. Mary’s two and made nine, ultimately making 25 of 33 free throws.

Morrison then took over, scoring nine points early in the second half to help Gonzaga take charge. He finished with five rebounds and three assists.

“He’s always been able to score but now he’s even scoring in different ways,” Few said. “He’s getting things going to the basket and now it’s really made him tough to guard.”

The remaining question was whether the Gaels had already done enough to warrant an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament despite Monday’s loss.

After Sunday’s 69-64 semifinal victory over Santa Clara, Coach Randy Bennett said he believed there wasn’t any doubt. The Gaels improved to 25-7 and matched their school record for victories, set in 1988-89.

“I would have thought that we were in before this game,” Bennett said afterward. “But you don’t know.”

Many bracket projections have the Gaels in the NCAA tournament. But the loss to the Bulldogs leaves the final decision to the selection committee, which could make for a week of consternation and a nervous Selection Sunday at the tiny Jesuit school in Moraga, Calif.

It made Sunday’s game for the Gaels all the more important. Marigney, who had 20 points, said a third loss might have put their at-large hopes in serious danger.

“It might have been a red flag if we lost,” he said. “But we didn’t.”