NCAA Basketball Roundup: Duke wins rivalry clash, Gonzaga falls to Saint Mary’s

Saint Mary’s beats Gonzaga in OT to go up 2 games in WCC standings

In the last big game of the night, Saint Mary’s hosted Gonzaga in a battle of the league’s top two teams. In the past, the Bulldogs have always been the favorite whether at home or on the road. But with them having a home loss to LMU and the Gaels being unbeaten in league play to this point, they were the favorites on Saturday night in Moraga.

In the game, it was Gonzaga that had the edge for the first 35 minutes, up around 4-9 points the entire time. But freshman Aidan Mahaney took over completely, making seven straight shots to tie the game late and eventually taking it to overtime. The Gaels took over as a team in the final five minutes and were able to get the 78-70 overtime win. Mahaney finished with 18 points, while Mitchell Saxen had 15 points and 11 rebounds on 5/5 shooting.

For the Bulldogs, Drew Timme had 23 points but struggled in overtime. Malachi Smith had 13 points off the bench but was no match for Mahaney on the dribble-drive. And Nolan Hickman suffered an ankle injury, with his status unknown at this time.

Since Mark Few has become head coach, it’s been either Gonzaga or Saint Mary’s that has won the WCC for the most part. This time around, the Bulldogs are two games behind the Gaels in league play with six games to go. They have a return battle in Spokane but will need Saint Mary’s to trip up once beforehand. If that doesn’t happen, the Gaels will be regular-season champs.