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Zags rise to occasion

GU takes advantage of Mills' injury

Jim Meehan  •  Staff writer
Published January 30, 2009

The Gaels' Diamon Simpson, right, snags a rebound over teammate Ben Allen, center, and Gonzaga's Will Foster. The Spokesman-Review (Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review ) Related information Read more

Patty Mills of Saint Mary's put on a show in the first half. Unfortunately for the Gaels, the sharp-shooting sophomore guard had to put on an ice bag for the second half.

Mills drained six 3-pointers, scored 18 points and staked Saint Mary's to a six-point halftime lead, but a sprained right (shooting) wrist kept him on the bench for the second half and the Gaels were powerless to stop Gonzaga, who rallied for a 69-62 West Coast Conference men's basketball victory Thursday.

The 20th-ranked Bulldogs (15-4, 6-0 WCC), playing in front of a boisterous crowd of 6,000 at the McCarthey Athletic Center, rode their trademark balanced offense to their seventh straight victory and sole possession of first place in the conference. No. 22 Saint Mary's (18-2, 5-1) had its nation-leading 15-game winning streak snapped.

Guards Matt Bouldin (17 points), Steven Gray (14) and Jeremy Pargo (11) paced the Zags, who wiped out the Gaels' 39-33 halftime lead with a 13-6 run to open the second half. Gray had the first five points of the spurt.

The Gaels reclaimed the lead on Omar Samhan's putback, but Gonzaga responded with 12 unanswered points. Micah Downs' dunk on a lob pass from Pargo gave GU the lead for good, 50-48, with 12:11 remaining.

The run continued with Gray burying an uncontested 3-pointer, Austin Daye driving for a bucket in the paint, Downs hitting 1 of 2 free throws and Bouldin scoring on another drive to the hoop.

Saint Mary's pulled within seven in the closing minutes, but the Bulldogs made 5 of 6 free throws in the last minute to retain a comfortable margin.

The Gaels were 7 of 13 on 3-pointers in the first half, including 6 of 8 by Mills. They didn't make another 3-pointer until the final 2 minutes and finished 9 of 26. After a 39-point first half, Saint Mary's scored just 23 in the second half.

Diamon Simpson had 17 points – 7 of 7 field goals, but just 3 of 8 at the free-throw line – and grabbed 12 rebounds. Samhan was limited to eight points and seven rebounds, well less than his season averages.

Gonzaga took the early lead, fueled by Gray's two dunks, the last after he swiped the ball from Simpson. GU led 14-7 after Josh Heytvelt's tip-in with 13:25 left, but Mills erased that in a hurry, often from 3-4 feet behind the 3-point arc.

Mills hit his first 3-pointer at the 13:06 mark and quickly followed that with four more 3-pointers in the next 5 minutes and 45 seconds to stake SMC to a 29-21 lead.

The Bulldogs pulled within five on Daye's first basket of the half, but Saint Mary's scored the last four points of the half – Simpson gathering up an errant shot and dunking the ball and Carlin Hughes making an off-balance, underhand flip shot from 12 feet just before the buzzer.

Mills finished the half with six 3-pointers and 18 points, but he didn't play the last 3 minutes after suffering the injury to his shooting hand. Simpson scored 10 points and collected seven rebounds, a statistic the Gaels dominated 20-14 in the first 20 minutes.

Bouldin had nine points and four boards in the first half to lead the Bulldogs, who were 1 of 7 on 3-pointers.

Percentages: FG .410, FT .375. 3-Point Goals: 9-27, .333 (Mills 6-8, McConnell 2-5, Walker 1-4, Hughes 0-5, Steindl 0-4, O'Leary 0-1). Team Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots: 2 (Samhan, Simpson). Turnovers: 15 (Simpson 5, Samhan 4, O'Leary 2, Hughes, McConnell). Steals: 3 (Hughes, Samhan, Simpson). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .462, FT .773. 3-Point Goals: 4-12, .333 (Gray 2-4, Daye 1-2, Pargo 1-2, Bouldin 0-2, Downs 0-1, Heytvelt 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 4 (Daye 4). Turnovers: 7 (Pargo 3, Bouldin 2, Gray, Heytvelt). Steals: 5 (Gray 2, Pargo 2, Heytvelt). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime–Saint Mary's 39, Gonzaga 33. A–6,000.