WCC Basketball Fans

St. Mary’s 65, Santa Clara 59

It’s a different kind of experience this year for the team that’s used to being in second place in the West Coast Conference standings.
The young men from Moraga, California, aren’t minding the journey one bit. They could get used to a month of February that unfolds the way this one has.

The St. Mary’s Gaels defeated the Santa Clara Broncos in West Coast Conference competition from the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, California, on Thursday night. The twenty third-ranked Gaels moved to 9-1 in conference play and 20-4 overall. St. Mary’s owns a game-and-a-half lead over second-place San Francisco. The loss dropped the Broncos to 5-4 in the WCC.

Usually, it’s Gonzaga which manages to take command in the WCC and leads the league throughout the regular season, teetering on occasion but usually fending off tough road challenges to assert itself as the alpha male in the league. It’s typically the Zags who maintain their place on the mountaintop by digging out hard-earned wins away from Spokane while defending their home court with distinction. This year, however, Saint Mary’s has occupied that role and assumed that identity. The Gaels are everyone’s target in this conference dominated by Catholic institutions, and on a night when the Jesuits from Santa Clara were hoping (praying?) for a season-altering upset, their aspirations were sorely disappointed on home hardwood.

This was a hard-fought contest in which the Gaels never really felt threatened until a final Santa Clara barrage in the final minute. Saint Mary’s sharpshooter Mickey McConnell hit some huge shots in key moments to spring head coach Randy Bennett’s squad to victory. McConnell scored a game-high 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including three makes beyond the arc. Though he only shot 3-of-10 from the field, Rob Jones dominated the glass, grabbing 16 rebounds to go along with his 10 points.

Both squads struggled mightily from the field, each shooting 40 percent or below on the evening. Santa Clara’s defense was good enough to pull the upset, but the Broncos couldn’t manage to get into any kind of rhythm offensively. Kevin Foster had 25 points and 4 rebounds to pace head coach Kerry Keating’s Broncos. Ben Dowdell added 12 points in a losing effort, the kind of effort that normally occurs against Gonzaga.

Now, though it’s Saint Mary’s which is swatting away all comers in the West Coast Conference. Just two more weeks of this, and the Gaels will lock up their regular season crown.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer