Gonzaga Skid puts Saint Mary’s in Command of WCC Race

In this weekly notes WCC column, I share my insights on the four teams in our coverage footprint, Gonzaga, Oregon State, Saint Mary’s, and Washington State.

Last week was a mixed bag for the Beavers and a two-game collapse for these Zags.

OSU upset Gonzaga in Corvallis on Thursday and both teams lost Saturday.

Here’s a rundown of the four WCC teams we cover heading into Week 12.

Saint Mary’s Gaels (6-0, 16-3)

Saint Mary’s had an uneventful week, and that’s probably a good thing considering what happened to Gonzaga.

The Gaels faced Pepperdine in Malibu and decimated them from start to finish. That win and the Zags’ two-game losing skid put Saint Mary’s in command of the WCC race.

The Gaels achieved a balance of scoring with four players reaching double digits. Luke Barrett led the group with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Barrett has scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time this season. Augustas Marciulionis did not score a point in the first half but did a good job distributing the ball to his teammates.

Marciulionis, last year’s WCC player of the year, scored ten points in the second half, which placed him over 1,000 points for his career with the Gaels.

The team from Moraga is the only squad with zero losses in conference play with every other team having two losses or more.

Saint Mary’s schedule should prove tougher this week as they face San Francisco at home followed by Washington State on the road. The Gaels are still the most overlooked team in America.

Notes

• Mitchell Saxen leads the country in offensive rebounds averaging 4.7 per contest.
• Paulius Murauskas is the Gaels’ second-leading scorer averaging 14.2 points per game.
• Saint Mary’s has held six straight opponents under 60 points.

Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-2, 14-6)

Gonzaga had their worst week in the WCC in nearly a decade. The Bulldogs lost to Santa Clara at The Kennel on Saturday night after losing to Oregon State in Corvallis two days prior.

Santa Clara couldn’t miss a shot in the second half, and the Zags didn’t give 100 percent on defense until a press was implemented late in the contest.

With just over four minutes left in the matchup, GU was behind by 13 points.

They closed the gap with a late run but no one made the big shot when it mattered.

On Thursday, the Bulldogs never could put away the Beavers, allowing OSU to take a four-point lead with under forty seconds left in the contest.

The Zags needed two late three-pointers to force overtime, the first by Ben Gregg, and the second a game-tying shot by Graham Ike with 4.2 seconds remaining in regulation.

In the extra period, the Beavers pulled away late winning the game by eight points.

Gonzaga needs to get right this week at Portland before a rematch with the Beavs at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Notes

• GU’s Ryan Nembhard leads the nation in assists with 9.7.
• Graham Ike leads the Bulldogs in scoring averaging 17.3 points per game.
• 11 former Gonzaga players were on NBA opening day rosters.

Washington State Cougars (5-2, 15-5)

Washington State had a solid, yet scary week, as the Cougars got two nice victories against Portland and San Diego.

WSU beat the Pilots comfortably, led by Nate Calmese who had 23 points, eight assists, and four rebounds.

The Cougs caught fire at the end of the second half, propelling them to a 22-point win.

Thursday proved a bit trickier for WSU. The Cougars jumped out to a 13-0 lead against The Toreros but found themselves trailing by four points with 2:30 left.

A pair of threes by Dane Erikstrup and Calmese was the difference, fueling WSU to a four-point victory. Nate scored 22 of the Cougs 27 second-half points in SoCal.

Even though the Cougs suffered a tough loss at home against Pacific last week, their season has been a success thus far given the amount of injuries they’ve suffered.

It would be a big plus if Washington State could get Isaiah Watts back for next week’s matchups against Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s.

If the Cougars get a sweep, they might land back on the bubble.

Notes

• WSU’s leading scoring Nate Calmese transferred from the University of Washington.
• LeJuan Watts is the Cougars’ second-leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points per game.
• John Candy sings Washington State’s fight song in the movie “Volunteers.”

Oregon State Beavers (4-3, 14-6)

Oregon State had an odd but memorable week, getting drilled in San Francisco on Saturday after upsetting Gonzaga on Thursday.

The matchup against the Dons was a trap game for the Beavers. Except for the first four minutes, OSU was mollywhopped from start to finish. Garbage time doesn’t count.

On Thursday however, the Beavs grabbed their most impressive victory of the year, knocking off Gonzaga in overtime.

It looked like Oregon State had the game won on a circus layup by Michael Rataj with just under forty seconds left but the Bulldogs hit a pair of threes to force overtime.

Rataj took over in the extra period scoring ten points including two threes, one of them a bank shot to earn the Beavs a one-possession lead and the ball with just under a minute left.

Liutauras Lelevicius scored on a nice drive sealing the contest for OSU.

The Beavers have an interesting slate this week against Pepperdine and Santa Clara.

Notes

• Oregon State currently ranks 60th in the NET Rankings.
• Michael Rataj is 16th in the nation in double-doubles.
• The Beavs’ second-leading scorer Parsa Fallah was born in Iran.