A tale of two halves might be an understatement. Opening the final regular-season WCC matchup between rivals Gonzaga (28-3, 16-2) and Saint Mary’s (27-4, 16-2), it was the Bulldogs who brought the energy to UCU Pavilion. Graham Ike was great in the first 20 minutes, gesturing back to the Gael Force, SMC’s student section, each time he converted a field goal. Saint Mary’s was hesitant to push the ball inside, taking more shots from beyond the arc than inside it, with its star forward Paulius Murauskas as the poster player for that style of basketball.

But the continuous three-point shooting became a weapon for the Gaels in the second half, while the Zags couldn’t come up with an answer. Ike was held to only four points after halftime and also fouled out with 3:45 to play. It was Gaels guard Mikey Lewis who stole the show, scoring a career-high 31 points with seven made threes, leading a ferocious attack that helped SMC surge to a 70-59 win and clinch at least a share of the conference regular-season title for the fourth consecutive season.

“I thought our defense was excellent in the first half. To me, it was a tale of two halves,” Few said. “…They were definitely the tougher team in the second half.”