MBK | Unlikely Heroes Send Gaels To Clutch Victory
3/10/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By George Robles
SMCGaels.com Student Correspondant
LAS VEGAS -- An unlikely trio of Gaels did in fact "Rise to the Occasion," as Saint Mary's warm-up jerseys suggested.
In the team's dramatic overtime semifinal win over San Diego, Brad Waldow, Beau Levesque and Jordan Guisti each played major roles in the come-from-behind 69-66 victory.
Matthew Dellavedova hit yet another game-changing shot with only six seconds left to send the game into overtime against scrappy San Diego, but it was the play of the three that kept the Gaels in the entire game and eventually led them to the win.
The trio helped overcome rough shooting nights by Dellavedova and Stephen Holt who combined 3-19 from the field.
Waldow had career highs of 23 points on 9-17 shooting and 16 rebounds to lead the Gaels with Beau Levesque adding 19 points, each scoring in a variety of fashions from put backs to three-pointers.
"Waldow obviously stepped up big," said Dellavedova. "He had 16 rebounds, it was the toughest I have seen him play. I was happy he stepped up."
Down by as much as 14 points in the first-half of the game, Waldow and Levesque single handedly began the come-back surge. Levesque hit a three-pointer with 7:30 remaining in the first half to cut the deficit to seven and brought life to the Gaels who were struggling early to shoot.
Giusti then hit a three of his own with 30 seconds left to cut the deficit to just one.
In the second half, Waldow and Levesque then yet again began hitting basket after basket to keep the Gaels in the game, highlighted by an ally-oop dunk by Waldow with just under six minutes to play.
Waldow then hit the floor hard going for a rebound with 5:17 left and bounced right back up with something missing; his tooth. A mouth full of blood did not keep Waldow from wanting to finish out the game.
The teams then traded baskets the rest of the way until Giusti forced a key turnover with 2:33 remaining and was fouled and hit two huge free throws.
"We're not always going to make our shots," described Giusti. "The only thing we can control is our toughness and our defense and we did that tonight."
Giusti finished only finished with five points but forced that key turnover and helped hold San Diego's guards to many off-balanced shots late in the game.
The trio will look to contribute big games on Monday when they have a chance to defeat No. 1 Gonzaga in the WCC Championship game.
Wednesday, March 25
Wednesday, March 25
Thursday, March 19
Wednesday, March 18
