SPOKANE, Wash. — The Gaels (18-6, 9-0 WCC) remained unbeaten in WCC play with yet another signature win, defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs (16-6, 7-2 WCC) 64-62 on the road for the first time since 2018. This matchup was expected to be a tight one, and it certainly lived up to the billing, with 13 lead changes. In the end, the Gaels only led for 8+ minutes, but when the final horn sounded, the Gaels earned the hard fought victory. 

The Gaels trailed by just one at the halftime break at 34-33, but the way the game started, the Saint Mary's certainly had to be pleased with that deficit. The Gaels started off 0-9 from the field and fell behind 15-4 early, but rallied back to take a 17-16 lead at the 9:23 mark. The two teams would continue to battle back and forth, with Gonzaga taking the narrow lead into the halftime break. After their slow start, the Gaels closed out the half by shooting 13-23 from the field. Aidan Mahaney and Mitchell Saxen each tallied nine points to lead Saint Mary's, while Joshua Jefferson added seven points, four rebounds, and four assists, playing the entire first half.

Joshua Jefferson got things going early in the first half, knocking down his first three field goal attempts to regain the lead for the Gaels, 39-38, and while Gonzaga would regain the lead multiple times, they never could extend it beyond two possessions. With 3:36 remaining, Aidan Mahaney hit a circus layup through contact, followed by a dagger stepback three by Jefferson to give the Gaels their first two possession lead of the game. This would carry Saint Mary's to victory, as they closed things out 64-62 in front of a distraught Gonzaga contingent. Aidan Mahaney led the Gaels with 11 second half points, while Joshua Jefferson scored nine and seven rebounds in the second half, completing the full forty minutes of play.

Aidan Mahaney led all Gaels with 20 points, including four huge three pointers. Joshua Jefferson played all forty minutes, picking up his fourth career double-double with 16 points and 11 board. Mitchell Saxen chipped in 15 points and six rebounds, while Augustas Marciulionis added 11 and four assists to just one turnover. The Gaels turned the ball over just five times in the contest, making it four straight with less than 10 giveaways. The win was the Gaels 10th in a row, marking only the seventh double-digit win streak in program history. 

FULL FORTY DOUBLE DOUBLE JOSHUA JEFFERSON
If you are a fan of good alliteration or good basketball, then you had to love Joshua Jefferson's performance against the Zags on Saturday night. The sophomore power forward played the entire 40 minutes in Spokane for the first time in his career. Jefferson's previous career-high for minutes played in a single game was 36, which he did earlier this season on the road at San Francisco. As he did in San Francisco, Joshua picked up a double-double against Gonzaga, the fourth of his career. Going 7-14 from the field, Jefferson tallied 16 points and ripped down 11 rebounds, while also tying for the team lead with four assists. Jefferson's growth this season has been exponential, as he's been a big reason as to why the Gaels have won each of their last 10 and 15 of their last 16.

THE LATE SURGE
Like two heavyweight boxers in the ring, both of these squads matched each other blow for blow, but at the 3:36 mark, the Gaels began to work towards the knockout blow. Knotted up at 55, Aidan Mahaney went one on one with Braden Huff, driving to the rim and finishing through the contact to give the Gaels a 57-55 lead. On the ensuing possession, Nolan Hickman fired up a tough, end of shotclock three that missed long, and Joshua Jefferson perfectly sealed Anton Watson to pick up his then tenth rebound. That wasn't Jefferson's only impact on that possession, however, as on the offensive side, he collected a pass from Mahaney, took one dribble inside the arc, stepped back, and burried a dagger three to give the Gaels their first two possession lead of the game. Ben Gregg scored on a putback and was fouled, but missed the free throw, bringing the deficit to three at 60-57 with only two minutes to go. Both teams would trade empty possessions, bringing the clock down to 1:20 with the Gaels still holding onto a three point lead and the basketball. This set up the biggest sequence of the game for the Gaels. Aidan Mahaney had the ball poked away by Graham Ike while driving to the hoop, but stayed with the play, tip toed the baseline, and saved the ball from trickling out of bounds, quickly sending the ball to Alex Ducas. Ducas gave a quick touch pass over to Augustas Marciulionis who canned a deep three, pushing the Gaels ahead 63-57 with 45 seconds to go. Gonzaga would hit one more three, but a late free throw by Mitchell Saxen would push the Gaels back ahead by two possessions with five seconds to go, effectively ending the game after a wild close. All told, the Gaels outscored the Zags 12-7 over the final 5:30, the stretch that sealed the victory. 

ROAD WARRIORS
With another signature victory on the road, Saint Mary's is now 6-0 in true road games. The trend started with the Gaels upset victory over then unbeaten Colorado State in Fort Collins, 64-61. That was followed up with two wins at San Diego and LMU to open up conference play. Saint Mary's then picked up a blow out victory of Santa Clara in the South Bay 73-49, after the Broncos defeated Gonzaga two days earlier. There next matchup would be a battle for first place in the conference at San Francisco, with the Gaels taking care of business again 77-60. After their sixth straight road victory in Spokane, the Gaels are shooting just two percent less on the road than they are at home, are shooting better from three on the road, and are outscoring opponents by 10 on average in hostile territory. Saint Mary's has three more road contests, at Pacific, at Portland and at Pepperdine, as they look for their first ever perfect road record for a season in program history. 

UP NEXT
The Gaels will have little time to rest, as they will head to Stockton to take on Pacific this Tuesday. Tip off is set for 8 PM on February 6. 

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