The Saint Mary's Gaels travel to Spokane, Washington Thursday evening to face the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 8:00pm PT in arguably the biggest remaining game of the WCC schedule. The Gaels have taken control of the conference, currently holding an 11-0 record in conference play and sitting 2 1/2 games ahead of Gonzaga. An SMC win would complete the Gaels sweep of Gonzaga and BYU, and place them three games up in the loss column with only four conference games remaining.
Saint Mary's had little trouble with Gonzaga in Moraga as they wiped the floor with them 83-62. Matthew Dellavedova led the way with 26 points and six assists. Freshman forward Brad Waldow had one of his biggest performances thus far with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Stephen Holt added 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. Gonzaga got 17 points and 11 rebounds from Elias Harris but was otherwise stymied on the evening.
These two teams squared off in a classic last season as eventual WCC Player of the Year Mickey McConnell connected on a shot with 1.2 seconds remaining to hand the Gaels their first win in Spokane since 1995. Matthew Dellavedova and Rob Jones scored 15 points apiece that game, while Jones grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
This year's contest will be broadcast on ESPN2 with Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham calling the action. The game will also be broadcast online via espn3.com and via live audio stream courtesy the subscription service Gaels Live on SMCGaels.com.