Gaels say they learned from Gonzaga

Before Saturday night, St. Mary’s hadn’t lost since Nov. 26, which was during the week of Thanksgiving.

Now, close to three months later, the Gaels have something for which to be thankful in the aftermath of a 78-65 home loss to Gonzaga that snapped their school-record winning streak at 19 games: They discovered what type of intensity they will need for the postseason.

Then-No. 12 Gonzaga (now up to No. 9) entered McKeon Pavilion on Saturday eager to atone for a 74-71 home loss to St. Mary’s in January. And their fire helped fuel a 22-5 game-opening run that, in effect, ended the much-anticipated matchup shockingly early

The Zags were angry and the Gaels were overwhelmed.

“You could see how much it meant to them and I think it caught us off guard a little bit just how intense they came out,” senior point guard Emmett Naar said. “… You could see the loss they had in Spokane really meant something to them. They came in with a point to prove and that’s a credit to them. We have to be ready for that. We should know that’s going to happen.”

The Gaels (24-3, 13-1), who dropped from No. 12 to No. 15 with the loss, could get another crack at their WCC co-leaders in the conference tournament in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks.

First, however, they have four regular-season games left, a slate that begins Thursday night when they visit USF (14-13, 6-8). And senior forward Calvin Hermanson doesn’t expect any tentativeness at tip-off after enduring Saturday’s opening onslaught.

“It’s a reminder that we need to bring our best intensity to every game because that’s what’s going to happen if we don’t,” Hermanson said. “We’re ranked, we’re doing well in conference, but we can’t relax.”

Hermanson is among those particularly eager to play again.

On Saturday, Gonzaga double-teamed senior center Jock Landale (22 points, 10.7 rebounds a game), who is among 20 finalists for the Wooden Award, given to the nation’s best player. The strategy helped limit Landale to four points, and Hermanson (11.1 points), the Gaels’ second-leading scorer, didn’t make the Zags pay.

In fact, Hermanson, who had three points on 1-of-6 shooting, was part of a Big 3 that had a very bad night: Landale, Hermanson and Naar, who are combining to average more than 43 points a game, scored 12 points and made 5 of 19 shots.

“A few us just didn’t come ready to play — myself included,” Hermanson said. “I had a bad game; I know that. (The Zags) did seem like they did have more energy than us at the beginning of the game. I think you could tell.”

It’s possible St. Mary’s could cruise through the rest of the regular season and avoid a stumble. It has beaten its final four opponents (USF, Portland, Pepperdine, Santa Clara) by an average margin of 25.3 points this season.

In March, though, both the stakes and competition will be greater. And the Gaels don’t want to get caught flat-footed again.

“We want to play great teams like (Gonzaga), and they are a great team, but we’ve got to be ready to do it,” Naar said. “There is sometimes a different level that you have to step up to. And we’ve got to be ready for that.

“So there is a lot that we can learn from that game. You don’t ever want to lose, but sometimes losses can be pretty valuable in the long run.”