Gaels take control, lose it to top team

St. Mary’s controlled the tempo for a good portion of its matchup against No. 1 Gonzaga in Moraga on Saturday night. The Gaels built the largest lead of any Gonzaga opponent this season and they held the nation’s top scoring team to its lowest output of 202021.

And with all of that, the Gaels still fell 7359.

Gonzaga (140, 30 WCC) put four scorers in double figures. Forward Corey Kispert had a gamehigh 17 points, guard Joel Ayayi had 16, guard Jalen Suggs had 14 and forward Drew Timme also had 14.

The Zags went 28for52 (53.8%) from the floor and were particularly effective in the second half: 15for25 (60%)

The Zags came into Saturday leading the nation in points per game (96) and fieldgoal percentage (55.4) and were second in assists per game (21). They collected a mere six assists Saturday.

Gonzaga had scored at least 85 points in every game this season.

St. Mary’s (95, 03) led for much of the first half. Forward Dan Fotu, who led the Gaels with 15 points, nailed a jumper with nine minutes left in the half to put them up 2212.

The 10point deficit marked the largest Gonzaga has faced this season.

That deficit didn’t last long. The Zags ended the half on a 203 run to take a 3225 edge. The Gaels missed 15 of their final 16 fieldgoal attempts in the half.

For St. Mary’s, that stretch was sadly reminiscent of their secondhalf slump against BYU on Thursday night. In that game, the Gaels got outscored 192 over the final 101⁄2 minutes and fell to the Cougars 6252.

One way the Gaels were able to compete with the Zags in the first half: St. Mary’s owned a 2112 edge on the glass in the opening 20 minutes. Gonzaga did not have an offensive rebound in the half.

For the game, St. Mary’s outrebounded the Zags 3229.

The Gaels last started 03 in WCC play in the 200506 season. They lost five of their first six conference games that season, but rebounded to finish 86.

Briefly: The Zags have won 18 straight dating to last season . ... Gonzaga scored 13 fastbreak points. The Gaels had none . ... St. Mary’s sophomore forward Kyle Bowen made his first career start. He had two points and eight rebounds . ... The Gaels have been without swingmen Alex Ducas and Leemet Bockler because of injuries for the past four weeks.

Jeff Chiu / Associated Press St. Mary’s forward Matthias Tass works to defend Gonzaga forward Drew Timme in the first half Saturday night in Moraga. The Gaels fell to 03 in the WCC for the first time in 15 years.