Gonzaga leads at the break
Micah Downs has taken over the West Coast Conference tournament championship game at the Orleans Arena.
The senior, who spent his freshman year of high school in Las Vegas, had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.
His Gonzaga Bulldogs closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 38-25 lead into the locker room.
Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray each added seven points for Gonzaga.
For Saint Mary’s, Patty Mills is struggling in his second game back from a broken wrist.
The star guard made just 1 of 10 shots and has three points at the break. He will need to get hot if the Gaels have any chance of getting back in the game.
Mills was not the only player struggling to hit his shots for the Gaels.
The team was 8 of 33 from the floor in the half and just 1-for-7 from 3-point range.
Diamon Simpson has eight points and four rebounds to lead Saint Mary’s.
Did he just watch “La Bamba?”
Dick Calvert is handling the public address duties in the arena tonight.
Rebel fans would recognize his voice as he is the longtime P.A. voice for UNLV games at the Thomas & Mack Center.
He may not be as familiar with the players in this game, however.
When Saint Mary’s forward Diamon Simpson scored a basket early in the first half, Calvert referred to him as “Diamon Phillips.”
One can only assume that he was thinking of actor Lou Diamond Phllips when he made the blunder.
Quick lead
Gonzaga led 1-0 before the opening tip even took place.
Saint Mary’s was assessed a technical foul for dunking during warm-ups. Matt Bouldin made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Bulldogs the lead.
The momentum carried into the game as Gonzaga scored the first seven points after the opening tip to open up an early 8-0 advantage.
Oops
As Saint Mary’s got off to a terrible shooting start, even the team’s fans were struggling.
At the first media timeout, the Gaels were 0-for-7 from the field. Their supporters may have been performing even worse.
Five fans brought with them a “G,” an “A,” an “E,” an “L” and an “S.”
Obviously, the plan was to hold up the five letters in a row and spell out the name of their favorite team.
There was one small problem.
Somehow, the E and L got out of order and the fans proudly waved letters spelling “GALES.”
It’s pronounced the same way, but it doesn’t look good when you can’t spell the name of your own team.
Questionable call
Patty Mills will one day play in the NBA. Apparently, one of the officials thinks he’s there already.
Mills was fouled on a drive and proceeded to take another dribble before laying the ball in for Saint Mary’s.
To the shock of everyone in the building, the referee signaled that the basket was good.
There is no “continuation” rule in college basketball. Well, at least there’s not supposed to be one.
