LAS VEGAS--Saint Mary’s did not make it easy on itself.
Saint Mary’s came from being down double digits in the second half to force overtime and came away with the 69-66 win over San Diego in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday night.
The Gaels (27-5) will meet No. 1 Gonzaga on Monday night and it will be the fifth straight year the two have met in the title game.
“A big key for us was to keep our composure and our guys did,” Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well. We had to fight through it. I was proud of our guys. I thought we showed a lot of toughness and a lot belief in sticking together.”
After nearly coughing up all of a 14-point first half lead, San Diego (16-18) was able to punch it back up to double digits in the second half by taking advantage of a struggling Saint Mary’s team.
The Gaels could not find the bottom of the basket and had scored nine points in the first eight minutes of the half. At one point, Saint Mary’s had more offensive rebounds than San Diego had total rebounds.
Eventually the Gaels got on track and began to cut into the lead behind Brad Waldow.
He scored on two straight possessions to cut the San Diego lead to 50-49. A pair of free throws from Matthew Dellavedova gave Saint Mary’s its first lead of the game with 5:40 left.
Waldow had a career high with 23 points and 16 rebounds.
On the ensuing San Diego possession, Waldow caught an elbow from Chris Manresa and knocked one of his front teeth out. Waldow had to come out of the game but he only stayed on the bench for 90 seconds before returning to the game.
“Brad Waldow was pretty impressive with how tough he was and how well he played,” Bennett said.
San Diego and Saint Mary’s began trading the lead and a pair of free throws gave the Gaels a two-point lead. But Ken Rancifer had an answer and he hit a three from the corner to put the Toreros up one.
John Sinis hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left that gave San Diego the 62-59 lead.
Dellavedova came down and hit a three from the corner to tie it and sent it to overtime. Dellavedova then had two assists for layups in overtime to push the Gaels to the win.
“San Diego played a great game,” Dellavedova said. “They’re tough players and tough to stop. We stuck together.”
“I had not doubt that that it was going in,” Saint Mary’s guard Jordan Giusti said of Dellavedova’s game-tying three. “He steps up in the clutch every time. He’s Dellave-dagger.”
Dellavedova had seven points and tied his career-high with 12 assists.
Waldow went to the hospital following the game to have his tooth put back in.
San Diego was going for its third win in three days but came up short.
San Diego carried all the momentum of their quarterfinal win over BYU into the first half. The Toreros jumped on Saint Mary’s early and Dee was a big reason why.
Dee had 10 points in a 16-2 run by San Diego to go up 20-6. He finished with 18 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
But Saint Mary’s picked up the defensive pressure and began to cut into the lead. They went on a 17-4 run, which included threes from Beau Levesque and Giusti, as the Gaels cut the lead to one.
Saint Mary’s did not lead in the first half.LAS VEGAS--Saint Mary’s did not make it easy on itself.
Saint Mary’s came from being down double digits in the second half to force overtime and came away with the 69-66 win over San Diego in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday night.
The Gaels (27-5) will meet No. 1 Gonzaga on Monday night and it will be the fifth straight year the two have met in the title game.
“A big key for us was to keep our composure and our guys did,” Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well. We had to fight through it. I was proud of our guys. I thought we showed a lot of toughness and a lot belief in sticking together.”
After nearly coughing up all of a 14-point first half lead, San Diego (16-18) was able to punch it back up to double digits in the second half by taking advantage of a struggling Saint Mary’s team.
The Gaels could not find the bottom of the basket and had scored nine points in the first eight minutes of the half. At one point, Saint Mary’s had more offensive rebounds than San Diego had total rebounds.
Eventually the Gaels got on track and began to cut into the lead behind Brad Waldow.
He scored on two straight possessions to cut the San Diego lead to 50-49. A pair of free throws from Matthew Dellavedova gave Saint Mary’s its first lead of the game with 5:40 left.
Waldow had a career high with 23 points and 16 rebounds.
On the ensuing San Diego possession, Waldow caught an elbow from Chris Manresa and knocked one of his front teeth out. Waldow had to come out of the game but he only stayed on the bench for 90 seconds before returning to the game.
“Brad Waldow was pretty impressive with how tough he was and how well he played,” Bennett said.
San Diego and Saint Mary’s began trading the lead and a pair of free throws gave the Gaels a two-point lead. But Ken Rancifer had an answer and he hit a three from the corner to put the Toreros up one.
John Sinis hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left that gave San Diego the 62-59 lead.
Dellavedova came down and hit a three from the corner to tie it and sent it to overtime. Dellavedova then had two assists for layups in overtime to push the Gaels to the win.
“San Diego played a great game,” Dellavedova said. “They’re tough players and tough to stop. We stuck together.”
“I had not doubt that that it was going in,” Saint Mary’s guard Jordan Giusti said of Dellavedova’s game-tying three. “He steps up in the clutch every time. He’s Dellave-dagger.”
Dellavedova had seven points and tied his career-high with 12 assists.
Waldow went to the hospital following the game to have his tooth put back in.
San Diego was going for its third win in three days but came up short.
San Diego carried all the momentum of their quarterfinal win over BYU into the first half. The Toreros jumped on Saint Mary’s early and Dee was a big reason why.
Dee had 10 points in a 16-2 run by San Diego to go up 20-6. He finished with 18 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
But Saint Mary’s picked up the defensive pressure and began to cut into the lead. They went on a 17-4 run, which included threes from Beau Levesque and Giusti, as the Gaels cut the lead to one.
Saint Mary’s did not lead in the first half.
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