Saint Mary’s season came to a stunning end in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament with a 75-66 defeat at the hands of a Grand Canyon team that was quicker, more aggressive and more athletic.
The 12th-seeded Lopes (30-4) of the Western Athletic Conference used nine blocked shots, eight steals and seven dunks to overwhelm the No. 5 Gaels (26-8), who arrived at Spokane Arena on Friday night having won 23 of their previous 25 games.
Saint Mary’s trailed 28-27 at halftime but dictated the pace it wanted.
The second half belonged to Grand Canyon, which used a 17-1 run to open a 52-35 lead with just over 11 minutes left. The Gaels closed the gap to 57-52 when Aidan Mahaney hit a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run with 6:35 to play. They hung around but got no closer.
While Grand Canyon won for the first time in three trips to the NCAA Tournament, it was a crushing finish to the Gaels’ season. They overcame a 3-5 start to capture the West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament crowns.
Grand Canyon will play a second-round game Sunday vs. No. 4 seed Alabama (22-11), the nation’s highest-scoring team, which breezed past College of Charleston 109-96.
The Lopes extended their one-point halftime lead to 34-27 just 47 seconds into the second half when Tyon Grant-Foster and Collin Moore hit consecutive 3-pointers.
Saint Mary’s scrambled back within 35-34 with a 7-1 burst that included a driving layup and step-back jumper by Mahaney, who was just 1 for 8 in the first half. Within minutes, the tide had turned.
Center Mitchell Saxen had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Gaels while Mahaney scored 13 but made just 5 of 19 shots. WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis had 10 points and seven assists while battling foul trouble.
Mason Forbes and Luke Barrett each scored 11 points while Alex Ducas, in his program-record 150th career game, shot 1 for 5 and scored three points before fouling out.
The Gaels, who lead the nation in rebound margin, won the battle of the boards and grabbed 14 from the offensive glass. But they converted those into just six second-chance points.
The Lopes, among the nation’s most prolific free-throw shooting teams, attacked the Gaels’ defenders and wound up converting 28 of 36 from the foul line. Saint Mary’s was 7 of 12 on free throws.
Unable to consistently get the ball in the paint in the second half, the Gaels shot 7 for 25 from the 3-point arc for 28 percent.
WAC Player of the Year Grant-Foster — who was sidelined for 16 months after undergoing two heart surgeries — had 22 points and seven rebounds to lead four Grand Canyon players who scored double figures.
The Gaels led 24-20 after a 3-pointer by Mahaney with 4:43 left in the first half before Grand Canyon closed the period with an 8-3 run for a 28-27 lead.
Saint Mary’s had three of its eight first-half turnovers in the final four minutes but closed to 28-27 before the break when sixth man Luke Barrett — who shot 0 for 12 in two West Coast Conference tournament games — made a mid-range jumper with 5 seconds left.
Saxen had 10 points and six rebounds in the half but Saint Mary’s shot 39 percent from the field and made only one of five 3-point attempts.
The Gaels held a 19-16 rebounding edge, but the Lopes showed off their athletic advantage, blocking three shots, outscoring Saint Mary’s 9-0 in fast break points and completing five dunks.
That blitz after halftime gave the Lopes a boost and they never relinquished the lead from there.