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Postgame Thread: Zags Outlast Gaels, 83-78

Kelly Olynyk was once again the star for Gonzaga as his 31 points led the Zags to victory...

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It is late so this is going to be very quick but Gonzaga got a big win tonight against conference rival Saint Mary's. While it was truly a tale of two very different halves, the key is that, as a whole, the Bulldogs walked away with a five point win. Here are a few quick takeaways from tonight's 83-78 win.

- Kelly Olynyk just continues to grow in front of our eyes as an offensive player. 31 points on 11-19 shooting and 9-12 from the line. He also finished with eight rebounds. Olynyk is showing the nation that, unless you find someone that can outmuscle him at the point of attack, he can't really be stopped. Brad Waldow gave a decent defensive effort but he was far too reactive on defense rather than coming out and trying to pop Kelly in the mouth and the Bulldog center took full advantage.

- The major black eye (along with a vast majority of the second half) was Gonzaga's rebounding effort tonight. Saint Mary's had an, unofficially, inexcusable 15 offensive rebounds. The outmanned and largely undersized big men for Saint Mary's finished with 34 boards in comparison to Gonzaga's 23. Let's hope tonight was more of an aberration rather than the start of something more serious.

- I don't like to delve into the 'what ifs' but it is hard to fathom this game if Matthew Dellavedova is even 75% of his normal self. Huge credit to Gonzaga's defense but he got several solid looks in the second half that he just could not connect on. Stephen Holt stepped up big for Saint Mary's while Dellavedova searched for his shot.

- The officiating was putrid. Very much slanted towards Gonzaga in the first half, then it reverted to favoring SMC in the early second half and the last ten minutes were just a cluster in every regard.

We'll have much more on the game later but for now, share your thoughts on Gonzaga's win against Saint Mary's...