Gales Battle Broncos Tonight In Final Home Game: Game Preview
By Mike Rose
The Gaels take on South Bay Rival Broncos tonight at 7:00. This is the last regular season game for the Gaels. Tonight is seniors’ night for the Gaels and will be the last regular season effort from St. Mary’s all-time leading scorer Matthew Dellavedova. Look for Dellavedova from behind the arc tonight.
Tonight also marks the day after the NCAA enacted severe sanctions against SMC for rather minor recruiting violations. Information can be seen here.
What better way for the Gaels to say, “you cannot break our spirit” by having a decisive 26th season win tonight at home. Fans have planned a standing ovation for 12 year head coach Randy Bennett. In his 12 years, Bennett has led the Gaels to a 257-123 (67.6%) overall record. The Gaels, under Bennett, have been conference Champion: 2 Times.
THE GAELS:
The Gaels stand at 25-5 overall. This is the sixth season in a row of a 25+ winning season for the Gaels. The Gaels will finish in second place in the WCC this season and are currently 13-2. Their only loses come from Gonzaga who is ranked #2 in the nation soon to be #1.
In their last 14 games the Gaels are 13-1. They are averaging 76.4 points on offense which has them nationally ranked at 21. Their shooting this year has been solid. They are averaging 48.4% from the floor ranking them 12th across the nation.
Coach Bennett has been focusing on defense all season long. In the last eight games the Gaels have given up an average of just 58.4 points. Santa Clara has been strong offensively this season, and limiting their scoring will be key for the Gael win.
Leading the way for the Gaels is senior point guard Matthew Dellavedova. Dellavedova puts up an average 16.4 points per game and is averaging 42.7% from the floor. He is St. Mary’s all-time leading scorer. Also in double digits is Stephen Holt with 11.6. From off the bench, Beau Levesque is hitting 10.6. When asked about win 26, Levesque said “We have been playing some great basketball of late and we just need to keep focusing on executing defensively and that will lead to our offense”. He also mentioned that they want to send the Seniors out with a solid win tonight.
THE BRONCOS:
The Broncos are 21-9 overall and 9-6 WCC. They are on a two game winning streak getting by both Portland and LMU. The last played Loyola February 28th and won 79-57.
The Broncos are averaging 74.4 points per game which has them ranked at 33rd in the nation.
Leading the way for the Broncos is Kevin Foster averaging 17.1 points per game. Marc Trasolini is in the number two spot putting up an average of 15.6. Evan Roquemore and Raymond Cowels III are also in double digits. Roquemore with 11.9 and Cowels with an even 10.
The Broncos are tied with BYU in 3rd place in the WCC. The Broncos lost both games to BYU and are looking for a big win tonight and a BYU loss, to try and finish in 3rd place alone.
The action starts tonight at 7:00pm. The Game can be seen on Comcast Sports Bay Area. You can also listen to the game live via smcgaels.com.