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Gonzaga fans were NOT happy with the officiating on Saturday night in a close loss to rival Saint Mary’s. Those angry Bulldog supporters let their voices be heard from the stands.
Not only were the boo birds out and about, but the scene soon turned ugly when trash started being thrown on the court. The frustration wouldn’t be able to change the minds of referees and Gonzaga would lose 64-62.
The contest was back and forth late Saturday night with the West Coast Conference foes battling for first place in the league. Saint Mary’s entered the game a perfect 8-0 in conference play while Gonzaga sat at 7-1.
A Bulldogs win would even the squads in a tie atop the WCC championship race, and fans did their best to create a hostile environment at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Intimidation from those 6,000 attendees did the trick early with the Bulldogs jumping out to a quick 11-2 lead. Saint Mary’s soon settled in, though, and things would be tight the rest of the way.
Gonzaga had a slight three-point lead at halftime, a trend that would continue late into the second half before the Gaels evened the score at 55 with less than four minutes remaining.
From there, Saint Mary’s would pull ahead with some crediting referees for aiding them in that late run.
While foul calls were even for both sides at game’s end, viewers both in the arena and at home believed the officiating to be downright disgusting.
It was such a great day in college basketball in terms of big games that they didn’t have any refs left over to work St. Mary’s v Gonzaga. 😱
— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) February 4, 2024
Anyone watching these refs absolutely ruin this Gonzaga – Saint Mary’s game?These officials are absolutely egregious.
— Eric Reynolds (@epreynolds) February 4, 2024
If you thought casual television viewers were upset, you can only imagine how those watching along in the stands felt.
Feeling as if the home team had been robbed of an opportunity to land a major conference win while continuing to build its postseason resume, Gonzaga fans began throwing trash onto the court.
It turned what was an exciting and intense on-court battle into an ugly scene.
Players and staff members pleaded with fans to not throw items down on the floor to no avail.
WATCH: Here is the moment when Gonzaga fans started throwing stuff on the floor after being upset with the officiating. The players and arena PA announcer were trying to tell them to stop. @kxly4news pic.twitter.com/bgcSx56wZH
— Julian Mininsohn (@JMininsohn) February 4, 2024
With the loss, the Zags fell to 7-2 in WCC play while Saint Mary’s improved to 9-0.