33°Quick links: Valentine photo contest • Washington Legislature • Idaho Legislature • Gonzaga hoops • WSU hoops
Back with a notebook from media day at Gonzaga and a Monday morning telephone interview with Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett. The unedited version is below.
Former Vandal basketball great Orlando Lightfoot — he holds the school’s all-time scoring record and a dozen other records — is the topic of a retrospective piece I wrote for tomorrow’s S-R. Catch a sneak peek below.
UPDATED: 3:45 p.m.
Lots of things going on this week - from district basketball tournaments to regional wrestling tournaments. The Greater Spokane League boys and girls basketball seasons conclude as well.
Question: What do you see happening as teams jostle for final seeds?
Click the tab below to see the updated GSL boys and girls scoring leaders as provided by Mike Vlahovich.
Gonzaga’s 2-0 week resulted in a small jump in the rankings. The Bulldogs (19-4) are 16th in A.P., 11th in ESPN/USA Today. They were 17th and 13th, respectively, a week ago.
Saint Mary’s, which visits Gonzaga on Thursday with first place on the line in the WCC, received votes in both polls. The Gaels were 28th in ESPN/USA Today.
Here are the polls.
Here’s a roundup of Saturday district and subregional wrestling. This was the first step toward qualifying for Mat Classic, which will be held in two weeks in Tacoma.
It’s not easy putting together day-after posts from games I didn’t attend, but here goes. Read on for the day-after post from GU’s 66-58 win over Memphis.
Here are the links: S-R, Memphis newspaper gamer, side bar and column, reports on Saint Mary’s-San Francisco (Gaels led by Omar Samhan’s 24 points, 10 rebounds), San Diego-Santa Clara (another tough night for Billy Grier) and LMU-Pepperdine (the Lions welcomed back guard Jarred DuBois).
It’s hard to say how much of Saturday night’s win over Arizona was a result of better WSU play and how much of it can be attributed to the basketball truism that matchups are crucial. Make no mistake. The Cougars played one of their most complete games of the season. But they also seem to have Arizona’s number, with their defense strengths taking away or severely limiting UA’s best offensive weapons and the WSU offense a tough stop for Arizona’s man defense. Read on for more.
All that agony caused by an excruciating overtime loss to Boise State? The Vandals erased much of it Saturday night in pasting their most ardent rival. Keep reading for more on the 79-55 win and news about Robb Akey’s coaching staff.
It might have been WSU’s most complete effort of the season. It certainly was the Cougars best defensive effort. And it gave glimpses of the potential of this team. Heck, Ken Bone even sounded a bit like the last coach, talking about valuing each possession, which was a oft-used statement by the previous guy. The Cougars did that tonight, especially on the defensive end, where they used a mixture of man (most of the night) and zone (at key moments) to disrupt UA’s flow. As Bone said, they were locked in almost every possession. Play like that the final seven Pac-10 games and anything is possible. OK, let’s move on to our game story, the unedited version of which is on the link. Read on …
COUGARS
If Washington State has played a better defensive game this year, I didn’t see it. That, combined with another outstanding effort on the glass against UA and more bench contributions than usual - a lot more - lifted the Cougars past the Wildcats at Beasley Coliseum. The number of players who had a hand in WSU’s fifth Pac-10 win can’t be counted, well, on one hand. We’ll be back in about two hours with more. Untill then …
Bad blood? Pride? Whatever it is, DeAngelo Casto has played his best three halves of Pac-10 basketball against Arizona and freshman post Derrick Williams. The third one came here today, as Casto reached double figures in the first half, the first time he’s been in doubles since the last Arizona game. With his 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks, he’s dominated inside. … The Cougars aren’t shooting well (12 of 30, including 1 of 7 beyond the arc) but they are getting it done on the offensive glass, with seven rebounds. Those extra possessions have really helped. … There’s been a Brock Motum sighting, with the freshman from Australia playing nearly 10 minutes and scoring four points. … The Wildcats’ Josh Fogg and Jamelle Horne each have six points. We’ll be back at the end. Until then …
Back with a game recap I cobbled together with quotes sent by Gonzaga’s and Memphis’s SIDs. Read on for the unedited version.
I included an A.P. article at the end.
Also, San Diego senior guard De’Jon Jackson is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Toreros visit Gonzaga on Saturday.
Before we get into our thoughts about the Arizona game, we wanted to pass on the news WSU’s women’s team won its first Pac-10 game of the season today, defeating ASU 66-62 behind April Cook’s career-high 33 points. You can read more here. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post. Both teams are on Friel Court getting some shooting in. And we’ve got some thoughts, so read on.
Gonzaga added another quality win to its NCAA Tournament resume, holding off Memphis 66-58 on Saturday at the FedEx Forum.
The 17th-ranked Bulldogs (19-4) had gone 0-4 vs.Memphis the last four years. Senior guard Matt Bouldin, who scored just 20 points in three previous games against the Tigers, led Gonzaga with 19 points. He was 4 of 4 at the free-throw line in the last 62 seconds.
Gonzaga led by as many as nine in the second half, but Memphis ran off nine unanswered points to pull even at 49. Willie Kemp’s layup gave Memphis a 53-51 lead with 4:48 remaining, but Elias Harris, who had a tough afternoon at the offensive end, connected in the lane for just his second field goal and Steven Gray drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to give GU a 56-53 lead.
Demetri Goodson’s layup and Robert Sacre’s jump hook helped GU take a 60-55 lead with 1:18 left. Bouldin sandwiched four free throws around a Tiger free throw. Goodson’s two free throws with 43.2 seconds left sealed the win.
Sacre had 13 points and six rebounds and Gray added 12 points and seven boards. Will Foster, two days after setting his career high with six points against Portland, scored eight points. Goodson added six points and five rebounds.
The Bulldogs are 5-2 in road games, with quality wins over Saint Mary’s and Portland. GU also knocked off Illinois in Chicago and won the Maui Invitational on a neutral floor.
Wesley Witherspoon’s 26 points led Memphis (16-7), which made just 14 of 26 free throws.
Back with more in the next 90 minutes or so.
Gonzaga weathered a shaky start offensively, caught Memphis just past the midpoint of the first half and used a late 9-0 run to take a 28-23 lead at intermission.
Matt Bouldin had eight points and two assists, both to Will Foster, who finished with a layup and a dunk. Steven Gray made two 3-pointers and added seven points.
Gonzaga made just 4 of its first 18 shots, but stayed close by keeping Memphis’ offense in check. Later in the half, GU switched to a zone defense and the Tigers committed several of their 10 turnovers.
The Bulldogs hit 6 of their last 9 shots, two of those 3-pointers by Bouldin. Wesley Witherspoon scored 11 points for the Tigers, who made 8 of 22 shots (36.4 percent).
More later.
Great read this morning from John Blanchette on former Idaho Vandal and Green Bay Packer great Jerry Kramer. For some reason, Kramer is not in the NFL Hall of Fame. Check out Blanchette’s take here.
There have been five previous Saturday (or Sunday) games in the Pac-10. In those, the University of Arizona is 5-0 (the Wildcats are 1-4 on Thursdays or Fridays). Which means UA does a great job of handling the quick turnaround. A couple things in Arizona’s favor: No one plays defense exactly like ASU in the conference and the two schools’ offenses don’t look anything alike either. WSU will try to make the quick changeover this evening, knowing that it has figured out how to limit the Wildcats in the past. Read on for more on tonight’s games throughout the Pac-10.
Continue reading WSU faces an Arizona team that is tough on weekends »
OK, we’re back once again. How has your last hour been? Anyhow, while I was away, I’ve put together a short story on tomorrow’s game with Arizona. The Cougars will be trying to chase down the blur that is known as Nic Wise. They did a good job of it in Arizona, now they have to repeat the task if they want to sweep the season series with the Cats. Read on for that and a short note on WSU’s honoree in the Pac-10’s hall of honor.
Continue reading WSU will try to be wise about its defense »
Sorry, was at basketball practice and unable to get this up earlier. WSU has signed another football player, receiver Isiah Barton from Fresno City College, but originally from Westchester High, down by LAX. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Barton was a first-team All-Central Valley Conference selection last year, catching 48 passes for 715 yards and seven touchdowns. He also averaged 28.4 yards per kickoff return, taking two back for touchdowns. Barton has two years of eligibility left, with no redshirt year. We’ll be back soon with our basketball stuff.
I’ve put together a short preview of Saturday’s GU-Memphis game. The unedited version is below.
Good rainy morning. Took in the replay of GU’s 76-49 romp over Portland late Thursday/early Friday to gather a couple more items for the day-after post. Here are the links: S-R gamer, Blanchette column on the bench’s contribution, S-R photos, A.P., Oregonian article authored by S-R’s Dave Trimmer (though the byline says Mike) and WCC write-ups.
Read on for more.
Four teams tied at the top at 6-4. Nine teams within two games of first. All 10 within two games in the loss column. The Pac-10 is an enigma wrapped in a riddle this season. The new motto: Get hot, win a regular season title. For no one is that more true right now than Washington State. This is a team that has morphed into one that depends on its shooting to win. Thursday night that formula failed. We have thoughts, notes, links and quotes if you want to read on.
Back with an unedited game story from Gonzaga’s impressive 76-49 dismantling of the Portland Pilots on Thursday.
Read on for the article and check back tomorrow for a day-after post.
(You’ll notice in the previous post that I listed the score as 76-48. It was, for a while, but it was later corrected to 76-49 when the Pilots were awarded a 3-pointer instead of 2-point field goal at the buzzer).
The shooting stats from beyond the arc tell the tale. Klay Thompson, 2-10. Nik Koprivica, 1-6. Reggie Moore 0-1 (only one?). And Derek Glasser, 3-3. The Cougars, at home, couldn’t find the bottom of the net. ASU’s Glasser, on the road, could, and that was a big part of the difference. Read on for the unedited version of my S-R story.
The Gonzaga Prep boys basketball team battled toe to toe with Mead until a late surge vaulted the Bullpups into first place by themselves.
Read my unedited game story and blurbs on the other games by clicking the tab below.
Now there is one.
Three Greater Spokane League girls basketball teams went into action Thursday tied atop the conference. Central Valley stands alone.
Click the tab below to read Mike Vlahovich’s unedited game story along with blurbs on the other games.
Here’s a quick game story from Gonzaga’s 76-48 runaway victory over Portland. I’ve gotta run for quotes.
Read on below.
Washington State is a team that may have to play near perfect basketball if it wants to be successful in the Pac-10 season. There is more margin of error, of course, at home because the tangible elements that come with playing in front of its fans can help a team overcome mistakes. Well the Cougars made too many to overcome even at home Thursday night. They made them early and dug a hole that reached 14 in the first half. They made them early in the second half and saw the lead grow to 19. Then they did whatever they could to come back, clawing within four a couple times in the final 10 minutes. But when they needed to make stops, they couldn’t, with Derek Glasser hitting a 25-foot 3-pointer from behind big Eric Boateng the final time WSU got within four (59-55, which should have been three but Reggie Moore missed a free throw). That triggered a deciding 10-3 run. We’ll be back in about 90 minutes with our game story.
Spokane added veteran AFL wide receiver Willie Quinnie and traded WR Terry Ross to Alabama for future considerations. More here.
In a nutshell, it was a half of runs with Arizona State having more. Simple, but not really. WSU contributed mightily to ASU’s runs – a 12-0 one that built a 30-17 lead, then an 8-0 one to end the half – by missing seven of 10 free throws, turning the ball over five times and shooting 35.5 percent from the floor. Klay Thompson contributed to the latter, hitting 2 of 10 shots, missing all six of his 3-pointers, many wide open. … The Sun Devils are shooting 62.5 percent, with many of their shots as open as the ones Thompson is getting. The difference is their shots are going in. … I usually don’t say much about this, but we’ll discuss the officiating in our post-game blog tonight. … We’ll be back at the end of the game.
Steve Bergum covers EWU football and men's basketball, college baseball, and writes weekly golf column during the summer.
Recent work by Steve
Vince Grippi covers WSU sports and invites readers to share their thoughts on the sports news of the day.
Recent work by Vince
Greg Lee covers high school sports throughout Inland Northwest.
Recent work by Greg
Jim Meehan covers Gonzaga basketball, Whitworth football, Spokane Shock football, college volleyball and prep softball.
Recent work by Jim
Dave Trimmer covers a variety of high school, college and professional sports and is the primary writer on the weekly Then & Now series.
Recent work by Dave
999 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201
P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210
Main switchboard: (509) 459-5000 • (800) 338-8801
Newsroom: (509) 459-5400 • (800) 789-0029
Customer service: (800) 338-8801
© Copyright 2010, The Spokesman-Review
