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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

SATURDAY, JAN. 31, 2009

Second place in WAC eludes Vandals 

It was right there for the taking for the Idaho men, but Nevada and Luke Babbitt "outtoughed" the Vandals down the stretch to pull out a 69-65 win at the Cowan Spectrum on Saturday night.Keep reading for my game story, which will appear in the…

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Zags unbeaten at WCC midpoint

Austin Daye had 17 points, Josh Heytvelt 13 and Jeremy Pargo 10 as Gonzaga defeated San Diego 64-47 on Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.The Zags (16-4, 7-0 WCC) won their eighth straight and reached the halfway point of the conference season unbeaten. San Diego…

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Cougars wilt in desert 

COUGARS There is no louder facility in the Pac-10 than McKale Center. And it was as loud as its been in a while midway through the second half today. We offer you the raw version of our game story and some web-only notes. Read on.

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UA blitzes WSU in second half, 66-56 17 

COUGARS When Tony Bennett put together his non-conference schedule with games on the road at LSU and against Pitt, it was for Pac-10 games like this. He wanted tough games against tough teams but most importantly, tough venues for his freshmen to get acclimated to.…

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Gonzaga coach Mark Few (right) welcomes back former GU assistant coach now San Diego head coach, Bill Grier before the start of the game, January 19, 2008 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.  DAN PELLE The Spokesman-Review (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

Game day for Zags, Toreros

More from ex-Zag assistant Bill Grier and some notes and quotes as Gonzaga and Grier's San Diego Toreros await a 3 p.m. tip at the MAC. (The picture above is of Mark Few and Grier just before the start of last year's game in Spokane).

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WSU leads 28-23 at the half 21 

COUGARS It's halftime and for most of the first 20 minutes, the game has been played at WSU's pace. In fact, other than the three fouls on Klay Thompson – for the second consecutive game Tony Bennett gambled and put Thompson on the floor with…

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Arizona's Chase Budinger (34) shoots for two despite the attempted defense of Washington States' Daven Harmeling (32)  during the first half of a college basketball game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/John Miller) ORG XMIT: AZJM101 (John Miller / The Spokesman-Review)

Early morning in Tucson 

COUGARS We here in McKale Center getting ready for the teams to take the floor. It's awful early, kinda like a summer tournament with kids. Had a nice chat with Bill Rafferty about Tony Bennett, Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto – plus the Cougars' postseason…

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FRIDAY, JAN. 30, 2009

Grier, Toreros take on GU  

Bill Grier spent 16 years as a Gonzaga assistant coach and he helped recruit many of the current Gonzaga Bulldogs before moving on to San Diego two years ago. In his first trip back last year, USD fell behind 15-0 en route to losing 80-70…

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Arizona forward Jordan Hill, right, grabs a rebound over Gonzaga forward Ira Brown, left, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, in Phoenix. (Paul Connors / Associated Press)

WSU prepares for test in Tucson 11 

COUGARS It's sometimes amazing how much a college basketball team can get through in an hour practice on the Friday between games on the road. From fundamentals to shooting to going over offenses to prepping for the opponent, there isn't much wasted time. Except beforehand…

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Be still my beating heart 

Like Red Foxx on the old Sanford and Son television sitcom, I'm not sure my heart can take much more of the Greater Spokane League drama.First on Tuesday it was the Shadle Park-Gonzaga Prep basketball game that most in attendance agreed was one of the…

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(Left to right) Gonzaga's Steven Gray, Saint Mary's Diamon Simpson and Omar Samhan and GU's Jeremy Pargo and Austin Daye battle for a rebound. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)

Day after Saint Mary's 15 

Let's begin the day-after Saint Mary's post in-house with John Blanchette's column, which neatly puts Gonzaga's 69-62 victory over the Gaels into perspective, and the S-R gamer. Here are additional links from the Contra Costa Times, Seattle Times and A.P.Here's a link to S-R photos…

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ASU upset, a day after 21 

COUGARS Nothing like an upset of No. 14 in the nation to get the comment section lighting up again. The one that read "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" was especially insightful. Just kidding. I understand the letting-off-steam aspect of this interactive media. Anyhow, let's move on to our usual…

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Gonzaga Prep’s Travis Long is making waves as a defensive lineman and is being watched by Division I programs.  (Rajah Bose / The Spokesman-Review)

Recruiting nears end for WSU football 

COUGARS This is the final few days of football recruiting, the final few days of football recruiting in Paul Wulff's first full class at Washington State, as defined by the first time he had all year to recruit. As the crucial season outside the season…

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Idaho bags big win over BSU 15 

The Vandals overcame a dreadful night at the free throw line (11 of 25) to pick up a 63-59 win over Boise State. It was Idaho's first win over BSU since 2001, and it came in front of the third-biggest crowd at Cowan Spectrum (4,731).If…

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THURSDAY, JAN. 29, 2009



Bobcats too much for Eags 

Eastern Washington, after leading by as many as 10 point in the first half, lost at Montana State Thursday night, further damaging their chances at making the Big Sky Conference tournament.You can read an unedited version fo the game story that will appear in Friday…

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Zags down six at halftime 

Gonzaga got off to a quick start, but Saint Mary’s weathered the storm and the Gaels’ Patty Mills started raining in 3-pointers. The sophomore point guard, who played for Australia in the Olympics, made five 3s – his career high was four – over a…

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WSU upsets ASU 65-55 35 

COUGARS This is the night Klay Thompson announced his presence. The freshman from Southern California set a school record for freshmen with eight 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 28 points. It was also the night DeAngelo Casto showed he can do just about anything needed…

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ASU up 30-27 at the half 

COUGARS Despite an early 9-0 run by the Sun Devils, WSU patiently clawed its way back into this game and trail by three at the half. James Harden had 13 points for the Devils, though that's unofficial because we don't have stats up here in…

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Arizona State guard James Harden, right, celebrates a three-point play with teammates Jerren Shipp, left, and Derek Glasser. Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

WSU tries to contain Harden, stop ASU

COUGARS Contain James Harden (at right above). Make shots from outside. In a nutshell, those are the two most important assignments for Washington State tonight if the Cougars want to upset the 14th-ranked Sun Devils. And, at least at the start, they both may be…

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Waiting for EWU-MSU tipoff 

Good evening.Just sitting here waiting to tune in the Eastern Washington-Montana State that tips off in a little less than an hour in Bozeman. I will cobble together a game story of some kind after it's over and post it here, so please check back.In…

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