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Bulldogs outlast Memphis, 66-58

Posted by Jim

Feb. 6, 2010 3:10 p.m. • 6 comments

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.

Six comments on this post so far. Add yours!

blotto on February 06 at 4:27 p.m.
I’m not a “dyed in the wool” ZAG fan, but I’ve gotta hand it to them at Memphis today–
Radbooks on February 06 at 4:46 p.m.
Great game, Zags!! Keep playing such tough defense through the rest of the conference games and you’ll be fine!!
MikeSequim on February 06 at 7:32 p.m.
I wonder what GU life without Matt Bouldin will be like next year? Going back to Matt S., Dan D., Blake S., an off year then Matt Bouldin, GU has been blessed with Basketball players at the point or floor leaders in most cases that have overlapped without missing a beat. There are none to take his place next year and there will be a real void to fill until they get Kyle Dranginis or recruit a floor leader like Gary Bell.

Steven really needs to be the recipient of the assist and the catch and shoot plays. Unfortunetly, he will be forced to be the floor general because GU’s current so called “point guards” are not point guards and distributors but man up great defenders! Thats their MO, period. I’m very confident in saying GU fans will see a different style of play next year because of the fact, the long line of “Great” floor generals will have an off year. No matter how you go over the stats and review the games, it’s just the fact of the matter!

I wonder if anyone will miss Matt Bouldin next year? JMO
Radbooks on February 06 at 10:33 p.m.
Of course we’ll miss Matt! How can we not? He’s one of the top 10 scorers in GU history and way up there in assists too and he’s just so steady and such a calming influence on the rest of the team.

I think Grant has the potential to play a similar role. You can see glimpses of his skills and he’s only a freshman seeing limited minutes this year. But, I’ve seen some incredible passes from him and he was a point guard in high school. I’m hoping he works hard in the off season to make that jump for next year.

However, right now I’m just going to enjoy the rest of this season. :)
Tmac5360 on February 07 at 11:33 a.m.
Man Mike that’s a creative way to Dump on Meech even in a great win. Oh and Pargo too. Everybody knows that Bouldin is the man. But these guys will be fine. Much less negative around here when you HATED Few and the Zags!
RickS on February 08 at 7:28 p.m.
Excellent post Mike. Like Radbooks, I see potential for GG to round into a similar player and in short minutes Vilarino has potential, but any rational look at assist-to-turnover ratios the last couple of years shows far too little in the way of playmaking at the point. While a speed upgrade was needed for the defense we’ve been treated to the past 2-3 years to develop, in that pursuit there has seemingly been a step back from having dangerous long-range gunners at all perimeter positions. The result has been that many teams are playing off our points, essentially playing 5-on-4 which makes life more difficult for posts who have to contend with an extra speedy defender in the paint and slashing wings or driving guards faced with a clogged lane.
I absolutely love to watch Meech tear up and down the court when he’s got the jets fully engaged as I’m sure you do. He is a phenomenal pure athlete. That is not diminished by admitting that he is not yet a complete PG and gets most of his assists in the transition game as he usually turns over the half-court offense to more experienced guards at the 2 or 3. Coach Few would be the first to say that rose-colored glasses lead only to defeat and decline; improvement can only come about with a willingness to be brutally honest so that deficiencies can be addressed.
Here’s hoping on Thursday we see the squad that brought some serious attitude from the opening tip in last week’s Portland game.

Rick