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).

--Another game, another career high from Will Foster. He’s scored 14 points in GU’s last two games. He had scored just 22 points in 17 games before Thursday’s contest against Portland.

 

“When he gets out there with confidence, he’s a presence on the defensive end obviously,” senior guard Matt Bouldin said. “When you’re that big, you make shots hard. Offensively, he got in there and set good screens. We got the ball to him down low and he kept the ball high and was dunking on people.”

 

Bouldin fed Foster twice for easy hoops.

 

“My fellow senior,” Foster said. “He had my back tonight.”

 

Memphis beat Gonzaga each of the last four years. GU also beat Illinois, after going 0-2 vs. the Illini, losing in 2002 and 2005.

 

“It feels good to go out in my last year with those under my belt,” Foster said. “I don’t think we’ve beaten Memphis or Illinois until this year.”

 

GU did beat Memphis in 1999.

 

--Bouldin’s 19 points nearly matched his 20 combined in three previous losses to Memphis.

“He kind of exorcised some demons today,” head coach Mark Few said. “Memphis has played him very, very well over the last couple of years. Part of that is Memphis and part of that is Matt not slowing down and playing on the ground. You don’t want to get up in the air against guys that are more athletic than you. You guys don’t get to see it, but that is the way Matt has played for us all year. Basically, rock solid and taking what they give you.”

--Win or lose, it’s been an interesting series between Gonzaga and Memphis. The last three games have come during the WCC season, two in February and one in late January. It’s been played two days before or after Gonzaga faces travel partner Portland. Memphis played at home Wednesday against Alabama-Birmingham.

“It is hard to make this trip,” Few said. “I was talking to (Memphis) Coach (Josh) Pastner before the game about that. It is a very tough turnaround even though I don’t know how many miles it is. Our league doesn’t help us out much since we played the last game of the day Thursday at 8 p.m. West Coast time. It is kind of like the NCAA Tournament, though, since you line up and play against two different styles in less than 36 hours. We got through it luckily.”

--Elias Harris had a miserable scoring night, making just 2 of 14 shots. He made a 3-pointer in the first half and a 6-footer in the second half to tie the score at 53. Despite an ineffective shooting night, Harris had six rebounds and a career-best five assists, one setting up Demetri Goodson for a layup that gave GU a 58-55 lead with 2:04 left.

“He hasn’t seen that kind of athleticism in a while and he’s getting the ball in different places than he’s used to,” Few said. “Early on he settled, but he made a couple of big plays down the stretch.”

--Gonzaga, following an upset road loss at San Francisco, rebounded with a rout of third-place Portland and a road win over Memphis, which is tied for second in Conference USA. But the schedule doesn’t ease up as Saint Mary’s visits the Bulldogs with first place in the WCC on the line. The Gaels have won six straight since losing to GU in Moraga. They’re 21-3 overall, 8-1 in conference, technically a half-game in front of GU’s 7-1 mark.

“It’s hard to be on an emotional high every night out,” Few said. “You look at all the days of the year you’re in the weight room, running lines, working on your game in the summer. How could you not in February be dialed in? You have to seize the moment. That’s why you’re doing all these crazy workouts.”

I swiped this quote from the Contra Costa Times game story on Saint Mary’s win over San Francisco on Saturday.

“It’s something that we’ve been blocking out and blocking out, because you don’t want to fumble one of these getting there,” said Gaels center Omar Samhan, who had 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks. “I’m happy we’re finally there and we can worry about Gonzaga and get ready. It’ll be hard to get to sleep the next five days. In my mind, it’s for the league championship.”

--For the most part, Gonzaga made key free throws. After going 3 of 6 in the first half, GU made 10 of 13 in the second half, two of those misses coming with 32 seconds left and the Bulldogs in front by 8.

QUOTEBOOK

Bouldin on Memphis: “They press, they have a thousand different defenses. They’re athletic and long and they play really hard.”

Foster on being ready when his playing time varies from game to game: “You gotta go into the game expecting the most out of it.”

Few: “Our defense was pretty darn solid.”

 

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