Far From Flat, Gonzaga Knocks Air Out Of Waves, 86-61

WCC roundup

Maybe you wouldn’t expect a blowout at a fieldhouse named Firestone.

Historically, with only two wins on Pepperdine’s home floor, Gonzaga’s men’s basketball team has been frequently flattened there.

Friday in Malibu, Calif., though, GU opened an early lead, shot with uncanny accuracy and breezed to an 86-61 West Coast Conference win - their first on the road in conference play this season.

The victory, the third in a row after opening league play with six consecutive losses, pulled the Bulldogs out of the league cellar with another WCC game scheduled at Loyola Marymount tonight at 7.

“That’s as well as we’ve played on the road in a long, long time,” GU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “Now, if we can just sustain it. (LMU) is going to be tough in their place, but we’ve won three in a row and got a road win, so there’s a lot going for us now.”

Forward Jon Kinloch led all scorers with 19 points, including four 3-pointers. Guard John Rillie and center Paul Rogers added 17 and 15, with Rillie adding five steals and Rogers a pair of blocked shots. Ten Bulldogs scored and all 11 played as this game was never in doubt after GU rushed to an 11-2 lead.

How did GU do it? By dominating the Waves (3-6 WCC, 7-14) in every aspect.

The Bulldogs (14-7) netted 15 of 22 field goals (68 percent) in the first half and cooled to finish at 53 percent for the game. They also sank 9 of 14 3-point attempts and 21 of 26 tries from the free-throw line. And, they owned a 37-26 dominance in rebounds.

Gonzaga 86, Pepperdine 61

GONZAGA (14-7)

Kinloch 6-7 3-3 19, Rubright 3-6 0-0 7, Rogers 6-11 3-5 15, Dixon 2-3 2-2 6, Rillie 4-8 6-6 17, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Nemeth 0-0 2-2 2, Cole 3-6 1-2 8, Morgan 2-3 0-0 4, Bond 0-0 0-0 0, Snider 1-4 4-6 6. Totals 28-52 21-26 86.

PEPPERDINE (7-14)

James 3-7 0-0 6, Marcaccini 1-3 1-3 3, Vanderputten 0-2 0-0 0, Hervey 3-7 2-4 8, Brown 4-10 3-4 12, Merrill 0-0 0-0 0, Powell 6-14 0-0 14, Ramirez 4-9 1-1 13, O’Brien 2-4 0-0 4, Holcomb 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 23-57 8-14 61.

Halftime-Gonzaga 44, Pepperdine 20. 3-Point goals-Gonzaga 9-14 (Kinloch 4-4, Rillie 3-5, Rubright 1-1, Cole 1-2, Rogers 0-1, Snider 0-1), Pepperdine 7-14 (Ramirez 4-6, Powell 2-4, Brown 1-2, James 0-1, Hervey 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Gonzaga 37 (Rogers, Morgan 5 each), Pepperdine 26 (James, Vanderputten 4 each). Assists-Gonzaga 14 (Dixon 6), Pepperdine 11 (Hervey, Ramirez 3 each). Total fouls-Gonzaga 17, Pepperdine 21. A-1,463.

Loyola Marymount 97, Portland 94, 2OT

In Los Angeles, Ime Oduok overcame a leg cramp in the closing minutes to score five of the Lions’ final seven points as LMU (3-6, 11-10) held on to beat the Pilots (6-3, 15-6).

Portland’s Canaan Chatman hit a 7-footer with 6 seconds left to force the first OT tied at 79.

Trailing 86-84, Loyola’s Wyking Jones made a layup with 27 seconds left and Chatman missed an 18-footer, forcing the second OT tied at 86.

PORTLAND (15-6)

Daniels 7-13 0-0 14, Chatman 10-21 7-13 27, Ranta 8-12 8-13 24, Ross 0-2 0-0 0, Holton 4-8 0-0 8, Metoyer 0-0 0-0 0, Flicker 4-9 1-2 13, Brainard 2-6 0-0 4, Anderson 1-5 1-1 4, Harris 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-77 17-29 94.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (11-10)

O’Quinn 5-8 8-10 18, Jones 7-13 4-9 18, Oduok 7-7 4-7 18, Kirksey 6-11 1-2 13, Williamson 7-14 6-9 21, McElroy 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony 0-1 0-0 0, Ammerman 1-1 0-0 3, Hotopp 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 36-59 23-37 97.

Halftime-Loyola Marymount 42, Portland 38. Regulation-79-79. First OT- 86-86. 3-Point goals-Portland 5-14 (Flicker 4-8, Anderson 1-3, Holton 0-1, Brainard 0-2), Loyola Marymount 2-7 (Ammerman 1-1, Williamson 1-5, Anthony 0-1). Fouled out-Daniels, Ranta, Ross, O’Quinn, Kirksey. Rebounds-Portland 32 (Chatman, Ranta 9 each), Loyola Marymount 45 (Oduok, Jones 10 each). Assists-Portland 20 (Holton 9), Loyola Marymount 21 (Williamson 8). Total fouls-Portland 30, Loyola Marymount 25. A-2,252.

Santa Clara 82, San Francisco 62

In Santa Clara, Calif., Steve Nash scored 25 as the Broncos (9-1, 18-4) beat the Dons (2-7, 8-15).

SAN FRANCISCO (8-15)

Paul 3-6 3-4 10, Duggan 6-15 10-11 24, Washington 3-10 0-0 7, Brovelli 1-5 0-0 2, Walker 5-16 2-2 13, Fong 0-0 0-0 0, Galloway 0-3 2-2 2, Campbell 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 19-59 19-21 62.

SANTA CLARA (18-4)

Sedlock 0-1 0-0 0, Dunne 4-7 0-0 8, Zurek 4-8 1-2 9, Nash 9-13 0-0 25, Garnett 6-8 4-4 21, Graves 1-6 5-6 7, Pierce 3-6 2-4 8, Von Buchwaldt 0-3 0-0 0, Anderson 2-3 0-0 4, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Willett 0-0 0-0 0, Coleman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-58 12-16 82.

Halftime-Santa Clara 50, San Francisco 32. 3-Point goals-San Francisco 5-19 (Paul 1-1, Duggan 2-3, Washington 1-3, Brovelli 0-4, Walker 1-7, Campbell 0-1), Santa Clara 12-22 (Sedlock 0-1, Zurek 0-1, Nash 7-11, Garnett 5-7, Anderson 0-1, Jones 0-1). Fouled out-Sedlock. Rebounds-San Francisco 30 (Paul 7, Duggan 7), Santa Clara 41 (Graves 9). Assists-San Francisco 9 (Brovelli 4), Santa Clara 15 (Graves 4, Pierce 4). Total fouls-San Francisco 14, Santa Clara 19. A-4,936.

St. Mary’s, Cal. 81, San Diego 62

In Moraga, Calif., Brent Farris scored 23 as the Gaels (7-3, 13-8) ripped the Toreros (4-5, 9-11).

SAN DIEGO (9-11)

Flannery 5-11 6-6 19, Bruso 1-2 0-1 2, Black 3-4 3-3 9, Harris 3-10 1-3 8, Hill 0-2 0-0 0, Mutrie 1-1 0-0 3, Fizdale 3-9 3-4 10, Courtney 0-0 0-0 0, Speech 1-3 1-4 3, Williams 2-2 4-6 8. Totals 19-44 18-27 62.

ST. MARY’S (13-8)

Farris 7-13 8-10 23, Unruh 6-12 1-2 17, Horton 4-7 4-4 12, Sufi 1-1 3-4 5, Gilmore 0-3 4-4 4, Johnson 1-3 0-0 3, Joseph 0-0 0-0 0, Dodic 1-2 1-3 3, Peek 0-0 0-0 0, Rollins 5-6 4-4 14. Totals 25-50 25-31 81.

Halftime-St. Mary’s 42, San Diego 34. 3-Point goals-San Diego 6-23 (Flannery 3-6, Harris 1-7, Hill 0-1, Mutrie 1-1, Fizdale 1-6, Speech 0-2), St. Mary’s 6-18 (Farris 1-1, Unruh 4-8, Gilmore 0-3, Johnson 1-3, Driscoll 0-3). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-San Diego 29 (Flannery 5, Bruso 5), St. Mary’s 31 (Farris 12). Assists-San Diego 11 (Harris 5), St. Mary’s 18 (Unruh 7). Total fouls-San Diego 27, St. Mary’s 25. Technical foul-San Diego coach. A-1,609.