Down Under Again Rogers’ Long 3 Helps Gonzaga Win Opener At Wcc Tournament

Due to some mix-up on Saturday, Gonzaga operated under the dictates of last year’s playbook.

The one where it said: Get the ball to the Australian guy for the crucial 3-point shot.

Last year, it was Aussie senior John Rillie who went through the West Coast Conference Tournament like a koala through eucalyptus leaves.

Saturday, his countryman Paul Rogers netted a distant 3-pointer in the final minute with the shot clock speeding toward :00 to send the Bulldogs on their way to a 64-54 win over a stubborn Saint Mary’s team.

The victory, in the WCC tourney opener, sets up tonight’s semifinal game against Pepperdine (10-17) at 5 o’clock at Toso Pavilion. Last-place Pepperdine stunned WCC co-champion and host Santa Clara 63-60. The game will be broadcast by Prime Sports Northwest.

While Rillie repeatedly netted long shots last year, Rogers’ effort was a real longshot. The 7-foot post player had tried five 3-pointers this year and not made one.

But Saturday, the Gaels had closed to within three points and were on the verge of a critical defensive stop when Rogers got the ball deep out front with no choice but to launch a prayer.

“It was a busted play,” GU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “I said to Paul afterward that it took some courage to take that shot. He’s got some good rotation (on his shot), but most importantly, he had the courage to get it to the rim.”

Rogers had displayed effectiveness from that range as a freshman at North Idaho College, but had been a meager 3 for 16 from behind the arc in his two seasons at GU.

“This year, I’ve not been very confident out there,” said Rogers, who scored 15 points despite playing only 21 minutes because of foul trouble. “I’ve shot a couple this year and missed pretty badly, but I just thought that I’m going to snap my wrist and give it a chance.”

When Rogers got the ball in the out-back, Saint Mary’s coach Ernie Kent was delighted.

“That’s what you want, if you could draw it up, we’d want Rogers shooting a 35-foot 3-pointer,” Kent said, stretching the shot’s distance by 10 feet or more. “The chances of him making that aren’t very good. But to his credit, he hit a very tough shot; that was probably the dagger right there.”

Fitzgerald, with last week’s narrow, overtime win over Saint Mary’s fresh in his mind, entered this game with grave concerns.

But the Bulldogs’ effort, he said, was emblematic of their play all year. “It’s kind of like Rocky Graziano, a real blood-and-guts team that is hard to knock out.”

GU (20-7) probably earned at least an NIT bid by getting to the 20-win mark, Fitzgerald said.

And the come-from-behind win (trailing by one with 3 minutes gone in the second half) may have been partially the residue of three come-from-behind wins in last year’s tournament.

“Last night, we watched some clips from last year’s tournament and we saw how passionately we played and how confident we played,” said senior Jon Kinloch (17 points with four 3-pointers). “We know if we play like that, we’re always going to be in games.”

Two factors made this difficult for the No. 2-seeded Bulldogs: 1) Saint Mary’s alternated and disguised a switching man-to-man defense and an aggressive and malleable zone, and 2) GU big men Rogers and Scott Snider were greatly limited by foul trouble.

Snider, a savage rebounder and the backbone of GU’s defense, drew his second foul just 2 minutes into the game and finished with only 18 minutes of action.

But while Snider and Rogers simmered on the sidelines, reserves Jason Bond (two points, four rebounds) and Mike Leasure (four points, four boards) stepped in and made crucial contributions.

“We really got good bench play,” Fitzgerald said. “They came in and played more minutes than they’re accustomed to; I really felt like those two kids stepped up.”

Junior guard Lorenzo Rollins also stepped up, leading the Bulldogs with 18 points, including a pair of hoops in the final 2 minutes.

Gonzaga 64, Saint Mary’s 54

Saint Mary’s (12-15) - Gilmore 1-4 0-0 3, Dodic 2-2 0-0 4, Horton 4-8 0-2 8, Sufi 1-5 0-0 2, Unruh 3-7 1-3 7, Steele 1-3 0-0 2, Schraeder 0-2 2-2 2, Knapp 1-2 3-4 6, Knight 0-0 0-0 0, Sivulich 3-10 3-5 9, Millard 2-3 7-11 54. Totals 18-46 16-27 54.

Gonzaga (20-7) - Kinloch 4-7 5-7 17, Snider 1-3 2-2 4, Rogers 5-9 4-4 15, Dixon 0-8 1-2 1, Rollins 7-18 2-4 18, Leasure 2-4 2-2 6, Nemeth 0-0 0-0 0, Bond 1-1 0-0 2, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 20-51 17-23 64.

Halftime-Gonzaga 28, St. Mary’s 26. 3-point goals-St. Mary’s 2-15 (Knapp 1-1, Gilmore 1-4, Sufi 0-1, Unruh 0-2, Schraeder 0-2, Sivulich 0-5), Gonzaga 7-18 (Kinloch 4-6, Rollins 2-7, Rogers 1-1, Leasure 0-1, Dixon 0-3). Fouled out-none. Rebounds-St. Mary’s 32 (Sufi 6), Gonzaga 36 (Rogers 7). Assists-St. Mary’s 10 (Unruh 6), Gonzaga 11 (Dixon 7). Total fouls-St. Mary’s 24, Gonzaga 22. A-NA.

Pepperdine 63, Santa Clara 60

Marques Johnson and Bryan Hill scored 16 points each as the No. 8 Waves (10-17) stunned the top-seeded Broncos (19-8) in the opening round.

It was the second straight year the Broncos came into the WCC tournament on their home floor seeded first, only to lose in the first round.

Pepperdine (10-17) - Hill 6-10 4-7 16, Brown 2-4 2-2 6, Van Der Putten 4-7 4-8 12, Hervey 4-10 3-4 11, Johnson 7-18 2-3 16, Griffin 1-3 0-2 2, Bragg 0-2 0-2 0, Archie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 15-28 63.

Santa Clara (19-8) - Sedlock 0-4 0-0 0, Dunne 2-6 0-0 4, Graves 3-9 4-7 10, Nash 9-16 0-0 25, Garnett 4-9 2-2 10, Anderson 1-4 0-1 2, Pierce 2-5 0-1 4, Zurek 2-6 0-1 4, Von Buchwaldt 0-4 1-4 1. Totals 23-63 7-16 60.

Halftime-Pepperdine 29, Santa Clara 25.

Portland 78, San Francisco 72

Rick Brainard scored 20 points as the fifth-seeded Pilots (17-10) defeated the No. 4 Dons (15-12) in an opener. Portland will meet San Diego the semifinals.

Portland (17-10) - Daniels 713 4-5 18, Brainard 7-16 2-2 20, Klosterman 3-5 6-6 12, Anderson 4-12 1-2 11, Holton 2-6 2-4 6, Rainwater 0-2 0-0 0, King 4-12 2-2 11, Palumbis 0-0 0-0 0, Stonehouse 0-0 0-0 0, Metoyer 0-2 0-0 0, Flicker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-68 17-21 78.

San Francisco (15-11) - Campbell 3-5 5-8 11, Duggan 9-18 5-6 25, Washington 2-6 0-0 4, Brass 0-1 4-5 4, Walker 3-10 6-7 12, Galloway 0-0 0-0 0, Nodilo 2-8 8-8 14, Colter 0-0 0-0 0, Nees 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 20-51 28-34 72.

Halftime-Portland 37, San Francisco 26.

San Diego 75, Loyola Marymount 51

Brian Miles scored 17 and the sixth-seeded Toreros (14-13) outscored the No. 3 Lions (18-11) 53-17 in the second half.

San Diego (14-13) - Bruso 4-7 4-8 12, Obasohan 1-6 0-0 2, Miles 6-11 4-4 17, Fizdale 0-2 1-3 1, Smith 1-2 0-0 3, Speech 5-9 3-5 15, Raffo 1-1 0-0 2, Black 2-2 0-0 2, Williams 6-8, 2-3 14, Jacobsen 2-4 1-2 5, Hill 0-3 0-0 0, Mutrie 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-56 15-25 75.

Loyola Marymount (18-11) - O’Quinn 8-14 3-3 20, Oduok 4-6 2-5 10, Hotopp 4-9 0-0 8, Williamson 1-12 0-0 2, Ammerman 4-7 1-2 9, Woolery 0-2 0-2 0, Jones 1-2 0-2 2, Hammond 0-5 0-0 0, Kennedy 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 6-14 51.

Halftime-Loyola Marymount 34, San Diego 22.

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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WCC TOURNAMENT Saturday’s results Gonzaga 64, Saint Mary’s 54 Portland 78, San Francisco 72 Pepperdine 63, Santa Clara 60 San Diego 75, Loy. Marymount 51

Today’s semifinals Portland vs. San Diego Gonzaga vs. Pepperdine