Toreros Find Bank Open Off-The-Glass 10-Footer Gives Usd An Improbable Victory Over Gonzaga

Probably, if the Gonzaga Bulldogs could have designed the final University of San Diego play - which turned into the improbable, bobbled, banked-in game-winner - they would have wanted USD freshman guard Dana White handling the ball.

White, after all, had just turned 18, and in the final seconds of three West Coast Conference games this season, he had taken the potential game-winning or game-tying shot.

And missed them all.

Saturday, though, in front of a crowd of 2,213 in San Diego’s band-box gym, White got the call again and answered with a 10-footer with 1 second on the clock to defeat the Bulldogs 84-83.

GU coach Dan Monson leaned against a wall outside the USD Sports Center after the draining defeat and assessed how he felt in a single declarative word: “Sick.”

It was the second road loss of the week for the Bulldogs (15-6 and 4-2 WCC), while the Toreros (9-9) got their first conference victory after opening with five consecutive league defeats.

Four of those losses, though, came by a total of 10 points.

Gonzaga, which had shown streaks of solid play but never seemed able to sustain it, appeared to have put it away with a Bakari Hendrix baseline turnaround with 13 seconds left to go ahead 83-81.

“We executed very well and got the ball to Bakari the way we wanted it,” Monson said. “But you know with 13 seconds they’ve got a chance to execute and get down and get the game-winner.”

USD coach Brad Holland, who engaged in a heated dispute with the clock crew at the end of the GU game last week in Spokane, mapped out the plan for White.

He was to drive upcourt and penetrate all the way to the hoop, if possible, and if he was stopped, he was to feed a teammate in either corner.

But this hardly went as it was drawn up, as White bobbled it slightly out front and then bounced the ball off the shoulder of GU’s Mike Leasure.

By then, only a few seconds remained, but the Bulldog defenders were so intent on denying passes to their men, they couldn’t see and react to the loose ball.

White retrieved the ricochet off Leasure and hastily lofted one toward the backboard.

It kissed the glass at a sharp angle and dropped in.

“I couldn’t tell if there was any time on the clock because the crowd was so loud. I just knew I had to get it up there fast,” White said.

“We’ve had plenty of bad luck happen to us in league, too, so it was nice for something good to happen,” Holland said.

Monson looked over the score sheet and the first thing he noticed was that White was 1 for 4 before making the final shot.

There were plenty of other statistical indicators there for Monson to see.

Like USD’s second-half shooting of 66.7 percent to allow them to finish at 58.5 percent for the game.

Like Brian Miles’ 11-for-14 shooting night that resulted in a career-high 32 points.

Like GU’s 36.8-percent shooting in the first half.

“We had breakdowns early in the game and couldn’t get our offense going,” Monson said. “And then once we got that straightened out in the second half, then we broke down defensively. It was sort of a tale of two halves, and you can’t break down like that against a good team.”

GU guard Matt Santangelo scored all 13 of his points in a 4-minute span early in the second half.

But that wasn’t enough to offset the performance of Miles, who was not only powerful from down on the blocks, but also netted both of his 3-point attempts.

“Brian has been our top scorer and is one of the best defenders in the league,” Holland said. “When he has a good game, we usually have a good night.”

San Diego 84, Gonzaga 83

Gonzaga (15-6) - Leasure 3-6 2-2 8, Hendrix 8-14 3-4 19, Dench 3-3 0-0 6, Santangelo 4-10 2-2 13, Frahm 6-12 4-5 20, Hall 3-10 0-1 7, Floyd 1-4 0-0 2, Nilson 2-4 0-0 4, Calvary 1-4 0-0 2, Griffin 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-69 11-14 83.

San Diego (9-9) - Williams 4-8 1-2 9, Obasohan 5-6 4-6 15, Miles 11-14 8-9 32, White 2-5 3-4 7, Jacobsen 4-5 1-1 9, Parker 4-6 0-0 9, Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Courtney 0-1 0-0 0, Blackmon 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 31-53 18-24 84.

Halftime- San Diego 32, Gonzaga 31. 3-Point goals-Gonzaga 8-21 (Frahm 4-8, Santangelo 3-8, Hall 1-3, Floyd 0-1, Calvary 0-1), San Diego 4-9 (Miles 2-2, Parker 1-1, Obasohan 1-2, Williams 0-1, Smith 0-1). Fouled out- Dench. Rebounds-Gonzaga 37 (Frahm 5, Floyd 5), San Diego 26 (Williams 6, Miles 6). Assists-Gonzaga 17 (Santangelo , 4), San Diego 18 (Obasohan 4, White 4, Smith 4). Total fouls-Gonzaga 21, San Diego 16. A-2,213.