Hall, Gonzaga End Up On Top Point Guard Shoots Bulldogs Past Wyoming And Into Next Round Of Nit

Quentin Hall has made a habit of changing residences several times a game during his first season as a backup point guard for Gonzaga University.

He did it again Wednesday night, slipping in and out of coach Dan Monson’s doghouse throughout GU’s opening-round National Invitation Tournament matchup against Wyoming.

But he ended up where he has on so many other evenings this winter - in Monson’s penthouse - by hitting every key shot in the latter stages of the Bulldogs’ impressive 69-55 basketball victory.

“That little guy is going to make me bald before he leaves here next year,” a pleased and relieved Monson said, running his hand through his sweat-drenched hair after the game. “He goes from my doghouse to the penthouse about three times every game, but the one thing about him is he’s a big competitor.

“He stepped up and really gave us a lift and hit some shots when we were struggling to score.”

Hall, a 5-foot-8 junior transfer, finished with 17 points and scored them all in the last 12 minutes after a shaky first half that included three turnovers and several mental lapses on defense.

He gave GU a 43-41 lead with a steal and three-point play with 11:39 remaining and later buried four consecutive 3-pointers to fuel a 16-2 Bulldogs run that decided the issue.

With the win, GU (24-9) advanced into the second round for the second time in three NIT appearances. The Bulldogs will play Hawaii (20-8), a 90-73 winner over Arizona State, either Monday or Tuesday at a site to be determined. It seems unlikely, however, that GU will host the game because the Arena will not be available either day.

A loud and hostile Arena-Auditorium crowd of 7,412 watched Wyoming (19-9) lose at home for the only the second time this season, prompting Monson to rank the win “right up there with any accomplishment we’ve had this year.

“This is as tough as any place in the country to go to,” he added. “Utah tried it (and lost), New Mexico tried it, UNLV tried it, but we were only the second team out of 15 to come in and do it.”

First-year Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt was gracious in defeat.

“I told the Gonzaga coaching staff after the game that I like their team,” he said. “I like the way they play and I like the type of kids they have in their program. They made the big plays and the big shots down the stretch.

“While we were doing a decent job of defending them inside, Hall hit some big 3s to open up the game.”

Hall got a big assist - several, in fact - from Bakari Hendrix, who finished with a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds despite having to battle two and three defenders on nearly every possession.

The 6-8 senior did a splendid job of finding the open man, who was usually Hall, whenever Wyoming brought defensive help to the low blocks.

“Actually, we’d been sticking to the same game plan we used all year, which is to go inside to Bakari,” Hall said. “It so happened they doubled down on him and mistakenly doubled off me, and I was able to just stick it when I was open.”

Hendrix said the Cowboys, who gave up an average of just 58 points per game during the regular season, were extremely physical inside.

“That’s my responsibility. If I get double- or triple-teamed, I’ve got to kick it out and leave it on (the guards’) shoulders,” Hendrix said. “Fortunately, Quentin was able to step up and make those shots today.”

GU shot only 38.5 percent (20 of 52) from the field against Wyoming’s relentless defensive pressure, but countered with some stops of its own. The Bulldogs limited the Cowboys to 15 field goals and 26.3 percent shooting and also grabbed every key rebound late in the game.

“It was a defensive game,” said Monson, who shook up his starting lineup by going with Mike Nilson and Doug Griffin on the front line instead of Mike Leasure and Axel Dench. “Nobody could sustain any type of offensive rhythm. Finally, we got a couple of shots in a row to go in and that was the difference.”

Wyoming was paced offensively by Jeron Roberts’ 15 points. Gregg Sawyer added 13 and Andy Young, who came in averaging just 4.7, finished with 12 after hitting the first three 3-pointers he tried in the opening minutes.

Monson said he used the NCAA’s snub earlier this week to motivate his team.

“We told our kids before the game that if you go to Laramie, Wyo., in the NIT and you’re one-and-out, all you’ve done is prove the (NCAA) selection committee right - that you don’t belong in the NCAA Tournament,” he explained. “We’ve had too good a year and we’ve done too many positive things for people to just forget about us, send us to Laramie and never hear from us again.”

Gonzaga 69, Wyoming 55

Gonzaga (24-9) - Nilson 1-1 1-2 3, Hendrix 6-13 7-8 19, Griffin 1-2 0-0 2, Santangelo 3-13 5-6 12, Frahm 3-8 3-3 12, Hall 5-9 3-4 17, Floyd 0-0 0-0 0, Leasure 0-4 0-0 0, Dench 0-0 0-0 0, Calvary 1-2 1-2 4. Totals 20-52 20-25 69.

Wyoming (19-9) - Roberts 4-15 7-11 15, French 1-4 2-2 4, Allen 1-4 1-2 3, Young 4-11 0-0 12, Sawyer 4-16 4-5 13, Udezue 0-2 2-2 2, McFall 0-1 0-0 0, Washington 0-1 2-2 2, Lostetter 0-0 1-2 1, Mann 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 15-57 19-26 55.

Halftime- Gonzaga 32, Wyoming 31. 3-point goals-Gonzaga 9-24 (Hall 4-6, Frahm 3-6, Calvary 1-2, Santangelo 1-7, Hendrix 0-1, Leasure 0-2), Wyoming 6-21 (Young 4-9, Sawyer 1-3, Mann 1-3, McFall 0-1, French 0-2, Roberts 0-3). Fouled out-French, Mann. Rebounds-Gonzaga 40 (Hendrix 9), Wyoming 37 (Roberts 8). Assists-Gonzaga 14 (Hendrix 5), Wyoming 9 (Sawyer 4). Total fouls-Gonzaga 17, Wyoming 20. A-7,412.

Hawaii 90, Arizona St. 73

In Honolulu, Anthony Carter scored 28 points, handed off eight assists and grabbed six rebounds and Alika Smith added 22 points to lead Hawaii to a victory over Arizona State.

Hawaii (20-8) will host Gonzaga in the second round on either Monday or Tuesday.

Carter led the Rainbows’ onslaught as he made 11 of 15 shots while Smith went 8 for 15. Hawaii was 37 of 67 (55 percent) from the floor and also had a decided edge in rebounds, 40-30, with Eric Ambrozich picking off 12.

The Rainbows, helped by poor early shooting by Arizona State, started slowly and gradually picked up momentum midway through the first half to pull away from the short-handed Sun Devils (18-14).

It was 44-34 at the half and a 23-7 run over a 5:30 span in the second half turned the game into a rout.

ASU, with only seven scholarship players, got a strong performance from Jeremy Veal, the Pac-10’s leading scorer. He finished with 30 points. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo