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Gonzaga Basketball

Former Gonzaga player Ross Rettenmier won’t let storm keep him from seeing Bulldogs

Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski (24) moves into the key during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sat., Feb. 4, 2017, in the McCarthey Athletic Center. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski (24) moves into the key during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sat., Feb. 4, 2017, in the McCarthey Athletic Center. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
By Michael Gulledge The Spokesman-Review

A broken car and a 2-hour delay couldn’t prevent a former Gonzaga basketball player from watching this year’s undefeated Bulldogs face off against the Santa Clara Broncos.

Ross Rettenmier, of Everett, began the drive to Spokane around 9 a.m. on Saturday with a group of five friends.

The group, which planned to travel to Spokane via two cars, faced difficult driving conditions on Snoqualmie Pass because of the snowstorm that has affected the Inland Northwest this weekend.

Approximately 10 miles outside of Cle Elum, Rettenmier and his friends were sidelined with automotive problems.

A malfunction with one car’s power train caused them to glide to a stop on Interstate 90. After a couple of hours of waiting for a tow truck to return the car to Issaquah, the group resumed the drive to Spokane.

“We’ve got six guys in my car, (and) the most we’ve had in our car (is when) we’ve got three adults and two kids’ car seats in there before,” Rettenmier said.

Rettenmier, who played on the Bulldogs from 1975-79, never doubted whether he would make it to Spokane.

“I won’t tell you how fast we went to get here,” Rettenmier said.

This was the first Gonzaga game Rettenmier had made it to this season, but he plans on attending the West Coast Conference Championships in Las Vegas at the beginning of March.