Bulldogs Wrap Up L.A. Sweep
For the preceding 15 years, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have spent many lost weekends in Los Angeles.
Never, in that span, have the Bulldogs scored back-to-back wins over Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine on the same trip to L.A.
Until this weekend, that is. The Bulldogs wrapped up that unprecedented sweep with a 68-53 West Coast Conference win over LMU at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday night.
By winning their fourth straight WCC game, the Bulldogs improved to 4-6 in league and 15-7 overall - with three of their final four conference games at home in Martin Centre.
“We’re playing harder and we’re playing more bodies,” GU coach Dan Fitzgerald said of the Bulldogs’ win streak. “I’m really proud of our kids. We had that dry spell (six-game losing skid), but you’ve got two choices when you get knocked down: you can stay down or get up and fight.”
The Bulldogs obviously have chosen the latter, getting a superb effort from point guard Kyle Dixon. “Dixon had a total game, good leadership, he defended and got some steals,” Fitzgerald said.
Dixon led all scorers with 17 points and also contributed seven assists, four steals, three rebounds and a block.
Fitzgerald also got strong efforts from inside reserves Scott Morgan (11 points, six boards), Jason Bond (six points) and Scott Snider (four points and five rebounds).
This one was close for the first 10 minutes, and stood tied at 19 before an 18-5 Gonzaga outburst gave the Bulldogs a 37-24 lead at halftime.
The Lions (3-7, 11-11) came back, though, and closed within 48-43 with 10 minutes left.
“They made a run at us but we fought them off really well, which we also did against Pepperdine,” Fitzgerald said.
GU 68, Loyola Marymount 53
GONZAGA (68)
Dixon 7-11 1-4 17, Rillie 3-9 2-2 11, Rogers 2-3 3-7 7, Kinloch 3-11 0-1 7, Rubright 2-4 1-2 5, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Nemeth 0-0 0-0 0, Cole 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan 4-6 3-3 11, Bond 3-4 0-0 6, Snider 2-4 0-0 4. TOTALS 26-53 10-19 68.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (53)
Kirksey 3-13 2-2 8, Williamson 1-6 2-2 4, Oduok 5-10 0-1 10, O’Quinn 4-7 0-1 9, Jones 2-5 3-5 7, Henderson 1-1 0-0 2, McElroy 1-6 0-0 3, Mulry 1-1 0-0 2, Anthony 0-2 0-0 0, Ammerman 1-1 0-0 2, Hotopp 3-4 0-0 6. TOTALS 22-56 7-11 53.
Halftime - GU 37, LMU 24. 3-point goals - GU 6-20 (Kinloch 1-6, Rubright 0-1, Dixon 2-3, Rillie 3-9, Cole 0-1), LMU 2-13 (O’Quinn 1-2, Kirksey 0-2, Williamson 0- 2, McElroy 1-5, Anthony 0-2). Rebounds - GU 34 (Kinloch 7), LMU 38 (Oduok 10). Fouls - GU 16, LMU 18. Fouled out - None. Assists - GU 13 (Dixon 7), LMU 15 (Williamson 5). Turnovers - GU 14 (Dixon 5), LMU 20 (O’Quinn, Kirksey 5 each). Blocked shots - GU 5 (Snider 3), LMU 3 (Oduok, Anthony, Hotopp). Steals - GU 10 (Dixon 4), LMU 4 (Kirksey 2). A - 2,352.
Portland 72, Pepperdine 65
In Malibu, Calif., Canaan Chatman scored 22 points and Kurt Ranta added 21 as the Pilots (7-3, 16-6) defeated the Waves (3-7, 7-15).
The Pilots trailed 46-40 early in the second half before scoring 10 straight to go up 50-46 with 8:38 to play.
PORTLAND
Daniels 3-7 1-2 7, Chatman 6-11 11-14 23, Ranta 7-12 7-9 21, Ross 4-7 0-0 8, Holton 1-4 0-1 2, Metoyer 0-1 0-0 0, Flicker 2-4 0-0 6, Brainard 1-4 0-0 3, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Harris 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 24-52 21-28 72.
PEPPERDINE
James 5-6 3-4 13, Marcaccini 7-11 3-5 21, Vanderputten 4-5 0-0 8, Hervey 1-6 0-0 2, Brown 9-20 0-0 21, Powell 0-1 0-0 0, Ramirez 0-3 0-0 0, O’Brien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 6-9 65.
Halftime-Portland 32, Pepperdine 27. 3-Point goals- Portland 3-8 (Flicker 2-4, Brainard 1-2, Ross 0-1, Anderson 0-1), Pepperdine 7-16 (Marcaccini 4-6, Brown 3-6, Ramirez 0-3, Powell 0-1). Fouled out-James, Hervey. Rebounds- Portland 28 (Daniels, Chatman 6 each), Pepperdine 32 (Vanderputten 7). Assists-Portland 12 (Holton 4), Pepperdine 16 (James, Hervey 4 each). Total fouls-Portland 12, Pepperdine 22. A-1,532.
St. Mary’s 82, USF 52
In Moraga, Calif., Josh Unruh and Jumoke Horton scored 22 points each to lead the Gaels (8-3, 14-8) over the Dons (2-8, 8-16).
The Gaels picked up their eighth straight victory. It was the seventh straight loss for the Dons.
SAN FRANCISCO
Paul 1-7 1-2 3, Duggan 6-14 0-0 13, Washington 3-7 1-1 7, Brovelli 1-2 0-0 2, Walker 4-18 2-3 11, Campbell 2-5 0-2 4, Wallace 3-7 1-2 7, Brass 0-1 1-2 1, Galloway 2-4 0-0 4, Fong 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-65 6-12 52.
ST. MARY’S
Farris 6-13 5-5 17, Unruh 7-12 4-4 22, Horton 7-7 8-9 22, Sufi 1-4 0-0 2, Gilmore 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 2-9 5-6 11, Joseph 0-2 0-0 0, Driscoll 1-5 0-0 2, Steele 0-0 2-2 2, Dodic 0-1 0-0 0, Peek 0-2 0-0 0, Rollins 1-5 2-4 4, Marshall 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 26-30 82. Totals 25-61 26-30 82.
Halftime-St. Mary’s 53, San Francisco 29. 3-Point goals- San Francisco 2-18 (Walker 1-8, Duggan 1-5, Washington 0-2, Paul 0-1, Brovelli 0-1, Campbell 0-1), St. Mary’s 6-22 (Unruh 4-8, Johnson 2-7, Driscoll 0-4, Joseph 0-1, Gilmore 0-1, Sufi 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-San Francisco 40 (Campbell 6, Wallace 6), St. Mary’s 44 (Farris 9). Assists-San Francisco 8 (Walker 3), St. Mary’s 16 (Unruh 6). Total fouls-San Francisco 20, St. Mary’s 15. A-2,639.