Rillie Fires Zags Into Wcc Semis

For most of his previous appearances here, John Rillie has been only so-so at Toso.

Saturday night, though, motivated by the knowledge that this is his last go-round in the West Coast Conference Tournament in Toso Pavilion, the senior Gonzaga guard turned in the game of his career.

Netting 8 of 12 3-point attempts, scoring 32 points, corralling five rebounds, dishing out five assists and making two steals, Rillie led GU to a 74-57 win over San Diego.

GU (19-8) may have won eight of its last nine games, but tonight’s 7:30 semifinal opponent - Saint Mary’s (18-9) - is on an even better roll, having won 12 of its last 13.

“That’s the hardest I’ve seen John Rillie play,” GU assistant coach Dan Monson said of Saturday’s key. “The effort level was unbelievable. He was knocking balls loose, diving for them - it was a complete game.”

In last year’s tournament opener here, Rillie made only 1 of 8 3-point attempts. The eerily dark gym, which is covered by a cloth, air-supported roof, has a history of unsettling perimeter shooters.

“I came into the shoot-around yesterday, and of course you think about (previous troubles) coming into a place; it’s natural for a shooter,” said Rillie, whose eight 3-pointers matched Jarrod Davis’ GU record. “I worked on a few little things and maybe I had a little more concentration than usual tonight.”

Why? “It’s my senior year, so it’s not too hard to get motivated,” Rillie said. “It’s a do-or-die effort for me right now.”

That’s pretty much how the entire Bulldog team performed, as center Paul Rogers added 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting and played with unprecedented aggressiveness. Also on the inside, Jason Rubright contributed 11 points and eight rebounds, and Scott Snider had eight boards and three blocked shots.

“This is one of the greatest efforts we’ve had,” GU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “Not just out of this team, but this one holds up against some the really good teams we’ve had. We played with great emotion and played enormously hard.”

GU had trouble even finding the basket at the start, but still trailed by only one, 15-14, with 9 minutes gone. A 12-1 San Diego spurt left the Bulldogs looking at a 27-15 deficit 4 minutes later.

A pair of 3-pointers by Rillie and another from Jon Kinloch, along with assertive play by Rogers, helped the Bulldogs trim the gap to two, 36-34, at the half.

“I thought maybe we were trying too hard to make plays in the first half, trying to do things that just weren’t us,” Monson said.

The Bulldogs may have played their best half of basketball this season after intermission Saturday. They connected on 54 percent of their shots, 10 of 17 3-pointers, powered to a 17-10 rebound advantage and limited San Diego to just 21 points in the final 20 minutes.

“I thought we had a quality first half and got completely outplayed in the second half,” USD coach Brad Holland said.

And although the Toreros (11-16) made several short runs early in the second half, GU put together a 17-3 charge in the final 8 minutes.

“We executed so well, and defensively, we made a little change in the zone and it really slowed them down,” Fitzgerald said. “It was a typical postseason game and I didn’t know if these guys had it in them, but they did - they didn’t crack.”

Saint Mary’s simply destroyed San Francisco, 72-41, Saturday. SMC defeated Gonzaga by five points and by seven points in January, but Fitzgerald suggested Saturday night that his team has made dramatic improvements since then.

“I know that it’s hard to beat a team three times,” Fitzgerald said of the two prior losses to the Gaels.

The shocker of the day was LMU’s 87-83 defeat of top-seeded, regular-season champ Santa Clara. Shooting 67 percent in the second half, the Lions pulled off the first upset by a No. 8 seed over a No. 1 seed in WCC tournament history. WCC Player of the Year, SCU junior guard Steve Nash, had 20 points and nine assists, but also seven turnovers.

In the tournament opener, Portland held off Pepperdine 62-52. Portland will meet LMU in the 5:30 p.m. semifinal.

Gonzaga 74, San Diego 57

SAN DIEGO (11-16)

Flannery 8-13 1-1 19, Williams 4-4 1-2 9, Black 0-4 1-2 1, Fizdale 2-8 0-0 4, Harris 4-16 0-0 8, Bruso 1-4 4-7 6, Hill 0-1 0-0 0, Obasohan 1-1 0-0 3, Speech 3-7 0-0 7. 23-58 7-12 57.

GONZAGA (19-8)

Kinloch 3-7 2-2 9, Rubright 4-5 2-2 11, Rogers 6-7 1-2 13, Dixon 1-3 1-2 3, Rillie 11-19 2-2 32, Morgan 0-2 0-0 0, Bond 0-0 0-0 0, Cole 0-1 0-0 0, Snider 2-6 2-4 6, Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-50 10-14 74.

Halftime-San Diego 36, Gonzaga 34. 3-Point goals-San Diego 4-16 (Flannery 2-6, Harris 0-7, Obasohan 1-1, Speech 1-2.), Gonzaga 10-17 (Kinloch 1-3, Rubright 1-1, Rillie 8-12, Cole 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-San Diego 27 (Harris 7), Gonzaga 34 (Rubright and Cole 8). Assists-San Diego 13 (Harris 7), Gonzaga 14 (Dixon 7). Total fouls-San Diego 17, Gonzaga 17. A-2,862.