Final Flurry Helps Gu Torch Central

After putting up with Central Washington’s pestering for nearly 35 minutes Tuesday night, Paul Rogers and his Gonzaga teammates said, “Enough!”

Fueled by Rogers’ six straight points with just over 6 minutes left, the Bulldogs closed with a rush and bumped off the NCAA Division II Wildcats 89-66 in a game that was much too close for GU coach Dan Fitzgerald and most of those in a Martin Centre crowd of 1,105.

“We sure didn’t play too damn inspired,” Fitzgerald admitted after his Bulldogs evened their record at 2-2 with their second win over a D-II opponent. “I was pleased with some things, but I was displeased with some others.”

Particularly the first-half knee injury that felled Axel Dench and put the 6-foot-11 freshman’s availability for this weekend’s tournament at Colorado State in serious doubt. Dench sprained his right kneecap 12 minutes into the game and will have the injury re-evaluated today.

“That’s really a shame,” Fitzgerald said, “because (Dench) needed this game, and we need him down there (in Fort Collins, Colo.) this weekend.”

Among the things Fitzgerald liked about Tuesday’s win was the way his team shot the ball from the field - 32 of 58 for 55.2 percent - and the continued progress of Rogers, who finished with a game-high 25 points and six rebounds.

“Sure, he was the tallest player on the floor,” Fitzgerald said, “but I thought he really played well for us again.”

Rogers, a 7-foot senior center, had a 7-inch height advantage over CWU’s tallest player, and he used it to help GU pad a surprisingly modest 66-59 lead in the final minutes with a 23-7 run.

“Actually, we pretty much all looked at each other and said we shouldn’t be this close right now, not in our building,” explained Rogers, who played 36 minutes despite a stress fracture in his foot.

Rogers started his six-point run with a blue-collar putback following his own miss. He stepped inside for another bucket 30 seconds later and finished the Wildcats off with a thundering dunk.

There was nothing short of clutching and grabbing that CWU’s 6-5 center Willie Thomas could do to slow Rogers. Still, he battled gamely, scoring 15 points before fouling out with 4 minutes left.

Fitzgerald shook up his lineup by starting John Nemeth at the point instead of redshirt freshman Matt Santangelo and Kevin Williams at shooting guard in place of Lorenzo Rollins.

Santangelo responded with 14 points and two assists off the bench. Williams added 13 points and four assists in his unusual role as a starter. Rollins scored 10 points and made three steals.

“It wasn’t punitive at all,” Fitzgerald said of his decision to bench Rollins and Santangelo. “I did it so they could take a look at what’s going on out on the court. I don’t think it’s going to be a permanent thing, but it was worth trying.”

Gonzaga 89, Central Washington 66

CENTRAL WASHINGTON (2-4) - Nealey 4-7 4-4 13, Davis 4-7 0-0 11, Thomas 5-10 2-5 15, Fallon 1-6 1-3 3, Nasinec 4-8 0-0 9, Wick 0-1 0-0 0, Kennedy 0-0 0-0 0, Reed 0-1 0-0 0, Sackmann 0-0 1-2 1, Mosley 2-2 0-1 6, Deutsch 2-6 2-2 8. Totals 22-48 10-17 66.

GONZAGA (2-2) - Williams 4-5 2-2 13, Nemeth 0-3 1-2 1, Rogers 9-18 7-9 25, Leasure 1-3 4-4 6, Hendrix 0-1 1-2 1, Santangelo 6-8 1-4 14, Crider 0-0 0-0 0, Rollins 3-5 4-4 10, Frahm 2-3 0-0 5, Nilson 0-0 0-0 0, Dench 1-2 0-0 2, McKnight 1-1 0-0 2, Floyd 0-3 0-0 0, Griffin 1-1 0-2 2, Eaton 3-4 0-0 6, Ball 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 32-58 20-29 89.

Halftime-Gonzaga 49, Cent. Washington 40. 3-Point goals-Cent. Washington 12-27 (Nealey 1-2, Davis 3-5, Thomas 3-5, Fallon 0-3, Nasinec 1-3, Wick 0-1, Mosley 2-2, Deutsch 2-6), Gonzaga 5-6 (Williams 3-3, Santangelo 1-1, Frahm 1-1, Floyd 0-1). Fouled out-Cent. Washington, Nasinec. Rebounds-Cent. Washington 21 (Nealey 5), Gonzaga 39 (Rogers 6). Assists-Cent. Washington 8 (Nealey 3), Gonzaga 21 (Williams 4). Total fouls-Cent. Washington 24, Gonzaga 19. A-1,105.

, DataTimes