Zags Ease Past Broncos Gonzaga Puts Away First Game Of ‘98 Early Against Road-Weary Boise State
The holidays can be stressful. Gonzaga’s 83-70 men’s basketball win over Boise State on Saturday night wasn’t.
Gonzaga’s first game of the new year was essentially over midway through the first half. The Bulldogs led 27-7 at that point and were never seriously challenged before a crowd of 3,311 at Martin Centre.
And that was surprising, given that BSU (8-5) pushed UCLA before losing 81-75 two weeks ago. In fairness, the Broncos seemed dead-legged from a holiday tournament in Hilo, Hawaii.
“We know what that feels like,” said Gonzaga senior forward Bakari Hendrix, recalling the frequent-flyer mileage the Bulldogs racked up earlier this year playing in Fairbanks, Alaska, and East Lansing, Mich. “It could be (that BSU was tired), but college basketball is like that sometimes.”
Hendrix dominated BSU’s thin front line, scoring 24 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Quentin Hall had 13 points and three steals and Matt Santangelo added 12 points and five assists for Gonzaga, which improved to 11-3 heading into a non-conference road game against Idaho on Monday night.
Boise State made just 9 of 27 shots in the first half. Among the misfires were blown layups, airball jumpers and Kejuan Woods’ botched dunk attempt. Roberto Bergersen’s 12 points kept BSU from being in a deeper hole than the 46-28 halftime score.
“We haven’t shot the ball well and I think that bothered what we did defensively,” BSU coach Rod Jensen said. “But I don’t want to take anything away from Gonzaga.”
GU scored the game’s first seven points - six by Hendrix. The Bulldogs added runs of 10-0 and 8-0.
Santangelo’s three-point play hiked the advantage to 41-18.
“Our kids came out ready to play and did a really good job of playing with energy in the first half,” said coach Dan Monson, whose Bulldogs outscored BSU 29-3 in points off turnovers. “Certainly we didn’t sustain that effort for 40 minutes, which is what we have to do to win our league. That’s our goal.”
On this night, Gonzaga didn’t have to sustain its intensity. The Bulldogs led by as many as 24 as Hendrix continued to punish BSU inside.
“It looks to me like he’s a guy who thought the summer was to get better,” Jensen said. “He’s really bumped up his game and I like to see that - kids get better in the off-season.”
BSU’s refusal to double-down allowed Hendrix to operate with little resistance.
“They’re very pressure-oriented, especially on the strong side,” Monson said. “If you can withstand that initial pressure, they’re vulnerable inside. Our guards did a good job of being strong with the ball, and they reversed it to where Bakari was.”
BSU rode Gerry Washington’s 17 second-half points to pull within 77-64 with 1:48 remaining, but their comeback was silenced by Richie Frahm’s bucket and Carl Crider’s two free throws. , DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NEXT Monday: GU at Idaho, 7 p.m.