Gu: Good, Better, Best Improving Bulldogs Swamp Waves, Gain Early Advantage In Wcc Race

Dan Monson seemed almost apologetic about not being a bit more diverse with his postgame comments.

But, hey, when the truth sounds so good and fits so well, why try to get creative?

“I think this was our best performance of the year from start to finish,” Gonzaga’s second-year men’s basketball coach said again Saturday night when asked to evaluate his Bulldogs’ unexpected 83-52 pasting of Pepperdine.

“That’s a great thing because I think I’ve said that (after) three or four games this year, which means we’re improving.”

Indeed, Monson has used that “best-of” line several times before. But it certainly can’t be considered a cliche - not when his Bulldogs give an effort like they gave against the Waves.

This was supposed to be a matchup between the two best teams in the West Coast Conference, and it might have been. But on this night, a sellout Martin Centre crowd of 4,012 learned that Pepperdine, perhaps the most athletic team in the league, can’t play with Gonzaga when the Bulldogs are on.

The Waves (10-7, 1-1 in the WCC) washed out early against a GU team (12-4, 2-0) that shot the ball exceptionally well, defended maniacally and controlled nearly every important rebound and loose ball.

Richie Frahm scored 19 points to lead another balanced Gonzaga attack. The offense didn’t seem to sputter in the least in the absence of sophomore forward Casey Calvary, who sprained an ankle in Thursday’s 105-78 rout of Loyola Marymount. Jeremy Eaton added 16, but it was the effort of Monson’s only remaining reserves - Ryan Floyd, Mike Nilson, Mark Spink and Mike Leasure - that made things much easier than expected.

Those four combined for 22 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and seven steals as the Bulldogs won for the seventh time in eight games.

“Those four, I thought, were the key,” Monson said, “because instead of going to the bench and losing something, we went to the bench and gained some things.”

Floyd finished with 10 points and four rebounds, Spink and Leasure each contributed five rebounds and Nilson checked in with five steals and a school-record number of floor burns.

Nearly everyone seemed surprised by GU’s dominance.

“I sure wasn’t expecting a 30-point blowout, or whatever it was,” said Frahm, who made 7 of 10 shots and single-handedly answered Pepperdine’s quick start by scoring the Bulldogs’ first 10 points.

“You don’t ever expect it, but you sure take it,” added Monson.

“Ouch!” said Waves coach Lorenzo Romar, who watched his team sprint to an early 15-10 lead before becoming confused and frustrated by GU’s switch to a 1-2-2 zone defense. “You could see the wall ready to topple over. We were just holding it up.

“We allowed Frahm to get off in the beginning and they all started going well. It (the early lead) was kind of fool’s gold for us.”

Frahm said he felt the momentum swing when Monson took his team out of its normal man-to-man defense less than 5 minutes into the game.

“They were really tearing us up early,” he explained. “But once we got the momentum, we built on it and didn’t let them back in the game.”

The Bulldogs were so dominant they never allowed Pepperdine back-to-back baskets following the Waves’ 5-0 start.

Matt Santangelo, who scored 28 against Loyola, had only eight against Pepperdine. But the junior guard handled the point most of the night and did a splendid job of pushing the tempo and setting up teammates with dribble penetration. He finished with seven assists and only two turnovers.

Gonzaga 83, Pepperdine 52

Pepperdine (10-7) - Gardner 6-10 3-4 15, Prince 0-0 0-0 0, McDowell 3-6 0-0 6, Lalazarian 3-6 0-0 9, Gibbs 6-13 0-0 12, Lewis 0-2 1-2 1, Minahan 1-4 0-0 3, Archie 1-3 0-0 2, Varner 0-1 0-0 0, Fomby 0-0 0-0 0, Sheppard 2-4 0-0 4, Suitt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 4-6 52.

Gonzaga (12-4) - Hall 3-8 2-2 9, Santangelo 3-11 0-0 8, Eaton 6-8 4-5 16, Frahm 7-10 3-3 19, Dench 3-7 1-2 9, Spink 1-3 1-1 3, Nilson 1-1 0-1 2, Leasure 3-8 0-0 7, Floyd 3-6 2-3 10. Totals 30-62 13-17 83.

Halftime-Gonzaga 44, Pepperdine 29. 3-Point goals-Pepperdine 4-11 (Lalazarian 3-6, Minahan 1-1, Gardner 0-1, Gibbs 0-1, Lewis 0-1, Archie 0-1), Gonzaga 10-18 (Santangelo 2-3, Dench 2-3, Floyd 2-3, Frahm 2-4, Hall 1-2, Leasure 1-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds- Pepperdine 31 (Gibbs 12), Gonzaga 32 (Frahm, Spink, Leasure 5). Assists-Pepperdine 10 (Gardner 4), Gonzaga 19 (Santangelo 7). Total fouls-Pepperdine 16, Gonzaga 9. A-4,012.