Today’S Best Bets

Fri., Jan. 22, 1999

Men’s basketball

Gonzaga at San Francisco

Time, site: 7:30 p.m., Memorial Gym, San Francisco

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Northwest/KTRW 970

Summary: The Bulldogs (14-4, 4-0 West Coast Conference), who have won five straight and 10 of their last 11, will be trying to increase their league lead against a USF team (8-11, 0-4) that has gone in the tank after a respectable start.

The Dons, who beat GU in the finals of last year’s WCC tournament, are off to their worst league start since 1968-69 when they opened 0-6, and coach Phil Mathews doesn’t have many places to look for answers. His team started 7-1 but is 1-10 since point guard LyRyan Russell was shelved for nine games with a sprained ankle and his backup, Dony Wilcher, quit the team.

Girls basketball

Ritzville vs. Wilbur-Creston

Time, site: 5:45 p.m., Creston High.

Summary: Ritzville has already tied the state Class B girls record with its 52 consecutive wins. Raymond (1988-90) also won 52 straight. The state record for all classifications is held by Lakeside (Seattle), 56 from 1991-93.

Ritzville’s No. 53 could come tonight against Wilbur-Creston, the last team to defeat Ritzville, on Feb. 8, 1997. W-C and Ritzville have played for the last two State B titles, both won by Ritzville. Both teams feature four-year standouts with more than 1,000 career points: post player Megan Yerxa of Ritzville and guard Alyssa Erickson of W-C.

Boys basketball

Gonzaga Prep at Ferris

Time, site: 6:45 p.m., Ferris

Summary: Back on Dec. 11, Ferris opened the Greater Spokane League season at Gonzaga Prep as if it were midseason, shooting the lights out in a 64-37 victory. Since then, however, the Bullpups haven’t lost and the two teams are tied for second at 8-1 behind unbeaten Central Valley, and 10-1 overall. Ferris lost to CV, but Prep, through a quirk in the schedule, plays the Bears twice in the second half of the season.

Prep’s Greg Johnson leads the league in scoring at 14.5 points per game. Andre Atkins leads a balanced Ferris attack at 11 points a game.

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Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
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Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
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Today’S Best Bets

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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