Seniors Go Out In Glory Gonzaga Five Make Final Home Game Memorable

There were lots of cheers and lots of tears. Lots of hugs, too, but fortunately only one kiss - the one Mike Nilson planted on the Bulldog painted on center court in Martin Centre as he left the game in the final minutes of Gonzaga’s 93-66 West Coast Conference men’s basketball rout of Saint Mary’s on Saturday night.

Nilson’s gesture put a fitting cap on a near-perfect Senior Night that was celebrated by another sellout crowd of 4,093 that came to bid a fond farewell to Nilson and four other Bulldog seniors playing their final regular-season game in The Kennel.

“It was a great way for them to go out,” GU coach Mark Few said of his five seniors just moments after they gave him his 20th win by snapping a perplexing two-game losing streak that had all but ruined their chances of winning a third-consecutive regular-season West Coast Conference title.

It was hard to take issue with Few’s assessment, especially after the way the evening played out. Following an emotional pregame tribute to the five players that have been the heart and soul of the greatest run in GU history, all five went out and did the kinds of things they have done best in ringing up 72 victories the past three seasons.

Richie Frahm broke out of his recent shooting slump by banging down 10 of 14 shots, including 4 of 5 3-pointers, and finished with a game-high 26 points.

Matt Santangelo, with nearly 30 family members on hand, delivered another steady game at the point by scoring 20 points and handing out eight assists.

Axel Dench threw his 6-foot-11, 245-pound frame around in the middle and contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, a block and a couple of hard dunks.

Ryan Floyd, in his first college start, scored eight points and sparked a first-half run that gave the Bulldogs some early breathing room against outmanned St. Mary’s.

And Nilson created his usual havoc on the defensive end of the floor, knocking balls loose at every juncture and getting at least a hand on seemingly every rebound.

The Bulldogs (20-7 overall, 10-2 in the WCC) started slow and gave Saint Mary’s (7-18, 2-10) some false reason for optimism. But after spotting the Gaels a 15-12 lead, the Zags reeled off 11 unanswered points as part of a 23-2 run that decided the issue by halftime.

Junior forward Casey Calvary, who was one of three GU players with 10 points, opened the run with a couple of free throws, but it was Floyd who really ignited things by slipping inside to tip an apparent rebound away from Saint Mary’s after Frahm had missed the second of two more foul shots. Floyd chased the ball down in the corner and flipped it out to Frahm, who promptly drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing.

On GU’s next possession, Floyd spotted up in the right corner and knocked down a 3-pointer of his own to put the Bulldogs ahead 28-20.

The Gaels, playing once again without injured 7-foot-3 center Brad Millard, then turned the ball over on five of its next nine possessions and the only remaining suspense was whether the Zags would make the 13 3-pointers required to treat everyone in attendance to a free hamburger. They did - on a late trey by freshman guard Jimmy Tricco - but not until long after Few had individually pulled each of his five seniors to a series of standing vations.

“It was really emotional,” admitted Santangelo, who exited with well over 6 minutes remaining to the chants of “Thank you, Matt,” and “NBA!”

“But I tried not to get too worked up, because we still have a lot of the season left to play,” he added, nodding up at the crowd, which didn’t want to leave. “I just wish someone would give them a standing O, because they are a big reason this place in so special.”

About the only person who was was not sad to see GU’s five seniors leave was Saint Mary’s coach Dave Bollwinkel, yet he handled their big moment with class.

“Sure, I’m glad to see ‘em go,” he said, “but I’ll tell you what. I’ve got a lot of respect for this program here at Gonzaga and those five seniors have done a lot to get it to the point it’s at.”

The Bulldogs will try to keep their faint title hopes alive this week when they travel to the Bay Area to take on Santa Clara Friday night and San Francisco Sunday afternoon.

Gonzaga 93, St. Mary’s, Cal. 66

St. Mary’s (7-18) - Allocco 3-8 4-4 12, King 2-6 1-2 5, Bond 2-7 3-4 7, Greer 4-12 2-2 11, Dahle 1-5 0-1 2, Balciunas 0-0 0-0 0, Herr 1-6 0-1 3, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Gordon 0-1 0-0 0, Benson 6-8 0-0 12, Harris 6-8 0-0 14. Totals 25-62 10-14 66.

Gonzaga (20-7) - Santangelo 7-16 2-2 20, Floyd 2-7 2-2 8, Dench 3-7 4-4 10, Frahm 10-14 2-4 26, Nilson 0-5 0-0 0, Tricco 2-5 0-2 6, Spink 0-0 0-2 0, Gebbers 1-3 0-0 3, Kincaid 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Calvary 3-4 4-5 10, Gourde 4-6 2-5 10. Totals 32-69 16-26 93.

Halftime-Gonzaga 48, St. Mary’s 28. 3-Point goals-St. Mary’s 6-24 (Allocco 2-5, Harris 2-4, Greer 1-6, Herr 1-3, King 0-3, Dahle 0-3) Gonzaga 13-31 (Santangelo 4-9, Frahm 4-5, Floyd 2-3, Tricco 2-4, Gebbers 1-3, Nilson 0-3, Dench 0-2, Williams 0-1, Calvary 0-1). Fouled out-St. Mary’s, Greer. Rebounds-St. Mary’s 36 (King 6), Gonzaga 47 (Calvary 9). Assists-St. Mary’s 9 (Allocco, Bond, Dahle 2), Gonzaga 20 (Santangelo 8). Total fouls-St. Mary’s 24, Gonzaga 20. A-4,093.