Gonzaga Roughs Up St. John’S Strong Inside Play Complements Near-Perfect Game By Santangelo

It was back in late February when Gonzaga University was wobbling a bit from three losses in four games that coach Mark Few instituted his “no wincing” policy.

His Bulldogs were getting badly out-muscled inside, so Few turned his practices into chaotic spectacles that resembled back-alley muggings more than basketball. It was hammer at will. No blood, no foul.

The idea was to toughen up his post players, who had been wincing in the face of physical play on the low blocks. Did it work?

Just ask St. John’s, which got shoved aside by Few’s “bigs” Saturday night as the Bulldogs barged into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen for the second straight year with an 82-76 upset of the Red Storm in the second round of the West Regional in McKale Center.

GU’s front-liners combined for 43 points and 20 rebounds and point guard Matt Santangelo came up with another nearly flawless performance - along with 26 points and several huge baskets late in the game - as the 10th-seeded Zags (26-8) earned an unlikely date with sixth-seeded Purdue (23-9) in Thursday’s regional semifinals in Albuquerque, N.M.

The starting time has yet to be determined, but when the two teams tip it off at The Pit on the University of New Mexico campus, don’t expect Gonzaga to wince. Not after the way they chested up to the second-seeded Red Storm (25-8).

“I’m so happy for these kids right now,” Few said. “This season was very tough, but we have come through it and now we get the benefits. These guys came through when the lights were on bright tonight. I could not be more proud.”

Santangelo was simply spectacular, especially down the stretch. The 6-foot-1 senior, who was matched up against all-Big East point guard Erick Barkley, hit a couple of 3-pointers and a tough, leaning bank shot to help the Bulldogs maintain the slim lead they had forged with a 9-2 run midway through the second half.

He scored 14 of his points in the final 8 minutes and turned the ball over only twice against St. John’s full-court trapping defense.

“He’s a warrior,” teammate Ryan Floyd said of Santangelo, who played all 40 minutes. “When you play that long, your legs get tired, but he held up strong the entire game. He made clutch shots down at the end with his legs tired, and that showed what kind of player he is.”

Few labeled Santangelo’s effort as “unbelievable.”

“To handle that pressure for 40 minutes is amazing,” Few added. “He’s just so steady. There might be a turnover here or there, but it’s because he has his hands on the ball 98 percent of the time.”

Still, there might not have been a stage for Santangelo had it not been for Axel Dench and Casey Calvary, who dominated St. John’s inside.

Dench, who finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists, was particularly effective in the first half with Calvary on the bench after picking up two quick fouls.

The 6-11 senior scored 12 points prior to intermission, and the Bulldogs needed every one because of the way the Red Storm were extending their halfcourt zone defense to shade GU’s leading scorer, Richie Frahm.

“He was the big daddy, he was huge today,” Santangelo said of Dench. “He’s been like that for a month and a half now. He’s becoming stronger and more confident every game. He’s stepping up and allowing us to have an inside-outside combo.”

Calvary finished with 13 points and six boards, despite playing only 7 minutes in the first half, and Frahm added 10 points, all in the second half.

St. John’s, which has no starter taller than 6-7, didn’t have an answer for GU’s inside presence or Santangelo’s heroics down the stretch.

“We lost to a very good basketball team,” said Red Storm coach Mike Jarvis. “What you saw tonight was two very good basketball teams and only one could win and only one could move on.

“As I’m sure Gonzaga has mentioned, they can be called Cinderella again, and if so, I’m sure they’ll wear the slipper well once again.”

St. John’s got 21 points from Barkley, who almost single-handedly shot his team back into contention after GU had opened a 76-68 lead with less than a minute left. Barkley scored on a baseline drive to make it 78-73 and then hit a 3-pointer to pull St. John’s within 79-76 with 17 seconds left.

But Santangelo and Calvary combined to make 3 of 4 free throws in the final 15 seconds and hold off the Red Storm’s comeback.

“Again, their will to win is unbelievable,” Few said of St. John’s. “They’re tough city kids that have won a lot in their careers, and I didn’t feel good until Casey made those two free throws with 6.9 seconds left.

“Until then, we just couldn’t put them away.”

To a man, the Bulldogs agreed that this trip to the Sweet Sixteen will be every bit as satisfying as last year’s.

“Last year it was like some big surprise,” said Floyd. “Everybody had the Cinderella name on us and was wondering how far Gonzaga could go and if they could sneak out another win.

“But now we’ve proven it again - to everybody. And we’re going to continue to believe that we’re going to beat every team we play.”

Presumably, without wincing.

Gonzaga 82, St. John’s 76

Gonzaga (26-8)-Frahm 2-7 5-6 10, Calvary 4-7 5-6 13, Dench 7-15 2-3 17, Santangelo 8-14 4-6 26, Floyd 1-5 0-0 3, Tricco 0-0 0-0 0, Spink 3-6 1-2 7, Gourde 1-2 4-6 6. Totals 26-56 21-29 82.

St. John’s (25-8)-Glover 7-7 4-6 18, Postell 5-10 0-1 10, Jessie 3-7 0-0 6, Barkley 7-18 2-6 21, Thornton 3-13 5-6 12, Gray 3-6 1-2 7, Emanuel 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-62 12-21 76.

Halftime score-St. John’s 36, Gonzaga 33. 3-Point Goals- Gonzaga 9-22 (Santangelo 6-10, Dench 1-2, Frahm 1-4, Floyd 1-5, Calvary 0-1), St. John’s 6-25 (Barkley 5-14, Thornton 1-8, Gray 0-1, Postell 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Gonzaga 87 (Dench 7), St. John’s 34 (Postell 10). Assists-Gonzaga 15 (Santangelo 5), St. John’s 18 (Gray, Postell 5). Total fouls-Gonzaga 18, St. John’s 24. A-13,818.