Raivio to the rescue for Zags
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – On a night in which Gonzaga University’s two top scorers weren’t getting it done, Derek Raivio did.
The Bulldogs’ slender 6-foot-3 sophomore point guard, in perhaps his finest moment as a Zag, scored a career-high 32 points on Thursday and did a whole lot of other things exceptionally well as 11th-ranked GU opened defense of its West Coast Conference regular-season title with a 91-87 win over stubborn Santa Clara.
A sellout Leavey Center crowd of 4,500 and a national ESPN2 television audience watched as the Bulldogs, 11-2 overall, survived a wild finish that included three technical fouls in the final two minutes.
Raivio, who came in shooting 52.9 percent (27-51) from 3-point range, lit up the Broncos from the perimeter, draining 6 of 9 3-point attempts. He was also a perfect 10 for 10 from the foul line and finished with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“He’s been prepared for the guards in this league,” GU coach Mark Few said of Raivio, pointing out that he has already been matched up against the likes of Illinois’ Dee Brown, Georgia Tech’s Jarrett Jack, Oklahoma’s John Lucas and Washington’s Nate Robinson. “That was a good pair of guards he faced again tonight, but he seems to really step up when he sees those challenges.”
Raivio impressed Few with more than his shooting.
“He dug out a couple of big rebounds near the end and got his hands on a lot more balls,” he added. “And when he’s doing that, he’s a heckuva player. That’s what we’ve been challenging both he and Adam (Morrison) to do. They were both prolific scorers in high school, and they’re still learning the value of those kinds of things.”
As it turned out, the Zags needed everything Raivio could contribute because senior forward Ronny Turiaf, who came in averaging 19 points per game, struggled once again, making 1 of 6 field-goal attempts and scoring four points – three of which came on an early 3-pointer.
Morrison, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, finished with 18 points – just one less than his average – but shot 7 of 19 from the field.
“Coach has been telling me to be more aggressive with my shot,” explained Raivio, who added he has benefited greatly from GU’s tough non-conference schedule. “Playing against all the top guards in the nation has been a great experience. It’s gotten me prepared for whoever comes at me, because I’ve already played against the best.”
The loss was the fifth straight for Santa Clara (7-9), which once again matched the Bulldogs blow for blow throughout most of what was a physical game.
Kyle Bailey, a fifth-year senior guard, paced the Broncos with 26 points, while his backcourt running mate Doron Perkins added 22, 18 of which came in the first half.
“I feel like every time the win is right there, and they take it away,” said Bailey, who is 0 for 7 against the Zags. “But I’ll get it figured out. I’d hate to have to come back for a sixth year just to beat them.”
After surviving a fast start by GU, Santa Clara closed to within 46-45 at intermission and took its first lead of the game, 49-48, on a steal and layin by Perkins just a little more than a minute into the second half.
The Broncos went up 51-48 on a pair of free throws by Travis Niesen, but Perkins was slapped with a technical foul that seemed to kill the momentum he and his teammates had worked so hard to build.
The 6-2 senior guard, who was the best player on the floor in the first half, got tangled up with GU’s J.P. Batista during a rebound scrum and slammed the basketball high off the floor after officials called a jump ball.
Raivio connected on both free throws following the technical, and Morrison bounced in the lane for another two points on the ensuing inbounds pass. Santa Clara answered with a pair of free throws by Bailey, but a short turnaround jumper by Batista, followed by a 3-pointer by Raivio from the left wing, ignited a 14-4 GU run that put the Bulldogs back in control.
They stayed there – barely – making 10 free throws in the final 1:43.
“There are going to be a lot of those this season,” Few said. “This league is the best it’s ever been.”
“They did better in the clutch than we did,” said Santa Clara coach Dick Davey, “but we’ve got seven weeks to try to improve that. Hopefully, this will be a good learning experience for our guys.”
The road doesn’t get any easier for Gonzaga, which travels to Moraga, Calif., on Saturday to take on Saint Mary’s in a 7 p.m. battle between the two best teams in the WCC.
(11) Gonzaga 91, Santa Clara 87
Gonzaga–Turiaf 1-6 1-2 4, Morrison 7-19 4-8 18, Mallon 3-5 0-1 6, Raivio 8-11 10-10 32, Knight 4-6 2-2 11, Altidor-Cespedes 1-1 0-0 3, Batista 5-8 1-3 12, Pendergraft 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 31-58 18-26 91.
Santa Clara–Niesen 7-13 2-2 17, Denison 2-6 2-2 6, Bailey 8-18 4-4 26, Perkins 6-15 7-10 22, Rohde 3-11 0-0 9, Angley 1-2 0-0 2, Dougherty 0-0 0-0 0, Henke 0-0 0-1 0, Borchart 0-0 0-0 0, Parham 0-1 1-2 1, Legge 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 28-67 18-23 87.
Halftime—Gonzaga 46-45. 3-Point goals—Gonzaga 11-18 (Raivio 6-9, Turiaf 1-1, Knight 1-1, Altidor-Cespedes 1-1, Batista 1-1, Pendergraft 1-1, Mallon 0-1, Morrison 0-3), Santa Clara 13-33 (Bailey 6-12, Perkins 3-8, Rohde 3-11, Niesen 1-1, Angley 0-1). Fouled out—Niesen. Rebounds—Gonzaga 42 (Morrison 7), Santa Clara 30 (Perkins 9). Assists—Gonzaga 18 (Morrison 5), Santa Clara 16 (Bailey 6). Total fouls—Gonzaga 21, Santa Clara 24. Technicals— Perkins 2, Morrison, Niesen. A—4,500.