Keeping it in perspective

TUCSON, Ariz. – There wasn’t much mystery where the ball was going to go.

Gonzaga trailed Texas Tech 69-67 with 19.5 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs diagrammed a play in which sophomore forward Adam Morrison, who carried GU’s offense throughout the postseason, got the ball out front to work off a Ronny Turiaf pick. Morrison had the option of shooting a 3-pointer, creating off the dribble or looking for Turiaf on the pick-and-roll.

“Their (forward) didn’t show off the screen and Adam got a good look,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “He had made a lot of huge shots for us.”

Morrison pulled up for a 3-pointer, but it was too long. When Texas Tech grabbed the rebound, the Red Raiders were on their way to a 71-69 victory Saturday.

“The 3 was there so I took it and it didn’t quite happen,” Morrison said. “I want to be the guy that takes the shots. If I miss it, I miss it. If I make it, I make it. I’ll take the blame for it every time because I took the shot, that’s how it works.

“I just didn’t get enough rotation on it or something, but people have to realize there’s a ton of problems in the world. People are dying, people are starving. It’s a big loss, but we have to put it in perspective. I missed the shot, but I’m still going to live. I’m not going to jail or anything.”

Gonzaga relied heavily on Morrison in the latter stages of the game. Texas Tech erased a 13-point second-half deficit to pull in front 55-54 with 9:40 remaining. Morrison scored Gonzaga’s next 10 points, with his tip-in giving the Bulldogs a 64-61 lead with 3:12 left.

“Coach (Bob Knight) told me to just make him work as hard as he could,” said Texas Tech’s Martin Zeno, who guarded Morrison much of the game. “He’s a good player and he’s going to get his points. What I did was make him run harder and cut and work to get the ball.”

Morrison finished with 25 hard-earned points on 10-of-22 shooting, including 1 of 6 3-pointers. He scored 27 points in Thursday’s win over Winthrop and scored 25 and 30 points, respectively, in Gonzaga’s two WCC tournament wins.

“For the most part (late in the game) we were trying to get me or Ronny the ball and try to have the other guys work off us,” Morrison said. “We delivered, until the end.”

One last time

Brian Michaelson, one of two seniors along with Turiaf, spoke to his teammates during GU’s traditional postgame huddle at center court.

“I was the only one that really felt like speaking at that time,” Michaelson said. “You could see it in the guys’ faces and obviously everybody was disappointed, but it’s important to focus not just on how the final game ends.

“It’s important to realize how far we came as a team, how much we improved and what a great year we had. …

“Some people felt like if they’d done one more thing it would have been different, but I told them that’s not how it works. Win as a team, lose as a team.”

Knight’s big first half

Almost lost in the despair and the details of how Gonzaga lost was a spectacular first-half performance by guard Erroll Knight.

Always Gonzaga’s defensive stopper, the 6-foot-6 junior took it upon himself to stoke the Zags’ offensive engine with 12 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting and some amazing acrobatics on the offensive glass.

His tip-in with six minutes left before intermission and a fast-break layup moments later allowed the Zags to make their first break away from the Red Raiders, starting an 11-2 run that produced a 37-25 lead.

“I was just playing like it was my last chance,” said Knight, who finished with a season-high 14 points. “I’m pretty sure that’s the way everyone felt out there. I had a couple of shots fall and a couple of opportunities, but every shot isn’t going to fall and its all about keeping going, keeping playing.”

His offensive contribution was more muted in the second half – he had a thunderous fast-break dunk early on – but came up with what looked at the time like a huge defensive play when he tracked down Tech’s Ronald Ross on a breakaway and forced him into a travel.

Seen this happen before

NCAA Tournaments have not been particularly kind, of late, to Gonzaga University point guards.

First-team All-American Dan Dickau made only 7 of 24 field-goal attempts – including just 4 of 14 3-point tries – in a first-round loss to Wyoming in 2002. His successor, Blake Stepp, was a paltry 23 for 94 from the field and 13 for 61 on 3-point tries in the eight NCAA Tournament games he played.

And the disturbing trend continued this year with sophomore Derek Raivio going a combined 4 for 17 from the field and scoring just 12 points in the Bulldogs’ two-game tournament run.

Raivio, who came in shooting 44.1 percent from the field and a splendid 47.8 percent (75 of 157) from 3-point range, made only 2 of 11 3-point tries during this year’s tournament. But following the loss, he wasn’t ready to beat himself up over his performance.

He said he had trouble getting into a rhythm against Tech after picking up two early fouls and playing only 10 minutes in the first half.

“That definitely sucks,” said Raivio, “because I wasn’t able to compete the whole game. When that happens, I get kind of frustrated. I got out of rhythm a little bit, but my shot, this whole weekend, felt good. It was just off the back of the rim every time.

“All players go through that. Not every shot is going to go in. As long as it’s on line it’s not to the left or right, it’s still feels good to me, and it’s a good shot.”

Few said he had no problem with the shots Raivio attempted against Tech – even a couple that seemed a little bit rushed out of transition.

“Those are great shots for Derek,” he said. “He’s made those all year. They’ve been a big part of us blowing people out in games, and they’ve been a big part of us stepping up and winning games (late), as we did the other night against Winthrop.”

Free-throw woes

The Bulldogs didn’t do themselves any favors at the foul line, making just 9 of 18 free throws.

Senior forward and co-captain Ronny Turiaf, who had made 163 of 234 free throws (69.7) coming into the tournament, converted only 3 of 9 attempts against the Red Raiders. He missed the second of two foul shots that could have given GU a 66-63 lead with 2:27 left in the game and then clanked the first shot of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 49 seconds remaining.

When asked if he might have let his four earlier misses get into his head, Turiaf said, “Not at all. I just stuck to my routine. I just missed my free throws. That’s it.”

Staff writers Jim Meehan, Steve Bergum and John Blanchette contributed to this notebook.