Batista’s absence proves his worth

Since they are supposed to win, the Gonzo Bulldogs don’t get a lot of allowances in the explanation department even in doing so.

Their games are too close. They shoot way more free throws - there was yet another tiresome and bitter blast on that front from yet another rival coach Sunday night. They give up too many 3s. All this is true, more or less.

But the Zags were presented with the perfect alibi in their semifinal game of the West Coast Conference Tournament at McCarthey Athletic Center, when center J.P. Batista didn’t muster out of the locker room for the start of the second half. Not surprisingly, they again elected not to use it.

You’d think others might try that innovative strategy.

So the home-court streak goes to 39 games, the McCarthey record remains a perfect 27-0 and for the ninth straight year the Zags will play in the WCC title game. It didn’t happen without a sensational scrap from San Diego, which fell 96-92 in overtime, or without a sampler of contributions up and down the Gonzaga lineup.

“All so he could make his Willis Reed-like entry,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of Batista, “and get us to survive.”

This, of course, is the basketball warrior’s reference point - Reed dragging his lame right leg out to do battle with Wilt Chamberlain in the seventh game of the NBA Finals in 1970. This was not that, exactly - Batista limped around heroically, but also spent almost as much time channeling Lance Armstrong as he did Reed. But it was inspirational and emotional, and it did strike at the heart of how vital Batista has been to the program at this special point in time.

Never mind how important he was against the Toreros.

When the Zags opened the second half with Batista still in the training room, they had USD down 10 and set up for the knockout punch. When he hurried to the scorer’s table to check back in with 10:46 left in regulation, the Bulldogs were down by two with momentum tracks on their backs.

“We were just trying to weather the storm and if he hadn’t come back, we would have been fine,” said teammate Adam Morrison. “I think.”

Hey, it doesn’t hurt to think it.

But the fact is, the Bulldogs scored six straight points as soon as Batista re-entered the game, and he had 13 of his 21 points in the final eight minutes and overtime, including GU’s last five.

And after the game, he leaned a pair of crutches against his locker - not the best sign, though he hopes to play in tonight’s title game against Loyola Marymount - and hobbled into the shower.

During a scrum for a loose ball early in the first half, USD guard Ross DeRogatis fell into the side of Batista’s left knee, resulting in a slight sprain. But later in the half, Batista tried to drive after taking a pass in the high post and caught a knee from Torero forward Gyno Pomare in the left thigh, and the bruise began to knot up during intermission.

“His quad wasn’t firing,” Few said.

Neither were the Zags. USD outscored them 10-2 to open the second half, and in less than six minutes had surged into the lead.

“He’s such a force that we had to make hay while he was out of the game - and we did a pretty good job of that,” said Toreros coach Brad Holland.

But not only is he a force, he’s a security blanket.

“That guy arguably could have been MVP of the league with (Morrison),” Few said. “He’s a big part of who we are. You just can’t measure what you take out of our lineup in terms of stability and just knowing he’s going to do the right thing.”

But you could measure the jolt that went through the sellout crowd at McCarthey when he came back in.

“That was emotional,” he admitted. “I was about to cry, really.”

Few shuttled Batista out and in to the lineup a dozen times to Reed it up. Several times he disappeared through the tunnel back toward the locker room to jump on an exercise bike and keep the muscle loose.

“This is something I had to do,” he said. “It was really painful, but I love my teammates. These are my last few games and that changes things. I can’t just stay on the sideline, hoping I’ll be back.”

But until tipoff tonight, that’s about all Batista can do. Few said he wouldn’t endanger Batista’s long-term availability “because we’ve got bigger games to play” - but wouldn’t short sell his value.

“It’s like taking Shelden Williams away from Duke,” he said. “We’re as dependent on him as they are on Shelden.”

Consider it the one allowance the Zags should be indulged.