Bulldogs run past Dons
SAN FRANCISCO – It’s an old line, that the turning point of the game was the opening tip. Gonzaga waited a bit longer than that. About 16 seconds, to be precise.
The Bulldogs actually lost the opening tip, but David Pendergraft quickly swiped a pass and was intentionally fouled on a breakaway by San Francisco’s James Morgan. Pendergraft made both free throws, Gonzaga scored nine of the first 11 points and rolled to an easy 83-63 West Coast Conference men’s basketball victory Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 4,500 at Memorial Gym.
“That’s what I try to do in my first four minutes in there, set a tone for the rest of the game,” said Pendergraft, who led a balanced offense with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers. “I thought the team responded well to the steal and we just went from there.”
The Bulldogs’ lead reached double figures midway through the first half on Josh Heytvelt’s 3-point play. It was 46-29 at the half and the Bulldogs led by as many as 26 in the second half.
“We knew to accomplish what we want to accomplish we had to take care of this,” sophomore guard Matt Bouldin said.
The victory propels the Bulldogs (20-6, 9-1 WCC) into a showdown with San Diego (15-11, 8-1), coached by ex-Zags assistant Bill Grier, at 8 p.m. Monday. Saint Mary’s is also at 9-1 after whipping Loyola Marymount Saturday. Gonzaga has won at least 20 games for 11 straight seasons and 14 of the last 15.
“A battle for first place,” said junior guard Jeremy Pargo, who had 11 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Gonzaga dominated at both ends of the court to take some of the fight out of San Francisco early. By halftime, 10 Zags had played and scored. Eight had between 4-7 points. All 10 had at least one field goal.
The Bulldogs made 15 of 25 first-half shots (60 percent) and limited the Dons to 12 of 30 (40 percent). WCC leading scorer Dior Lowhorn, who came in averaging 20.8 points, had nine points in the first half, but rarely saw the ball. Three of the nine came on a desperation 3-pointer over Abdullahi Kuso that banked in just before the shot clock expired.
“I told (GU coach) Mark (Few) at shootaround and I told him again after the game, they’re better defensively,” San Francisco interim coach Eddie Sutton said. “I watched the film when they played Loyola Marymount and they just took them out of their offense. They’re deep enough that they can sub and keep people fresh. They’re just a very nice ballclub.”
Gonzaga was the aggressor throughout and spent more than half the game – 21:35 – in the bonus at the free-throw line. The Bulldogs finished 28 of 37 at the stripe with Daye, Sacre and Pendergraft each making 4 of 4.
On several occasions, Gonzaga countered a San Francisco basket by beating the Dons (6-19, 2-8) back down the floor for an easy field goal.
“They advance the ball as quickly as any team I’ve seen in a while,” Sutton said. “Pargo gets it and if somebody’s ahead they get it to them and if nobody’s open Pargo just brings it.”
Steven Gray broke loose for a layup to open the second half, triggering an 8-3 spurt. Kuso’s three-point play boosted Gonzaga in front 63-38 and a pair of Micah Downs free throws provided the biggest lead, 80-54, with 5:41 left.
The Bulldogs scored just five points over the final 6:33, which dropped their overall shooting from the mid-to-upper 50s to 52.1 percent.
Gonzaga 83, USF 63
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| Gonzaga (20-6, 9-1) | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Pendergraft | 21 | 5-6 | 4-4 | 1-4 | 0 | 4 | 17 |
| Sacre | 11 | 1-2 | 4-4 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Pargo | 32 | 3-7 | 5-8 | 0-5 | 7 | 0 | 11 |
| Bouldin | 30 | 4-9 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Gray | 31 | 3-7 | 2-2 | 1-6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Daye | 18 | 3-7 | 4-4 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Sorenson | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gurganious | 9 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Downs | 16 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Kuso | 16 | 2-3 | 3-5 | 3-5 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Heytvelt | 13 | 1-2 | 3-6 | 2-4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Foster | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brown | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 25-48 | 28-37 | 10-35 | 11 | 17 | 83 |
Percentages: FG .521, FT .757. 3-Point Goals: 5-15, .333 (Pendergraft 3-4, Bouldin 1-3, Gray 1-4, Daye 0-1, Sorenson 0-1, Pargo 0-2). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 2 (Pendergraft, Kuso). Turnovers: 17 (Sacre, Pargo 4, Bouldin 3, Gray 2, Daye 2, Gurganious 2, Kuso, Heytvelt 2). Steals: 7 (Pendergraft, Pargo 3, Bouldin, Kuso). Technical Fouls: None.
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| USF (6-19, 2-8) | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Lowhorn | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cavic | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Morgan | 32 | 8-11 | 2-5 | 1-5 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Quezada | 32 | 6-11 | 4-6 | 3-6 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Strong | 12 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Casey | 22 | 2-10 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Perry | 26 | 4-11 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Polakovic | 16 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Hernandez | 27 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Hadley | 33 | 2-7 | 2-2 | 4-5 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Totals | 200 | 25-59 | 9-14 | 12-30 | 14 | 25 | 63 |
Percentages: FG .424, FT .643. 3-Point Goals: 4-14, .286 (Morgan 2-3, Quezada 2-4, Strong 0-1, Perry 0-1, Casey 0-2, Hadley 0-3). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 1 (Quezada). Turnovers: 19 (Morgan 3, Quezada 2, Strong 3, Casey 2, Perry 6, Polakovic 3). Steals: 4 (Quezada, Perry, Hernandez, Hadley).
Halftime–Gonzaga 46, San Francisco 29. A–4500.