Heytvelt spells GU

SAN DIEGO – Gonzaga didn’t have its A game – maybe not even its C game – but the Bulldogs played a substantial amount of ‘D’ in the second half, they saw a glimpse of the old Josh Heytvelt and they made free throws in the last nine minutes.

As a result, they again proved to be a thorn in Santa Clara’s season.

The top-seeded Bulldogs knocked off No. 4 Santa Clara for the third time, following up a double-overtime thriller and a 34-point blowout with a grinding effort that wasn’t pretty to the eye, but effective on the scoreboard. GU’s 52-48 victory in the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals Sunday in front of an announced sell-out audience of 5,100 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion vaulted the Bulldogs back into a familiar position.

The 22nd-ranked Bulldogs (25-6) will play for the tournament championship for the 11th straight season. They’ve won the last four and eight of the previous nine.

“That was a hard-earned March tournament win,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We had to dig very deep to find a way to win that thing. For long stretches of that game Santa Clara played harder than us and I don’t want to sound cliché-ish but they just wanted it more, beating us to balls and executing offensively very crisply. When you allow them to do that, they’re a very skilled team.”

Gonzaga struggled with turnovers. Guards Jeremy Pargo and Matt Bouldin each had four turnovers as GU finished with 17 in a low-possession game. Santa Clara jumped in front 11-3 and was on top 15-10 when Heytvelt entered the game.

He scored on the low block, made 1 of 2 free throws and connected on two 3-pointers – sandwiched around a Micah Downs’ 3 to help Gonzaga pull even at 24 with 4:50 remaining. Austin Daye also contributed six points and six rebounds as GU edged in front 28-25 at intermission.

“I was just feeling good,” said Heytvelt, who finished with 15 points, his most since scoring 15 against San Diego on Jan. 19th. “I played hard and did what I could do to help my team win.”

He also made his free throws. After going 7 of 16 in Gonzaga’s last five games, Heytvelt was 5 of 6 at the stripe.

But it was Heytvelt’s and Daye’s defense that drew the majority of Few’s praise. Heytvelt and teammate Abdullahi Kuso battled inside against 6-foot-10, 305-pound John Bryant and held the All-WCC center to 12 points – six below his average – on 6-of-14 shooting.

“He had maybe the best defensive game he’s had for us,” Few said of Heytvelt, “and that’s tough duty with Bryant. He’s a load down there, and you also have to show for the ball screens they run for (point guard) Brody Angley.”

Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating had a different viewpoint.

“We did everything we had to do to win,” he said. “Obviously we didn’t get to the free-throw line as much as we’d like to. It’s hard to believe John could play in a game that physical and not shoot one free throw. That’s on us as much as anyone else. We certainly had our opportunities to win.”

Daye’s eight points and eight rebounds were important, but it was his three blocked shots and defensive awareness that made a bigger impact.

“At the start of the year, quite frankly he wasn’t defending like that,” Few said. “He wasn’t defending at all, but now he is. Now, we trust him in there. He’s made big plays for us down the stretches of these games. With the way he scores it, and he’s doing that at the other end, he’s really valuable.”

Gonzaga, which never led by more than five, found itself down 37-34 after Angley, who suffered a concussion in Monday’s loss to Gonzaga, stepped around a screen for an 18-foot jumper. Downs’ 3-pointer returned the lead to Gonzaga for good.

The Bulldogs scored their next six points at the foul line and, after Santa Clara closed to 49-48, Pargo made a pair of free throws and Kuso hit one of two.

“When you’re in the bonus late in the game, free throws win games and lose games,” Pargo said. “It won a game for us tonight.”

Gonzaga 52, Santa Clara 48

Percentages: FG .413. FT .571. 3-Point Goals: 6-16, .375 (Gunderson 0-1, Angley 1-3, Dowdell 0-3, Henke 2-3, C Johnson 3-5, Latimer 0-1). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 1 (Bryant). Turnovers: 14 (Bryant 5, Angley 2, Mbanugo, Dowdell 2, C Johnson 4). Steals: 11 (Gunderson, Bryant 2, Angley 3, Dowdell 2, Henke 2, D Johnson). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .421. FT .778. 3-Point Goals: 6-20, .300 (Bouldin 0-4, Daye 0-3, Heytvelt 2-2, Pendergraft 1-3, Pargo 0-2, Downs 2-4, Gray 1-2). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 4 (Bouldin, Daye 3). Turnovers: 17 (Bouldin 4, Daye 4, Pendergraft, Kuso 2, Pargo 4, Downs, Gray) Steals: 5 (Bouldin 2, Daye, Heytvelt). Technical Fouls: None. Halftime–Gonzaga 28, Santa Clara 25. A–5,100.