Posts Tagged ‘Portland site’
Zags’ unlikely game-winner is gift that keeps giving
By Andrew Greif
PORTLAND, Ore. — Call it Demetri’s Dagger, redux.
When they were herded into the Gonzaga locker room 10 minutes after the Bulldogs’ last-second, 83-81 win over Western Kentucky, reporters found the entire team congregated around a single 18-inch monitor replaying the series of events that led to a wild Zags celebration at midcourt of the Rose Garden.
Western Kentucky got a tip-in with 7.9 seconds left to tie it at 81. Down nearly the entire game, the Hilltoppers had to keep Gonzaga from going the length of the court, without a timeout, to reach their second straight Sweet Sixteen.
They didn’t.
As the Zags watched on the TV monitor, freshman reserve Demetri Goodson drove the entire court, passing Orlando Mendez-Valdez at the 3-point line on a hesitation move, and shot a floater from the left side that banked in with 0.9 seconds left on the clock.
Analysis: 4 Gonzaga def. 12 Western Kentucky
4 Gonzaga 83
12 Western Kentucky 81
South Region second round • Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
By Doug Tifft
– Trailing by seven points with less than two minutes left, Western Kentucky rallied to tie the game with a 3-pointer by Orlando Mendez-Valdez and a breakaway dunk and a tip-in by Steffphon Pettigrew. But Gonzaga freshman guard Demetri Goodson took the inbounds pass after Pettigrew tied it with 7.2 seconds left and drove the length of the court, laying the ball in with 0.9 seconds to save the Bulldogs.
Analysis: 5 Purdue def. 4 Washington
5 Purdue 76
4 Washington 74
West Region second round • Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
By Jim Reedy
– Purdue exploded early and staved off collapse to win a very solid, suspenseful college basketball game and break through to the Sweet Sixteen after going out in the second round the past two years. JaJuan Johnson did what Jarvis Varnado could not, giving the Boilers a tall, skilled counterpart to Jon Brockman’s bruising inside for the Huskies. He and his teammates had just enough to hold on after Isaiah Thomas figured out how to get into lane at will.
At the Arena: Cozying up
Andrew Greif of the Oregon Daily Emerald reports from Portland:
Outgoing Oregon athletics director is good friends with Gonzaga coach and Oregon alum Mark Few, whose parents still live in his hometown of Creswell, 9 miles away from Eugene. Few has been the source of rumors for the past three seasons about becoming the probable object of Oregon’s affection when they search for a new head coach.
Few sat on Gonzaga’s bench Thursday night only 10 feet away from Kilkenny’s spot at the scorer’s table. Kilkenny has said he will meet with Oregon coach Ernie Kent this week to talk about the future, after he fired the women’s basketball coach at Oregon on Monday. Sitting this close to Few, no matter how unavoidable, has been magnified by media all week.
Analysis: 4 Gonzaga def. 13 Akron
4 Gonzaga 77
13 Akron 64
South Region first round • Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
By Jim Reedy
–You know what I always say when a team is struggling to put away an underdog opponent? Maybe you should go on a 27-4 run. Yeah, I bet a 27-4 run would do the trick. Well, for once, somebody took my advice. Gonzaga spent three-quarters of the game wrestling with this gutty Akron bunch before Josh Heytvelt, Micah Downs and Matt Bouldin helped turned a six-point deficit into a 70-53 lead with four minutes left.
Analysis: 12 Western Kentucky def. 5 Illinois
12 Western Kentucky 76
5 Illinois 72
South Region first round • Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
By Zachary Osterman
– I noticed this earlier this season and it hurt the Illini tonight: They are a great “team” team — they share the ball well, move it around, etc. — but when they need one guy to step up, he’s not there. Mike Davis is better than advertised, Trent Meacham tried and Demetri McCamey might get there eventually, but right now, this team has no go-to player.
At the Arena: Husky heartburn
Brandon Wright of the Reflector reports from Portland:
– Jon Brockman, Washington’s bruising center, took a hard spill while grabbing a rebound in the second half, causing his mother some anguish in the stands. That’s nothing new, though. “She stays worried the entire game,” Brockman said. She can hardly watch it.”
– UW fans went to great lengths to obtain tickets to the games in Portland. Mississippi State tried to prevent tickets from falling into the wrong hands by selling them only to Bulldog Club members. According to a club spokesman, membership was up by about 50 members (minimum donation $100) by the time all the tickets sold out.
Analysis: 4 Washington def. 13 Mississippi State
4 Washington 71
13 Mississippi State 58
West Region first round • Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
By Doug Tifft
In a game that was not overly pretty to watch on the offensive end, Washington utilized an outstanding gameplan devised by head coach Lorenzo Romar to hold the Bulldogs to 32 percent shooting. Romar was willing to make Bulldog forwards Kodi Augustus and Elgin Bailey beat his team, rather than Phil Turner, Dee Bost and Barry Stewart.
Analysis: 5 Purdue def. 12 Northern Iowa
5 Purdue 61
12 Northern Iowa 56
West Region first round • Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
By Jim Reedy
– This game nearly made me rip my face off in exasperation. Not so much because there weren’t good or exciting plays, but because Purdue was playing just well enough to keep the Panthers at arm’s length. It wasn’t a great performance and it wasn’t (really) a close game, despite some mild last-minute drama. Just a plodding margin of 8-10 points the whole way, it seemed. Like the Boilermakers, I was just trying to survive and advance.
