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 Thanks in part to effective shooting from the floor, the
third-ranked Bulldogs outlasted Pepperdine 78-76 Thursday in a West
Coast Conference game at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Gonzaga, starting a front line of 7-foot center Przemek Karnowski,
6-foot-10 forward Kyle Wiltjer and 6-foot-10 forward Domantas
Sabonis, towered over the Waves whose tallest starter, forward Jett
Raines, was 6-foot-7. Gonzaga used that advantage to outrebound the
Waves by a slim 34-29 margin.
The real advantage came in scoring, as those three players combined
for 49 points with Wiltjer's 24 leading Gonzaga (17-1, 6-0).
"We knew size would be a factor," Pepperdine coach Marty Wilson
said. "Their guys could see over our guys, but we didn't defend well
enough. They shot 56 percent. You just can't allow that."
The Bulldogs needed all of the scoring as Pepperdine, which trailed
by as much as 11 in the first half, kept the game close throughout
the second, cutting the lead to one several times.
Aiding the Waves was Gonzaga's abysmal free-throw shooting. Usually
reliable from the line -- the Bulldogs came into the game shooting
73 percent -- Gonzaga made just 14 of 33 (42 percent).
"In a situation like that, there is nothing you can do," Gonzaga
coach Mark Few said. "You can't tell them, 'Hey, go make them.' I
know some people might do that, but I don't think that works."
One of the things fueling Pepperdine was a raucous, sellout crowd.
"I think 100 percent the crowd got them going, and sure helped out,
too," said Gonzaga guard Kevin Pangos, who made just one of four
3-point attempts and missed two of four free throws.
After reserve forward Stacy Davis completed a three-point play to
cut Gonzaga's lead to 77-75, Wiltjer was fouled but could only make
one for a 78-75 lead giving Pepperdine a chance to tie.
Waves guard Jeremy Major was intentionally fouled with 1.9 seconds
left, made the first and intentionally missed the second but the
rebound was grabbed by Pangos, who held on to the ball until the
final buzzer sounded.
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In the first half, Gonzaga took advantage of its height as it
outrebounded the Waves 18-12 and blocked four shots.
"It reminded me of playing in AAU against guys older than you,"
Davis said. "But we have a team that isn't intimidated. We figure
they've got five guys, we've got five guys."
Unfortunately for Pepperdine, the Bulldogs were just as dangerous
away from the basket.
The Waves came into the game ranked first in the nation in
three-point field percentage defense with opponents making just 23.7
percent of their attempts. Gonzaga shot 66 percent (4 of 6) from
behind the arc.
Pepperdine stayed relatively close due to Gonzaga's woeful 4-of-13
showing from the foul line. That was largely responsible for
allowing Pepperdine, which trailed 24-13 midway through the half, to
hang around and get the deficit to 40-31, by halftime.
NOTES: Thursday's game was delayed a half-hour because Gonzaga's
team bus was caught in a backup on the Pacific Coast Highway. A
fallen utility pole forced three lanes into one and kept the
Bulldogs from arriving at Firestone Fieldstone until about 7 p.m. PT
for a scheduled 7:30 p.m. start. The game eventually tipped off at
8:03. ... The game featured a couple of sons of former NBA players:
Pepperdine's Lamond Murray Jr.'s father, Lamond Murray, played in
the NBA from 1994 to 2006; Gonzaga's Domantas Sabonis is the son of
Lithuania's Arvydas Sabonis, a Hall of Famer who played eight
seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and is arguably one of the
greatest European players ever.
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