No. 13 Gonzaga rallies past Santa Clara 71-64

[January 29, 2010]  SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray each scored 19 points, and No. 13 Gonzaga rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to beat Santa Clara 71-64 on Thursday night for its ninth straight victory.

Elias Harris had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulldogs (17-3, 6-0 West Coast Conference), who closed with a 12-0 run over the final 5:55 and beat the Broncos for the eighth straight time.

Niyi Harrison scored 14 points to lead the Broncos (9-14, 1-5), who have lost seven of their past eight home games. Robert Smith added 13 points and Marc Trasolini had 12.

Harris hit a pair of free throws with 6:17 left to bring Gonzaga within two. Michael Santos converted a three-point play to extend the lead to 64-59, but Santa Clara never scored again.

Robert Sacre hit one of two free throws before Bouldin made a steal and fed Gray for a 3-pointer that pulled the Bulldogs to 64-63 with 5:09 remaining.

Mangisto Arop gave Gonzaga its first lead since early in the game on a putback with 4:02 to go. The Zags controlled the offensive boards, 11-6.

Sacre hit a short jump hook to make it 67-64, then the Broncos missed two attempts at a tying 3-pointer. With a second left on the shot clock, Gray hit a layup to put the Zags up by five with 19 seconds to go. After a turnover, Bouldin sealed it with a layup with 7 seconds left.

Harris is averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds during the Zags' winning streak.

Gonzaga has not lost at Santa Clara since 2001.

Trasolini hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Broncos a 13-point edge with 15:31 remaining. After the Bulldogs scored a basket, Troy Payne's three-point play made it a 14-point cushion with 15 minutes to go.

Gonzaga gradually chipped away, then used an 8-1 spurt to cut it to 61-59 with 6:17 left.

Santa Clara's quick start in the second half prompted Gonzaga coach Mark Few to call a timeout, which the officials did not hear at first because of the crowd noise.

The Broncos got their fans involved early, grabbing the lead from the start. Gonzaga made a run and Santa Clara answered, building a double-digit advantage by capitalizing on 12 Bulldogs turnovers in the first half.

Raymond Cowels hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give Santa Clara a 31-21 lead with just more than four minutes left in the opening half. The Bulldogs closed the gap to 38-33 by halftime.

[Associated Press]

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