Gonzaga zapped by altitude

Steve Addy

Friday, March 24, 2000 | 10:50 a.m.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Gonzaga had the affection of the locals, but Purdue had the legs.

In the energy-sapping, mile-high altitude of New Mexico, fresh legs proved more valuable than the throaty support of Lobos fans who had adopted cuddly Gonzaga as their home team.

In Purdue's 75-66 victory over the Zags in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday, both teams admitted to surprising weariness after playing the opening 7:20 without a timeout.

But Gonzaga does not have Purdue's depth, and the early stretch seemed to rob the jump-shooting Zags of their zest for the remainder of the night. While Gonzaga players stood flat-footed, the Boilermakers got almost every key rebound and displayed far more defensive spring.

The teams missed the media timeout at the 16:00 mark because there were no fouls or sideouts to stop the clock. It continued to run until Gonzaga's Matt Santangelo fouled at the 12:40 mark.

The Zags had taken a 10-4 lead and were still up 13-10 when the clock finally stopped, but they seemed heavy-legged after the timeout. Purdue outscored them 25-9 the rest of the half to gain a 35-22 lead, and Gonzaga never got closer than five thereafter.

"That run in the first half without a timeout really took a lot of gas out of our guys," said Zags coach Mark Few, whose starters played 84 of 100 minutes in the first half.

"We don't have a lot of depth and (our starters) have to log a lot of minutes," Gonzaga guard Richie Frahm said. "That had to take a toll on us in the long run."

In the short run, too. By halftime, Purdue held a 25-13 rebound edge, including 10-3 offensive. Those stats finished at 44-33 and 20-13 in the Boilermakers' favor. They grabbed four offensive boards in a span of 1:19 in the second half and Greg McQuay put back two for layups, the latter for a 61-45 lead with 6:08 to go.

"The long stretch with (no fouls) probably was the difference," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "It seemed like our depth wore them down, and then we were able to get some transition baskets on them."

McQuay said, "In the first five minutes, I was very exhausted and I know Gonzaga was, too. But we had depth to our advantage. We were able to keep subbing."

* SWIFT STAYING? LSU power forward Stromile Swift has been the topic of rumors that he'll head to the NBA this spring, but the sophomore hinted that Thursday's 61-48 loss to Wisconsin was not his last game for the Tigers. Swift had 12 points and 10 rebounds, but played a dreadful game.

"I consider this game a learning experience," he said. "I believe we can get here next year, and probably go even further. I will be in Baton Rouge this summer working hard like I did last year, and hopefully we can get past this hump next year."

* SANTANGELO'S SENDOFF: Matt Santangelo, Gonzaga's point guard, did not have a fond farewell to his college career. After compiling 42 points in the Zags' two NCAA victories, he scored only nine on 4-of-18 shooting against Purdue. The Boilermakers shut down Richie Frahm, and Santangelo was unable to pick up the slack.

"It seemed like my shots were all coming up short," he said. "After we gave a little tribute to the crowd after the game, we ran off the floor and up the ramp. That was when it hit me that this is the last time I'd feel any of this. It's very emotional. It's going to be tough dealing with the fact that I'll never put this uniform on again."

Santangelo, who will participate in the NBA predraft camps, broke John Stockton's school record for assists in a career (668).

* THIS AND THAT: Tickets for next year's West subregional at Cox Arena in San Diego sold out in less than 10 hours Wednesday. Boise is the West's other first- and second-round site next year. ... Gonzaga's loss was the first by a West Coast Conference team in the Sweet 16. Before that, all seven WCC contestants advanced. ... Coach Gene Keady, on the chance to get to the Final Four for the time in 20 years at Purdue: "I'd still rather make a 20-foot putt against my buddies."