Gonzaga smashes Santa Clara

By Steve Silver (contact)

Sunday, March 8, 2009 | 11:20 p.m.

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Santa Clara's John Bryant, left, is fouled by Gonzaga's Will Foster during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the West Coast Conference men's tournament in Las Vegas on Sunday. Gonzaga won 94-59.

With halftime drawing near and No. 14 Gonzaga struggling to pull away from a feisty Santa Clara squad in the West Coast Conference semifinals Sunday night, Bulldogs senior Jeremy Pargo knew he had to do something to spark his heavily favored team.

Pargo's chance came when he managed to wrestle a loose ball away from WCC Player of the Year John Bryant. Pargo regained his footing after the hard-court scrum and launched a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a double-digit lead.

Less than 30 seconds later Pargo knocked down another 3-pointer that ultimately ignited the potent Gonzaga offense to a 94-59 rout of Santa Clara in front of a capacity crowd of 7,845 fans at the Orleans Arena.

"That was the play of the half," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "When (Pargo) is pursuing balls like that and making hustle plays, he's not just a good player, he's a great player."

Pargo finished with 16 points, but it was those two consecutive 3-pointers that really sank Santa Clara's upset bid, as Gonzaga closed the first half on a 17-2 run, while holding the Broncos without a field goal in the final 5:43.

The Bulldogs (25-5, 14-0) took a 48-27 lead into halftime and never slowed down in the second half as Gonzaga cruised to its 12th consecutive WCC final.

Gonzaga mounted a 40-point lead with 4:20 remaining thanks to a seemingly endless assault of alley-oop slam-dunks and accurate 3-point shooting. The Bulldogs connected on a season-high 13 of 22 (59.1 percent) 3-pointers.

"It's hard to stop us when we have our break going and we're having fun," Pargo said. "We were trying to get our break going against a team like that who wants to slow it down."

Sophomore Austin Daye finished with a career-high 28 points, including 15 in the second half, while senior Micah Daye dropped 18 points.

"Gonzaga proved why they are the best team in our conference this year," said Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating.

Although Gonzaga's potent offense certainly lived up to its reputation, the Bulldogs' defense also played a large role in the victory.

Gonzaga forced 22 turnovers and grabbed 24 defensive rebounds. Redshirt senior Josh Heytvelt anchored that defense as he posted up on Bryant, holding the WCC all-star to 13 points and 10 rebounds after Bryant recorded 24 points and 27 rebounds on Saturday night against San Diego.

"(Bryant) was the key," Few said. "You start with him and you end with him when you prepare for Santa Clara … I really think (Heytvelt) has improved 300 percent on his post defense."

Gonzaga will face St. Mary's (25-5, 10-4) at 6:30 p.m. Monday for the conference title and the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The Gaels knocked off Portland 71-61 in the second semifinal on Sunday.

The Bulldogs have won eight of the last 10 WCC tournament titles, losing only to San Diego in 2003 and 2008 – both times on the Toreros' home court.

With the tournament on a neutral court for the first time in its 23-year history, however, the Bulldogs appear poised to cap off a perfect conference record with another WCC title.

"This is the best thing the league has done," Few said about the decision to move the WCC tournament to a neutral site. "You walk into this building, it has a big time feel to it, a big time look to it. I'm sure it presents itself very well on television. But beyond all that it starts with being fair. The way we were doing it in the past was incredibly unfair to every student-athlete."

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or steve.silver@lasvegassun.com.