• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

No.4 Gonzaga Wins 19th Straight Game

Posted on: Monday, 8 March 2004, 06:00 CST

Ronny Turiaf put back two of his own misses in the final minute, including the game-winner with 5 seconds left, in the fourth-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs' 19th straight victory, 63-62 over Santa Clara in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament Sunday night.

"I had a pathetic first half," Turiaf said, laughing while he read his 3-for-13 shooting line on the stat sheet. "I did a good job sticking with the program and knew that at some point I'd make a play to put my team in position to win."

Doron Perkins' scintillating shooting and the Broncos' inside banging knocked Gonzaga (26-2) off its game.

Santa Clara (16-16) built an 11-point lead midway through the second half and was poised for the upset before the Bulldogs came through at the end.

"We did not play our 'A' game," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "These are the types of games we see teams across the country losing. We haven't had one of these in a while. To dig it out is important, especially this time of year. You need to win these types of games in March."

In other games involving ranked teams, it was: No. 24 Syracuse 67, No. 7 Connecticut 56; No. 9 Kentucky 82, Florida 62; Southwest Missouri State 80, No. 15 Southern Illinois 74; No. 18 Illinois 64, Ohio State 63; No. 21 Kansas 84, Missouri 82; and No. 22 Arizona 106, Arizona State 81.

Cory Violette, Gonzaga's only consistent offense for most of the game, converted a three-point play with 2:42 remaining to cut Santa Clara's lead to 58-56, setting up a madcap final two minutes that saw the lead change five times.

After Adam Morrison forced Perkins into a missed 3-point attempt, Blake Stepp hit a 3 to give Gonzaga its first lead at 1:41.

"Luckily, we know how to win," said Stepp, 2-for-9 before that shot. "That's what it came down to. This is a good experience for us."

Perkins, who finished with 26 points and five 3-pointers, made two free throws with 57 seconds left before Turiaf scored his first putback.

Travis Niesen scored to give Santa Clara the lead again with 25 seconds left. Turiaf missed a short jumper on the other end, then leaped over a defender to get the rebound and convert the winning basket. Kyle Bailey missed a desperation 3-point shot at the buzzer.

"We had them where we wanted them," Perkins said. "But they had more experience. We'll learn from it."

Violette finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, Stepp added 11 points, and Turiaf had 10 points and 12 boards.

"He had been frustrated," Few said of Turiaf. "I thought he got fouled on almost every shot, but he was not getting the calls. He was frustrated, but to his credit he stayed with his game."

After the final buzzer, Gonzaga's student section stormed the court and headed toward the rowdy Santa Clara student section. Security and tournament officials hustled to hold them back.

Gonzaga will play second-seeded Saint Mary's on Monday night for the championship and an automatic NCAA tournament berth. The Gaels defeated Pepperdine 79-74 in the first semifinal, but have lost 16 straight to the Bulldogs.

Santa Clara began the second half with a 14-4 spurt, making four 3-pointers, including two straight by Bailey and the other two by Perkins.

No. 24 Syracuse 67, No. 7 Connecticut 56

Gerry McNamara scored 24 points and Craig Forth had 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead Syracuse over visiting Connecticut.

It was the fifth straight win for Syracuse (21-6, 11-5 Big East) and erased what had been an imposing jinx against the Huskies (24-6, 12-4), who were led by Charlie Villanueva (13 points). Emeka Okafor, playing in pain, had nine rebounds but a season-low two points, taking only two shots in 32 minutes.

No. 9 Kentucky 82, Florida 62

At Lexington, Ky., Gerald Fitch scored 21 points and Erik Daniels added 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists to lead Kentucky past Florida.

The Wildcats (23-4, 13-3 Southeastern Conference) beat the Gators (18-9, 9-7) for the sixth straight time, and eighth in the last nine meetings.

SW Missouri State 80, No. 15 Southern Illinois 74

At St, Louis, Merrill Andrews scored 16 points to lead Southwest Missouri State (19-13) to an upset over Southern Illinois in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

The Salukis (25-4) won the regular-season title with a 17-1 conference record and are still expected to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament - as they have the past two years. The last 10 MVC regular-season champions have reached the NCAAs.

Darren Brooks led Southern Illinois with 15 points.

No. 18 Illinois 64, Ohio St. 63

At Columbus, Ohio, Deron Williams' free throw with 16.5 seconds left provided the final margin in Illinois' win over Ohio State, securing the Illini's first outright Big Ten title in 52 years.

Dee Brown scored 18 points for the Illini (22-5, 13-3), who have won at least a share of a Big Ten title in three of the last four seasons and four of the last seven. They also won their 10th in a row - their longest streak since winning the first 11 games of the 1989-90 season.

Terence Dials scored 22 points for Ohio State (14-15, 6-10).

No. 21 Kansas 84, Missouri 82

At Columbia, Mo., reserve David Padgett scored with 2 seconds left to give Kansas a victory over Missouri in the final game at the 32-year-old Hearnes Center.

Wayne Simien scored 22 points for Kansas (20-7, 12-4 Big 12).

Arthur Johnson scored a career-high 37 points for Missouri (15-12, 9-7).

No. 22 Arizona 106, Arizona St. 81

At Tucson, Ariz., Salim Stoudamire and Hassan Adams each scored 21 points, and Chris Rodgers added a career-high 20 points as Arizona (19-8, 11-7 Pac-10) wrapped up its regular season.

Arizona State (10-17, 4-14) finished last and didn't qualify for the tournament.

More News in this Category