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Bulldogs wrap up eighth straight WCC title

Jim Meehan
Staff writer
March 4, 2008

Gonzaga's Abdullahi Kuso looks to pass against Santa Clara's Cedric Latimer in the first half of the game Monday at the McCarthey Athletic Center. (RAJAH BOSE The Spokesman-Review) Coming up WCC semifinal: Gonzaga will play Sunday at 6:30 p.m. TV: ESPN2

Gonzaga wasn't in the mood to share.

The Bulldogs scored the first 12 points and cruised past Santa Clara 88-54 Monday night, wrapping up an outright West Coast Conference men's basketball championship and sending seniors David Pendergraft and Abdullahi Kuso out on a winning note in their final home game before an appreciative audience of 6,000 at McCarthey Athletic Center.

No. 22 Gonzaga, which has won eight consecutive WCC titles, including seven outright, needed a win to avoid sharing the crown with Saint Mary's.

Several GU players wore "Pendo's Posse" shirts during warm-ups and sophomore guard Matt Bouldin donned a "We Are Brewster" shirt in honor of Pendergraft's high school alma mater.

Pendergraft and Kuso were honored in pregame ceremonies and then delivered another blue-collar effort, combining for 13 points and 11 rebounds. They left to standing ovations: Kuso exiting with 6:05 remaining after he had just scored on a layup and Pendergraft departing with 4:51 left.

"It was fun the whole night, especially with the way we came out and just played hard," Pendergraft said. "I just want to thank my teammates for going out and playing basketball the way it should be played. I used this as more of a celebration of my years here, but it was for everyone – for Kuso and the fans."

Gonzaga (24-6, 13-1 WCC) rolled to its seventh straight win and enters this weekend's WCC tournament in San Diego with considerable momentum. The Bulldogs and second-seeded Saint Mary's have byes into Sunday's semifinals.

"I've been saying for the past couple weeks, I think we just meshed at the right time," Kuso said.

Not much went right for Santa Clara (14-15, 6-8), which lost senior point guard Brody Angley to a concussion early in the first half.

Coach Kerry Keating said Angley was elbowed in the head during a scramble for a loose ball and he's suffering from some memory loss. Angley, the team's second-leading scorer, averages 36.2 minutes and the Broncos struggled offensively without him, finishing with eight assists and 18 turnovers.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs drilled a season-high 13 3-pointers. Freshman guard Steven Gray snapped out of a shooting slump by making 6 of 7 from long distance. Gray scored a season-high 18 points and had his first game with multiple 3s since the first meeting with Saint Mary's on Feb. 4.

"It felt good to finally get something to fall," Gray said. "I went through that Matt Bouldin freshman slump. I was just trying to rep it out after practice and I was just going in relaxed and just playing."

Gonzaga led by 20 late in the first half and added to the margin most of the second half. The Bulldogs made 52.9 percent of their second-half shots and finished at 47.8 percent.

Gonzaga pounded the Broncos 44-29 on the boards. The Bulldogs also registered 19 assists and 12 steals, four by Micah Downs, who was sidelined temporarily with a dislocated middle finger on his left hand. He returned to finish with 10 points.

"I think we're playing great," Pendergraft said. "We can't get full of ourselves. We have to be the hungry dog night in and night out – that's how we're improving. We're not accepting where we are and we know we can get better."

Gonzaga was fortunate to beat Santa Clara in double overtime a month ago, but there wasn't much drama in this one after the Bulldogs raced in front 12-0. Bouldin's three-point play, Pendergraft's layup, the first of Gray's 3-point barrage and a pair of Jeremy Pargo layups gave Gonzaga the early cushion.

Bouldin finished with 14 points and six assists. Pargo added nine points and seven assists. Santa Clara's John Bryant, the WCC's second-leading scorer, had just 10 points and attempted only 11 shots.

Santa Clara made 38.5 percent from the floor, 30.4 percent in the first half.

"I thought our team defense was excellent," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "Our ball pressure was really good, especially in the first half. And again, we had another good offensive sequence where we took care of the ball."

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