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Zags clean up in debut

Bulldogs protect ball in exhibition victory

Jim Meehan  •  Staff writer
Published November 2, 2008

BULLDOGS 96 WILDCATS 45 Nov. 15: Montana State-Billings at Gonzaga, 4 p.m. TV: KHQ 6

There was any number of things to pick off the stat sheet that would have been positives, but Gonzaga men's basketball coach Mark Few zeroed in on the No. 2.

That was the Bulldogs' turnover total in a 54-point first half. By the end of Saturday's 96-45 exhibition rout of Wayne State College in front of a sellout crowd of 6,000 at the McCarthey Athletic Center, Gonzaga had committed just seven turnovers while racking up 21 assists.

"Two turnovers in a half and we're playing fast, that's probably something we couldn't do last year," said Few, whose 2007-08 team was slowed at times by turnover-prone stretches.

The individual highlights were plentiful.

Josh Heytvelt made 8 of 10 shots and scored a game-high 19 points in just 14 minutes.

Austin Daye scored GU's first eight points and finished with 14 in 17 minutes.

Micah Downs had 12 points, five assists and three steals.

Will Foster added nine points and Ira Brown chipped in eight points and nine rebounds.

Heytvelt, playing pain-free after having off-season foot/ankle surgery, scored inside on a couple of jump hooks, hit several midrange jumpers and outran the Wildcats for a couple of easy layups in transition.

Daye, admittedly rusty at the Midnight Madness scrimmage two weeks ago, made a pair of 3-pointers in the first 2 minutes and finished 5 of 7 from the floor. He spent most of the summer resting a knee injury.

"I was struggling for a long while, but it was all mental," the sophomore forward said. "I came in earlier (Saturday) and got some shots up and that helped."

Point guards Jeremy Pargo and Demetri Goodson combined for nine assists and no turnovers.

"Coach Few harps on (turnovers) day after day at practice," Brown said. "What he wants us to do is control the ball, push it up in a manner where if we can get an easy bucket we do it, but if not, just pull it out."

True freshmen Goodson (five points, three assists), Andy Poling (seven points, three boards) and Grant Gibbs (two points, two rebounds) had solid debuts.

Goodson is expected to back up Pargo. Few said no decision has been made on whether Poling or Gibbs will redshirt.

"I watched all the (Gonzaga) games on TV back in Iowa, but you don't get the full effect unless you're out there playing and you feel like everybody's behind you," said Gibbs, a 6-foot-4 wing from Marion, Iowa.

Wayne State, an NCAA Division II school from Wayne, Neb., stayed close for the first 10 minutes before Gonzaga rattled off 14 unanswered points for a 38-17 lead. Late in the first half, GU had made 21 of 26 shots and led 48-21.

Percentages: FG .34, FT .66.7. 3-pointers: 5-18, .27.8 (Walters 2-5, Miler1-1, Stokelin 1-1, Spiker 1-1, Jackman 0-1, Humphries 0-1, Messersmith 0-1, Delano 0-1, Thomas 0-4). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 2 (Miller, Trueblood). Turnovers: 23 (Thomas 7, Spiker 4, Stokelin 3, Jackman 3, Walters 2, Miller, Rudloff). Steals: 2 (Metz, Miller).

Percentages: FG .55.4, FT .68. 3-Pointers: 7-14, .50 (Daye 2-2, Bouldin 2-2, Downs 2-4, Gray 1-5, Gibbs 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 6 (Day 3, Poling 2, Gray). Turnovers: 7 (Bouldin 2, Pontarolo-Maag, Gibbs, Foster, Brown). Steals: 10 (Downs 3, Bouldin 2, Pargo, Goodson, Pontarolo-Maag, Poling, Brown).

Halftime–Gonzaga 54, Wayne State 25. A–6,000.