 "Photo: Kaitlin Bailey")
The Gonzaga Bulldogs overcame a slow start to cruise to 90-55 victory over Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne University Friday night. Rob Sacre led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds as the Zags dominated down low throughout the game. Matt Bouldin, Steven Gray and Demetri Goodson all scored in double-digits for the Bulldogs.
Both teams came out of the gate rusty, with the scoreboard remaining at 0-0 for the first three minutes of the game. Bouldin finally got the Zags on the board with a nice hook in the paint, a sign of things to come as the Bulldogs scored down low all night.
“We utilized our size on one end and tried not to make it a disadvantage on the other end,” Head Coach Mark Few said.
Bouldin’s shot was the beginning of a 7-0 run for the Zags, a lead they continued to build on using tight man-to-man defense. The Bulldogs held IPFW scoreless through the first eight minutes of the game until Mastodon guard Zach Plackemeier converted a lay up to cut the Zags lead to 13-2. Gonzaga held IPFW to 30.8 field goal percentage for the game, while the Bulldogs shot 62.7 percent from the field on the other end of the court.
The Zags pounded the ball down low throughout the game against an IPFW team with only one player over 6 feet 8 inches. The Mastodons could not stop Sacre in the paint.
“Advantage one of playing against a small lineup is that you know they’re not going to block your shot and a disadvantage is that they’re quick,” Sacre said. “You have to move your feet, and try to do the best you can, and try not to get into foul trouble.”
By half time the Bulldogs were up 42-24. However, despite a meager start the Mastodons never gave up. They started the second half with 6-0 run to bring the score to 42-30.
“Indiana-Purdue never quit, they kept coming at us,” Few said. “They’re a hard-nosed, scrappy team that wanted to fight.”
Elias Harris got the Bulldogs back on track with two fast break dunks that brought the Kennel to life. The rest of the game was all Gonzaga.
Few went to his bench in the second half as the Zags pulled away.
“We had a good effort out of everybody that got into the basketball game,” Few said.
Fourteen players on the roster got in for the Bulldogs, including freshmen Bol Kong, who made his Gonzaga debut. Kong showed his offensive potential with eight points in 10 minutes of play.
The Mastodons were unfortunate to play a Gonzaga team coming off a close loss to Michigan State University.
“We really focused in on this game,” Sacre said. “We’ve been fired up since the loss to Michigan State and we know what we need to do to be successful. We’re just going to keep pushing each other to be successful.”
The Zags now travel to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, where they’ll play three games in three days starting with the University of Colorado on Monday. They then face either the University of Wisconsin or the University of Arizona.
“It’s the greatest tournament out there,” Few said. “It’s basketball at its purest sense. It’s a tiny gym. You get 20 minutes to warm up. You get five minutes in the locker room. It takes the fluff out of it. It’s just basketball.”
Few admits that his young team has not yet reached its full potential, but it has not been for a lack of effort.
“We could be eons better than we are right now,” Few said. “But as far as their effort and their attitude and their willingness to try they’ve been phenomenal.”
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