USD limited Gonzaga to 19 points below its average. The Toreros turned the ball over just eight times. USD missed only one free throw.
But this was Gonzaga, in Spokane, Wash., so as well as the Toreros played – and Zags coach Mark Few likely squirmed plenty on the bench — USD simply could not upset the 14th-ranked Bulldogs.Trailing by two points twice with less than five minutes to play, USD watched Gonzaga deliver clutch plays down the stretch to defeat the Toreros 69-59 Thursday night in front of a sellout of 6,000 inside McCarthey Athletic Center.
USD dropped to 15-8, 6-5 in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga improved to 20-4, 10-1, the Zags’ 21st consecutive 20-win season.
And the Toreros’ futility in Spokane drones on. That’s 19 straight losses at Gonzaga. USD is winless since the McCarthey Athletic Center opened in 2004. Try 0-15.
“There’s no moral victories,” head coach Lamont Smith said on the postgame radio broadcast. “We feel we’ve come a long way in our program. We’re not satisfied coming in here losing by 10, being down two points.
“We lost. We’ve got to get better at those crucial, critical points.”
Gonzaga entered the game averaging 9.7 more rebounds than its opponents, fifth in the nation. So Smith and his staff hammered hitting the glass. Box out. Limit offensive rebounds. Limit second-chance points.
Sometimes, though, talent simply wins out. USD was outrebounded 45-37. Second-chance points: Gonzaga 24, USD 7. Points in the paint: Zags 38, Toreros 20.
“We didn’t rebound the basketball,” Smith said by phone. “They were getting offensive rebound putbacks. That’s the difference in the game.”
That, and with the exception of Olin Carter III, USD’s volume shooters were not accurate. Carter scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including 5 of 11 behind the arc.
But the rest of the team was just 12 of 44, 27.3 percent. As a team, USD shot 20 of 61, 32.8 percent. The Toreros came into the game shooting 45.3 percent.
Effort, though, was not an issue. USD trailed at halftime 36-27. The Toreros closed the half on a 1-for-12 shooting funk.
But Carter, then Tyler Williams nailed treys to open the second half, Few signaled timeout barely one minute into the half and it was game on. A Williams corner 3 with 17:39 to play in the game gave USD a 40-38 lead.
“We knew the guys would be resilient and punch back,” said Smith.
But before USD would score again, Gonzaga embarked on an 11-0 run. USD’s shooting during the spurt: 0 for 12.
Still, the Toreros battled back, pulling to within two points twice with less than five minutes. But there’s a reason Gonzaga will make its 20th straight NCAA appearance this season. The Zags deliver come clutch time.
Take away its final possession when Gonzaga ran out the clock and the Bulldogs scored on their final seven possessions.
“It hurts to know we were that close to winning,” said Carter.
Next up? Thirteenth-ranked Saint Mary’s Saturday at home.
“Regardless of what happened tonight,” said Carter, “we’ll be ready to play.”
Norcross is a freelance writer.