Web update: Broncos lose double overtime thriller to Gonzaga

By Ryan Donough

Gonzaga stole what seemed to be a sure Santa Clara victory on Saturday, escaping the Leavey Center with an 87-82 double overtime win over the Broncos.

Santa Clara (11-10, 3-3) appeared to be heading for their first victory over Gonzaga (17-5, 6-0) at home since 2001. They led for all of the second half, while holding Gonzaga's top three scorers (Bouldin, Heytvelt and Pargo) to 20 points combined in regulation.

Gonzaga had the ball with only 14 seconds left in the second half with the Broncos leading 63-61. Pargo drove to the basket but was rejected by Bryant at the basket and the ball deflected off a Pargo, giving the Broncos the ball with 3.2 seconds left in the game.

On the ensuing inbounds, freshman forward Ben Dowdell threw a long pass down the court that was deflected near Santa Clara's free throw line by sophomore guard Jonathan Gunderson toward the sideline in an attempt to run out the clock.

Senior guard Brody Angley, who led the Broncos with a career-high 28 points dove for the ball and fouled freshman guard Stephen Gray with only 0.3 seconds remaining. Gray hit both free throws to send the game to overtime. Angley was understandably disappointed with his mistake at the end of regulation.

"It's hard when you make that kind of mistake and let your teammates down in that situation," Angley said.

Despite the mistake, Head Coach Kerry Keating couldn't have been happier with Angley's play.

"He only had three turnovers in 48 minutes and had the poise to get us into double overtime. I mean that kid is a warrior," Keating said.

Santa Clara and Gonzaga exchanged baskets in the first overtime, but Santa Clara trailed with 23 seconds left and the score 72-70. Angley drove down the lane and kicked the ball across the key to freshman forward Andrew Zimmerman on the block, who made the easy layup to tie the game up with exactly three seconds to play, sending the game to a second overtime

Gonzaga freshman Austin Daye, who scored 13 of his team leading 22 points in overtime, hit two three-pointers and a layup in the second overtime to give the Bulldogs an 80-74 lead with just over two minutes to go. Gonzaga sealed their victory with two free throws from junior guard Jeremy Pargo with just over five seconds left.

Center John Bryan scored 22 points and had 6 rebounds, but fouled out with two minutes left in the first overtime. Sophomore Jonathan Gunderson hit 5-of-9 three pointers for 15 points.

The Broncos will face Portland at the Leavey Center at 8 p.m. Monday night.