Web update: Ruff Riders help Bulldogs in Broncos loss
By Matthew Cucuzza
Santa Clara head coach Kerry Keating hoped that the raucous Leavey Center crowd would have a heavy impact on Thursday night's clash with No. 17 Gonzaga.
But he wasn't counting on the Ruff Rider student section to help the Bulldogs pull away late in the game.
The Santa Clara student section was called for two technical fouls for throwing items onto the court in the second half, and the Gonzaga Bulldogs (22-5, 13-0) sank all four free throws en route to an 81-73 victory to remain undefeated in West Coast Conference play.
"In 18 years of coaching, I've never been in a place where anyone has ever thrown anything on the floor before," said Keating. "Our guys work too hard to have stuff like that happen."
The first item was a plastic water bottle thrown from the student section.
"That was unfortunate," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "You have to do something. I think the bottle hit one of our players the first time. It's too bad. There's no place for it in college basketball or professional basketball or any sports."
After the refs called the technical, Keating immediately grabbed the microphone from the scorer's table and asked the fans to refrain from throwing items on the court.
"Show some respect for both teams," Keating said angrily while addressing the crowd. "Cheer then on but don't throw anything onto the floor ever again."
Gonzaga's Matt Bouldin sunk the two ensuing free throws to give the Bulldogs a 66-58 lead with 4:36 remaining in the game.
The Broncos began to lose momentum after that incident. In what was previously a tightly contested game with neither team leading by more than three points in the first 14 minutes of the second half, Santa Clara began to fade away.
Gonzaga led 70-63 with 1:55 remaining on the clock when a rolled up ball of aluminum foil made its way onto the playing field. Referees conferred with one another and assessed another technical foul to the crowd.
The culprit was pointed out by nearby fans and security handled the situation.
On the court, Bouldin once again made both technical free throws and the Bulldogs now led 72-63.
"That's not fair to our guys," Keating said. "It's not fair to everyone in the gym who's there to watch a good game in a great environment."
With tonight's loss, Santa Clara (14-16, 6-7) now drops into a tie with San Diego for fourth in the WCC standings. The top four teams in the Conference are guaranteed a bye in the first round of the WCC Tournament, which begins March 6 in Las Vegas.
Gonzaga has now won five straight games and 14 of their last 15. The Bulldogs have won their last 19 consecutive WCC regular season games. They also clinched their ninth straight WCC title last weekend and will be the No. 1 seed heading into the WCC Tournament.
"We were very efficient on offense down the stretch," said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. "I think that's what won the game for us."
Josh Heytvelt led the Bulldogs with a career-high 29 points and added a team-high nine rebounds.
"He's very efficient with his touches," said Few. "His teammates deserve a lot of credit for that; they're giving him the ball in places where they can be effective."
The Broncos fell behind 12-4 early, but fought back to keep it close throughout the game. John Bryant converted on a layup midway through the first half to put Santa Clara ahead for the first time, 24-23.
"We gave up too many offensive rebounds that led to baskets for them," said Keating referring to Gonzaga's 12 offensive boards.
Kevin Foster led the Broncos with 20 points. John Bryant added 16 points and 11 boards for his 23rd double-double of the season.
Bryant now has 409 rebounds this year and became only the eighth player in the Bay Area to grab 400 or more rebounds in a single season. The center also tied Dennis Awtrey for Santa Clara's record of most rebounds in a single season. Awtrey set the marker during the 1969-70 season.
The Broncos will host Portland Saturday afternoon at the Leavey Center. The game will be the final home hurrah for Santa Clara seniors Calvin Johnson and Bryant.
Tip-off is at 3:00 p.m.
BRONCOS NOTEBOOK:
By Cecile Nguyen
John Bryant collected his 47th double-double of his career which is the second most double-doubles among active Division I players. Washington Huskies' Jon Brockman leads all players with 55. Bryant now leads the nation with 23 double-doubles this season; he was previously tied with Blake Griffin who was missing in action in the Sooners' 87-78 loss Monday with a concussion.
San Diego is the only thing standing in the way of Gonzaga and their third undefeated WCC season. Since the current alignment of the Conference came into effect during the 1980-81 season, no team has gone undefeated three times in Conference play. Pepperdine was perfect in WCC play in 1982 and 1999. The Bulldogs accomplished the feat in 2004 and 2006.
Gonzaga's nine straight WCC regular season titles is the longest active streak in the country and ranks tied for fourth all-time in the NCAA Division I. UCLA's 13 Pac-10 Conference titles from 1967-79 tops that list.
The Bulldogs are 8-1 on the road this season with their lone loss coming at Utah and the Bulldogs are 17-1 when they out rebound their opponents. Gonzaga collected 33 boards compared to Santa Clara's 30.
Be sure to check out thesantaclara.com during the WCC Tournament for up to date news and recaps of the Santa Clara men's and women's basketball teams.