As he has done all year Derek carried the scoring load for the Zags when they needed it most, in tonight’s case throughout the first half. With the Zags struggling to score and the Broncos hanging in the game Derek scored 15 points in the first half, and then hit four huge free throws at the end to ice the game, on his way to another 25 point game. Santa Clara did not give Derek many good looks from three-point land, but Raivio showed his maturation as a player by taking advantage of what the Broncos gave him, getting most of his 25 points from 2-point range. Not only has Derek improved over his career scoring the ball, especially creating shots for himself inside the three-point line, but he has made even larger jumps in his defense and rebounding. Derek solid on the defensive end, gathering a couple steals and being the vocal leader in the zone, while he once again had a solid rebounding game from the guard position. With Gonzaga badly needing to win their first road game of the year in order to get a leg up on the league competition Derek made significant contributions in all facets of the game and strengthened his case to continue the Bulldog’s run of WCC Player of the Year award winners.

Along with Derek’s great game the Zags got a very balanced effort from the rest of the team. After a first half plagued by foul trouble, Josh responded well in the second half on his way to 12 points and 7 rebounds. Josh has had flashes of very good play throughout the year, but once he becomes more consistent and can stay out of early foul trouble so he plays more minutes, Josh will put up very good numbers for Gonzaga and make them a very difficult team to beat. Jeremy and Sean each reached double figures despite slow starts offensively, and Pendo competed hard all night, often having to guard Santa Clara’s big men which were quite a bit larger than him. It is this type of balanced effort from the entire team this Zags team needs in order to be successful in league play and to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, because depth and balance are this team’s strong points as they lack a truly dominant force such as JP or Adam.

Coming out of the half the Zags changed from playing predominately man-to-man defense to relying on their zone. This change threw the Broncos out of rhythm and Gonzaga was able to extend their lead to double digits and hold it there for a large portion of the second half. The Zags were successful in the zone because all five players flew around to challenge outside shooters, and the big men were active denying the Bronco big men the ball and blocking shots. For a program often seen as mediocre defensively, namely for allowing too many open three point shots in the zone, it was great to see the Zags’ zone work so well tonight and lead to an important road victory. Gonzaga was also able to close out their defensive possession with a good rebound effort, out rebounding a very good rebounding Bronco team by four boards.

Aside from the big league win and gaining confidence that they can have success in hostile environments, the biggest positive of the game was the debut of Micah Downs. It was great to see the ultra talented transfer make his long awaited appearance in a Bulldog uniform, but even better to see him contribute to the team’s success. While he has not played much in practice due to injury and has not played in a game in over year, Downs showed little rust, immediately grabbing a rebounding and getting an assist to Heytvelt on a beautiful lob. Along with the pass and rebound Micah showed his versality by scoring on a drive to the hoop and then hitting a huge three pointer to give the Zags the lead in the first half. As he becomes more comfortable in the system and get his legs under him Downs has the potential to become a major contributor for the Zags in all aspects of the game and gives the team a piece it needs against top level competition. Micah’s length, skill set, and athleticism are a rare combination and once he puts everything together he has the chance to be one of the programs’ great players.