As often happens, the Bulldogs struggled much more in their second game following the loss of a key player than they did in the first, Saturday night’s win over St. Mary’s. Facing the most important WCC game of the year Gonzaga got out of the gates very slowly and played tentatively, while the Broncos played extremely confidently and took a very quick 11 point lead before the Zags got on the score board. While the Zags made many great runs, mainly in the second half, to make the game close Santa Clara held their composure and hit huge shots to keep the Zags at bay. While Gonzaga played poorly for the first 28 minutes of the game and dug themselves into too big of a deficit, the Broncos deserve a huge amount of credit as they came into Spokane and played like a team deserving of a WCC regular season title. Aside from committing too many turnovers, especially during the Zags second half run, the Broncos played almost a perfect game, led by their back court. Going into the game the concern was inside for Gonzaga, where Santa Clara boasted the league’s biggest frontline and the Zags were undermanned and undersized. However Gonzaga concentrated so hard on shutting down the Broncos’ size advantage, which they did by holding the four Bronco bigs to a combined 16 points and nine rebounds, that it left the perimeter defense very susceptible and Santa Clara’s four guards took full advantage. Danny Pariseau was great down the stretch, hitting a big lay in and three to end the Bulldog’s chances on his way to 14 points and 6 assists, while his backcourt mate Brody Angley also saved his best play for last as he score the vast majority of his 18 points late in the game. What really set the tone for the game though was the hot start of Scott Dougherty, who hit the two three pointers and a long jump shot in the game’s first four minutes to put the Bulldog’s in a huge hole early. Dougherty’s first basket exposed Gonzaga’s defensive issues for the night best, as the Broncos entered the ball inside and the Zags were forced to double team, Santa Clara did a beautiful job of passing the ball out of the double and finding an open Dougherty on the weak side for a three pointer. The Broncos ability to get the ball into the paint, either on the dribble or pass, and then find the open man for a three was the downfall of the Bulldog’s defense all night. Dougherty hit all four of his threes and all seven shot attempts on his way to a game high 23 points, while reserve Joey Kaempf showed what he can do, shoot threes, off the bench to further the Zags first half deficit. While the Zags were killed by the Broncos four perimeter players, a combined 64 points, the reason theses players were open was because the Zags needed to help inside due to their lack of an imposing defensive presence. On Monday the Gonzaga defense was not at the level required to win a league championship by any means, as they allowed the Bronco’s guards to each play to their strengths, but the Broncos also shot the ball incredibly well regardless of the quality of defense, especially from the three point and free throw lines.

For as good as the Broncos were all night and as much as the Zags struggled early, the Bulldog’s were able to make the game very close late in the second as they responded how champions do to battle back into the game. Gonzaga’s effort and play in their comeback run was inspired basketball and showed this team has what it takes to be champions as they did not give up when things were clearly not going their way; however Gonzaga could just not catch the break needed to get over the top in their comeback. Numerous times in the second half Gonzaga was able to close the gap and needed just one more play to go their way, but without fail the Zags could not get the bounce they needed, as the Zags missed some shots, the Broncos hit some shots, or the ball simply did not bounce the Zags way on a rebound or loose ball. While the come back fell short, it said a great deal about this team who has been through a lot in the last three days, that they fought back in a big game when the game had gone so badly for them most of the night.

In championship type games it usually comes down to rebounding, effort, and defense, and Monday night was no different. For the game’s first thirty minutes Santa Clara dominated the Zags in all three aspects, as they beat the Zags on the glass by a large margin, got to the loose balls, and forced the Bulldog’s into tough perimeter shots, on their way to a 19 point lead. However, in the last ten minutes the Zags came storming back as they got to every loose ball, forced Bronco turnovers, and closed the rebound margin to within one. Unfortunately the hole too big for the Zags to climb out of, and as often happens, Gonzaga had to expend so much energy to get the game close they were unable to pull out the final few plays to get the win.

Offensively the Zags simply could not score inside on Monday against the Broncos huge frontline, which forced Gonzaga to shoot from the perimeter all night. It is nearly impossible to win against quality opponents relying strictly on perimeter scoring with very few scores coming inside, either on post touches, fast breaks, or drives to the goal. Santa Clara was able to really pressure the Bulldog’s guards and contest their outside shots because the Bronco big men were able to be help defenders since they did not have to guard a low block scorer or double on the Zag’s bigs. The Bulldog’s lack of inside presence, which led to as many outside shots as a Gonzaga team has taken in years as evidenced by thirty three point attempts, was what drove the Zag’s shooting percentages down especially early in the game when Gonzaga really had a hard time scoring. Once Gonzaga missed some jump shots early it started to affect their overall confidence as a team shooting the ball, which greatly impacted their free throw shooting as the Zags were a paltry 22-36 on the night. The terrible free throw shooting, without Derek the Zags were 10-24, hurt Gonzaga on Monday. Unlike Saturday, the Zags did a great job getting Santa Clara in foul trouble and getting themselves to line, but they were unable to capitalize and it cost the Zags valuable points in a close game. For most of the season Gonzaga has been a fantastic free throw shooting game and hopefully this was a just a one game aberration and they will regain their confidence and success from the line in the coming games.

The play of Mallon, Pargo and Raivio were the individual bright spots for the Zags Monday and what the team needs out of their three leaders. Mallon had 11 points and a game high 9 rebounds, while also playing great defense against the Bronco’s big men, despite being Gonzaga’s only true post player most of the night and often giving up about seventy pounds in the paint. Pargo got the Zags going early in the game with a couple three pointers and then attacked the basket strong at the end of the game to keep the Zags in the game on his way to 20 points and only 2 turnovers. Derek also showed his leadership on Monday by fighting through a rough start and constant defensive pressure from Santa Clara to score 19 of his 21 points in the second half to spark Gonzaga’s comeback, including an impressive 12-12 from the free throw line, putting points on the board for the Zags while the clock was stop which greatly aided the come back.

While Monday night’s loss was a tough one for the Zags, as it ended the home court win streak, assured them of a ten loss season for the first time in ten years, and put a big dent in the Zags WCC Championship and NCAA at large bid hopes, there positives to the game. Gonzaga’s second half effort was great to see and it displayed the toughness, team work and desire needed to win league championships and NCAA games, showing that this group still has what it takes to reach the lofty expectations of the Gonzaga program this season. Hopefully the Zags can refocus this week and play the rest of the season with the passion and intensity they showed in the second half Monday night, and if they are able to do so a WCC Championship, Conference Tournament Championship, and NCAA tournament win are not out of the question for this Gonzaga Bulldog’s team.