For the third consecutive game Gonzaga relied very heavily on seven players, and they all responded by giving everything they had to pick up a win. Once again Gonzaga got off to a shaky start, turning the ball over four out of their first nine possessions, but the bench came in and gave the Zags the pick up needed to overcome the early hole the Bulldog’s were in, and the team took care of the ball extremely well from that point on, committing only 15 turnovers in 45 minutes. San Francisco has as much natural talent and athleticism as any team in the league and had been playing fairly well lately, and they gave the Bulldog’s all they could handle before the Zags pulled away at the end of overtime. Gonzaga was by no means perfect, dominant, or for that matter clearly the better team on Saturday; however, they were able to do enough things well to pick up a huge road win and put themselves back in position to win the WCC title. Over the past three weeks the Zags have faced a huge amount of adversity, but the manner in which they have responded and the effort they have been playing with the past few weeks is truly remarkable and demonstrates that this team still has the heart and desire necessary to win championships, and with one more win they will do just that.

With a seven man rotation each player needs to make significant contributions every game and Saturday’s in win for the Bulldog’s that is exactly what happened. Mallon gave the Zags 13 solid minutes despite his sprained ankle, which was enough to keep the Zags out of serious foul trouble and give the other players enough rest to stay fresh. While his statistics were not eye popping on Saturday, it is this type of effort and contribution that allows other players to succeed and the team to win, which is what Sean has been about throughout his Gonzaga career. Kuso brought his usual toughness and energy inside, getting 8 points and a team high 11 rebounds in just 20 minutes, which is exactly the type of game he must have for the Zags to be successful the rest of the year. With Sean injured and no other true big inside, Kuso must rebound and defend even more than he was asked to earlier in the year, and the past two games he has done both just about as well as he can and been a key factor in the Zags winning both games. With Kuso in some foul trouble and Mallon hurting the Zags were forced to go very small as they have been doing for the past several games. Off the bench Pendo and Micah had to play a lot of minutes in the post and out of position, both are natural wing players, but they responded admirably. With the Zags struggling to score early Coach Few inserted Downs and Pendo into the game and they each responded by knocking down three pointers and getting the team going. David continued to shoot the ball well on his way to seven points, and as he always does he battled hard inside and gathered 9 rebounds to help the Zags win the important battle of the glass against the taller and more athletic Dons. For the second consecutive game Micah scored very well for the Zags and knocked down some early three pointers to help stretch the Dons defense. Downs appears to be shaking off the rust and rounding into form after recovering from his foot injury, and his offensive versatility and length defensively have been huge for the Zags the last two games and the team needs him to continue showing his immense and diverse skill set in order to win the big games in March. With Kuso, Mallon, Down and Pendo handling the inside game well, Gonzaga leaned very heavily on its starting three guard rotation, who all played over 40 minutes and only sat out 5 minutes combined the entire night. Pargo played a solid game and handled the ball all night against the Dons quick guards and provided his toughness and competitiveness which the team has come to rely on; however, he was not as dominate as he has been recently, but he still did a nice job and was pivotal in the victory. It was Bouldin and Raivio that carried most of the load for the Zags on Saturday though. Matt played well beyond his years in a crucial road game, tying his career high with 21 points, on only 11 shots, and also tallying four assist and four rebounds in 44 minutes. After going through some rough spots as he adjusted to the college game, which is normal for all freshmen but Matt’s were a bit more noticeable because he has been counted on so heavily by this year’s team, he has put together some very strong outings recently when the team has needed them most. Saturday Bouldin was very special and played the type of game people can look forward to seeing from him over the next several years as a Bulldog. Saturday Derek once again played well for the Zags and put himself one step closer the WCC player of the year award he deserves. After hitting two important three pointers in the first half, he struggled to shoot the ball from the floor, aside from his improbable half court shot to end the first half, but he found other ways to score and contribute to the win. Derek handed out four assists and more importantly grabbed six rebounds, but it was his ability to get to the free throw line and make free throws that helped the Zags pull out the win. Raivio did a great job making sure the ball was in his hands when the Dons needed to foul and also attacking the Dons’ defense with the dribble when his outside shot was not falling like it usually does. His free throw shooting is his best offensive weapon, he ran his incredible streak to 56 in a row and is shooing 96% for the year, and this year Derek has done a great job getting fouled and scoring points from the line.

With the seven man rotation logging heavy minutes and receiving contributions from each member on Saturday the Zags picked up a must win victory on their quest for at least a share of the regular season league title. The guys need to put their fatigue and soreness behind on Monday in San Diego if they want to reach their goal of being league champions and taking another step toward the program’s ninth consecutive NCCA appearance.