| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Basketball fans around the nation
will be getting another chance to properly pronounce "Gonzaga."
Casey Calvary scored 28 points as Gonzaga, which came within a
win of the Final Four last season, earned an automatic NCAA
tournament berth by defeating Pepperdine 69-65 in overtime Monday
night in the West Coast Conference championship game.
|  | | Gonzaga's Casey Calvary, who scored a game-high 28 points, battles Pepperdine's Tommie Prince, left, and Kelvin Gibbs. |
Ryan Floyd added 14 points and Richie Frahm had seven of his 12
points in overtime as Gonzaga (24-8) won the conference tournament
for the second straight season.
"I'm just happy to be back at the Dance," Gonzaga's Matt
Santangelo said, referring to the NCAA Tournament. "It's just nice
to come down and get it out of the committee's control and do it
ourselves."
Gonzaga scored the first eight points of overtime, capping that
run with a 3-pointer by Frahm, and then held off Pepperdine. Tezale
Archie had a chance to tie the game with 4 seconds remaining, but
missed a 3-pointer, and Floyd added a late free throw.
Craig Lewis had 17 points for Pepperdine (24-8), which still
hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Archie added 12
points for the Waves, who won the WCC's regular-season title.
Gonzaga stormed into national prominence last year by defeating
Minnesota, Stanford and Florida in the NCAA tournament, losing by
five points to eventual champion Connecticut in a regional final.
The Zags spent much of their time during last year's NCAA
tournament trying to educate reporters and fans that their school
name is pronounced "Gon-ZAG-uh" instead of "Gon-ZA-guh."
Calvary said he expects the same process this season.
"People will never quite figure out how to pronounce it, and
that's fine with us," he said. "We play better when we're the
underdog."
Trailing by four points at halftime, Pepperdine pulled within
51-50 on a basket by Craig Lewis to complete a 6-0 run with 12:39
remaining. The Waves trailed 56-54 with 5½ minutes left when Nick
Sheppard missed a dunk that would have tied the game.
Calvary responded with a follow shot to make it 58-54, but
Pepperdine's Brandon Armstrong rebounded his own miss and scored on
a layup with 1:40 left.
Sheppard finally pulled Pepperdine into a tie on a follow shot
with 43 seconds left, and Gonzaga lost the ball under the basket on
its next possession. But, after running the clock down, Archie
missed a running jumper with 3 seconds left for Pepperdine and the
game went into overtime.
The game marked the first time in the 14-year history of the WCC
tournament that the No. 1 (Pepperdine) and No. 2 (Gonzaga) seeds
met in the championship game.
Gonzaga was playing its second straight game without guard Mike
Nilson, voted the WCC's top defensive player this season. Nilson
ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the tournament's first game, and
watched the championship game from the bench in street clothes. His
teammates played Monday with Nilson's No. 25 written on their
sneakers.
Pepperdine took an early 14-13 lead Monday night, but Gonzaga
responded with eight straight points and never trailed the rest of
the first half. The Zags, also known as the Bulldogs, built their
lead to as many as 13 points in the first half and held a 38-34
lead at halftime.
| |
ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Gonzaga Clubhouse
Pepperdine Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Casey Calvary slams home the alley-oop.
avi: 517 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ryan Floyd skies for the one-handed jam.
avi: 411 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
