Men's Basketball

Faraudo: Zags Return Title To Spokane

By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops Columnist | ARCHIVES
2020 WCC HALL OF HONOR PROFILES

LAS VEGAS — The Saint Mary’s tandem of Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts made it interesting for a half.

Then second-ranked and top-seeded Gonzaga flexed its muscles and made it clear it would not lose two years in a row at Orleans Arena.

The Zags used their power and balance to blow open a close game in the second half on the way to an 84-66 victory in the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament on Tuesday night.

By the final minute, the Gonzaga crowd was chanting, “This is our house,” and there was no arguing the point. Gonzaga won its ninth WCC tournament title in 12 years at the Orleans.

A year after being stunned by Saint Mary’s in the finals here as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, Gonzaga (31-2) completed a three-game season sweep of the Gaels (26-8) to collect the WCC’s automatic NCAA tournament berth. Saint Mary’s and BYU are widely expected to give the WCC three entries into the field of 68 teams that will be unveiled Sunday.

“I just remember the feeling in the locker room last year — the disappointment,” WCC Player of the Year Filip Petrusev said. “I know we were definitely fired up.”

Ford dazzled fans and opposing defenses for 2 1/2 games here. He scored 42 points and made a circus-shot 3-pointer in the second overtime to beat Pepperdine, then capped an 18-point effort with the game-winning shot against BYU in the semifinals.

He had 20 points by halftime against the Zags — giving him 80 points in five halves — and got help from Fitts, who scored 14 as the Gaels trailed just 42-41 before the unicyclist Red Panda entertained the Zag-heavy crowd during intermission.

The Spokane faithful reached full roar in the second half, as the Zags amped up their game and smothered Ford and the Gaels.

Gonzaga’s typical strength in numbers overpowered the Gaels’ two-man attack. Guard Joel Ayayi, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, and freshman Drew Timme each scored 17 points, sixth man Admon Gilder had 15 and Corey Kispert scored 12.

Petrusev took just five shots, but wound up with 10 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high five assists.

The Gaels had no answer for Petrusev and Timme. 

”It’s a little bit of a problem for us because we don’t have the size,” Gaels coach Randy Bennett said. “They kept bringing it down in the post and got us in foul trouble, and that was the story of the game. That’s where they beat us, inside.”

Petrusev knew the Zags could exploit the Gaels down low.

“It was obvious how dominant we were inside, especially Drew and myself,” he said. "Just try to get position down low and play through that. We got early fouls on their starting bigs - that was a big key to the win.”

Meanwhile, Ford and Fitts were kept under wraps by the Gonzaga defense which doubled Ford every time he came off an on-ball screen. 

“It was born out of desperation,” Few said of the tactic that the Zags have rarely used this season. “It also shows how basketball intelligent this group is. We needed to take the ball out of Jordan Ford’s hands. He's an unbelievable player when he gets going like that.”

Ford scored just seven more points — all on free throws — to finish with 27. He was 0-for-4 from the field in the second half, unable to re-establish a rhythm.

“It kind of caught me off guard a little bit,” Ford said. “I was trying to let somebody else make a play. It got a little frustrating for me.”

Fitts scored just three more points, and didn’t get his only second-half field goal until a fast break dunk with 1:39 left. It was long over by then.

Bennett praises his long-time rival: This was the 50th time Few and Bennett have locked coaching horns, which prompted Bennett to make a crack about how old he’s getting. The Gaels coach complimented his counterpart (who owns a 39-11 edge in the series), after he rebuilt a powerhouse that lost four All-WCC players a year ago.

“I think Mark’s done a great job with this team. He’s got a lot of new guys, the guards aren’t as experienced as they were,” Bennett said. “And they have two losses — that’s remarkable.”

Few admitted he didn’t know exactly what was coming. “I’m absolutely surprised, as pleasantly surprised as I’ve ever been doing this,” he said. “These guys, from where we were in July or September, went farther than any club I’ve ever coached.

“I’m just really, really proud of this group for what they’ve taken on all year. They ended up regular-season champs and tournament champs when this league is as good as it’s been since I’ve been here.”

Patience earned Ayayi an MVP: Ayayi red-shirted in his first season at Gonzaga after arriving from France, and last year averaged less than 6 minutes and 2 points per game. But he blossomed this season, contributing 10.4 points per game.

“I always say games are just a celebration of all the work you put in before. This year is a celebration of two years, now three years, all the work I’ve put in,” he said after collecting top player honors for the tournament. “The trust I had in the coaching staff and the whole program, and now they're giving me the trust back. I’m really thankful.”

Timme continues to impress: When Few assembled his recruiting class last offseason, Texas high school big man Drew Timme flew a bit under the radar. But he’s been a spectacular find for the Zags.

He averaged 9.6 points through 32 games, and in the first half Tuesday night he scored 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting.

“We knew with Drew we had a Gonzaga guy,” Few said. “He’s tough, he’s confident, hard-working, you can coach him and coach him hard — he handles that well. He’s just got an enthusiasm and an energy that he brings every day.”

Ford driving in high gear: The WCC’s leading scorer, Ford put up 87 points — 29.0 per game — in three games here. Bennett said it was the senior guard at his best.

“Incredible. I just said to our team in the locker room, I don’t know if I’ve seen a guy play better in this tournament. Three games, just the shots he hit — hit two game-winners,” Bennett said. “His last half wasn’t great, but they took the ball out of his hands. 

“I think that’s the best I've seen Jordan play for a stretch of three games, and to do it in the conference tournament where it really matters is impressive. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

No NCAA speculation from Bennett: Every mock bracket projects Saint Mary’s as one of three WCC teams easily in the NCAA field, and Few gave the Gaels a strong endorsement. But Bennett has been down this road many times and plans to stay out of it until Sunday.

“Our guys have been doing a great job. After so many of these years, I don’t really stress over it,” he said. “It’s out of our hands. The last time we had control was tonight. Up until then our guys did a really good job. I feel good about playing in the NCAA tournament, but I’m not going to jinx it.”

All-tournament team: Petrusev and Timme joined Ayayi on the five-man WCC all-tournament team, along with the Gaels’ Ford and Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross, who scored 43 points in the quarterfinal loss to Saint Mary’s.

Stat of the Game: Gonzaga forged a 36-21 rebounding edge, including a 13-3 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Quote of the Game: “The beauty of our team is our balance. It can be anyone on any given night.” — Mark Few, after six Gonzaga players scored nine points or more.