So much has happened in Gonzaga Athletics in [roughly] the last 48 hours. The Lady Zags’ basketball team avenged a 30 point loss to BYU with a 17 point victory and their eighth straight WCC regular season title; GU’s men had a nail-biter game in San Diego—in which the Bulldogs got the win; the baseball team won four games to capture a 7-0 start to the season; all of which were positives. Yet, the one thing that no Zag was involved in was the most devastating to the school—St. Mary’s beat San Francisco in men’s basketball to earn the outright regular season West Coast Conference title.

It had been 11 straight years of success. The only program with a longer streak in NCAA men’s basketball: UCLA with 13 straight league championships under the legendary coach, John Wooden. We were so close, yet it doesn’t really matter now because as soon as you let go of controlling your own destiny, there is no hand in the outcome, which is likely to be detrimental.

Some may want to blame USF for not pulling through with an upset over the Gaels Saturday night, but the reality is, if Gonzaga had taken care of the ball better and beat the Dons last week, none of it would have mattered. The sudden emotion of the streak ending is challenging to deal with—for as long as I can remember Gonzaga controlled the WCC—now that era is over.

There are two ways to deal with the outcome of the regular season; first is to be completely angry and make excuses for failing to execute when needed during conference play. The second approach is to reflect on having one of the most remarkable runs in college basketball and be grateful to have been a part and a witness to the mark in history Zags Basketball has made. It truly is impressive to see where Gonzaga, the West Coast Conference, and the basketball program have progressed to over the last 12 years all because of that first championship that started a decade of excellence.

It may take a while to move to that second phase, but by the time the post season ends, I have a feeling the devastating state of ending the streak will fade and appreciation will remain for a lifetime. I hope anyway.

Winning is what it means to be a Zag

However, while one run ended, another remained intact. The women have continued the trend of capturing conference titles in Spokane, and did it for the eighth straight time Saturday afternoon. As the Kennel said goodbye to five seniors in their final regular season game, the Zags said goodbye to BYU and their aspirations of taking the crown from the queens of Spokane and the WCC.

Katelan Redmon showed she was going to be the hometown hero in her final home game at the MAC (if the team makes the NCAA tournament she will have a shot a few more, however). Redmon racked up 28 points for the Bulldogs. Fellow senior Kayla Standish tallied 15 points—all of which came in the second half. Standish sat the majority of the first half due to two early fouls; yet she took control of the paint when she started the second.

Underclassmen may not have been glorified, but junior point guard Taelor Karr scored in double digits with 11 points and dished out six assists. Sophomore guard, Jazmine Redmon, who comes off the bench, gave out seven assists and scored five. GU won the game 77-60.

On the men’s side, a fiery San Diego squad hosted the Zags and made it interesting, and nerve wrecking for the Zag fans. No one, except for Guy Landry Edi had a good game. Edi capitalized on great shooting with a perfect 4-4 from the field; six of those points came from behind the arc. He also was 3-5 from the free throw lined to end the night with 13 points and no turnovers.

Unlike Edi, the rest of the team combined for 13 turnovers (unfortunately that is significantly lower than most recent games for this team) and struggled to shoot well. Rob Sacre and Kevin Pangos each grabbed 11 points; seven of those for Sacre were from the line. Pangos had a decent night from the three, netting three of four attempts—yet that is where nine of his points came from—the other two were free throws. The common theme: not much inside from either of them. They also turned the ball over three times each.

Elias Harris, who was by far the most athletic and explosive athlete on the court, only managed seven points; however he did grab 12 boards. He needs to take over games and teams like the Toreros, not allow them to control his play. Gonzaga pulled it out 65-57, despite trailing the majority of the second half.

On the baseball field in little Beaumont, Texas, the Zags played host school Lamar and fellow visitor Illinois in two double headers; one on Friday and the other on Saturday. All four games ended in the Bulldogs’ favor, including the final game of the weekend that stretched to 12 innings. Gonzaga is now 7-0 for the year and is looking like a solid team.

In the first game Friday, GU knocked off Illinois 13-3 with Marco Gonzales tossing eight innings with seven K’s and only giving up one run. Offensively, seniors Eric Lane and Andy Hunter drove in two runs a piece, as did junior transfer Alex Bonczyk.

Game two on Friday was a 6-1 W over Lamar with junior Billy Moon pitching eight solid innings for GU. He too had seven strikeouts and gave up one earned run. Senior outfielder Royce Bolinger collected three RBI’s, while junior short-stop Steven Halcomb knocked in two runs.

Saturday’s noon game against the Illini was a 7-3 win, as Andy Hunter pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs. Once again, seven strikeouts were recorded and only one earned run was given up. Junior designated hitter Clayton Eslick batted in two teammates, while Gonzales played first and drove in two runs as well.

After a long and condensed weekend of baseball, GU was set to face Lamar again Saturday evening. The Bulldogs gave up an early lead, but fought back to tie the game. After 12 innings of baseball it was Halcomb who brought home the winning run in the 6-5 victory. Tyler Olson started on the mound and through six and a third innings recorded, what do you know, seven K’s. Gonzales brought his offense for the second straight game collecting two more RBI’s for Gonzaga.

It was a weekend of winning for the Bulldogs. It is pretty impressive at how successful the Zags were this weekend all around the nation. Let the victorious attitude prevail in the next week as basketball heads to Vegas for the conference tournament and the baseball team returns to Texas for three games in San Antonio.

They lost to them on a neutral court to end last season. They lost at their place earlier this year. But they won at home. Gonzaga defeated BYU with style 74-63 Thursday night.

Before the game even started, Zag fans new it was going to be a good night. Brent Musburger was calling the game on ESPN2 in the Kennel. The longtime analyst never calls GU games, so knowing one of the greats would be commentating set the tone for the night of epic proportions.

Elias Harris slams down a dunk for 2 points

Kevin Pangos and Elias Harris combined for an insane alley-oop that was flashy enough to make the No. 4 play on Sports Center’s Top Ten segment. The slam by Harris got the crowd rocking, as the game was nearing the final stretch.

However, with every good thing, there seems to be a bad. Moments later, on the transition play, Rob Sacre went up for a powerful block and fouled the shooter. His fifth foul, he was done for the night with a few minutes remaining in a tight game. Not exactly what you want out of your “senior leader.”

Scoring was balanced and successful for Gonzaga. Harris led the Bulldogs with 19 points, while snatching a double-double with a career high 16 rebounds. Pangos racked up 18 points and Gary Bell Jr. had 12 for the night. The other two starters, combined for 13 points—Sacre had eight and Guy Landry Edi made five. Only 12 points came from the bench.

Yet, the negative side to the starters’ balanced scoring was their terribly awful even amount of turnovers. Somehow the Zags pulled out an 11 point victory with 20 turnovers. Pangos, Bell, and Sacre each had four. It was awfully ugly and the emphasis on taking care of the ball must be discussed before the team moves on to another game.

Several of Gonzaga’s points came from the free throw line, as the team made 36 of 44, a much improving statistic. It is nice to see one area of the game, at least, improve for the Bulldogs.

One stat that sucked for GU was the points in the paint. Until Sacre collected three fouls in a row with about eight minutes to go, the big men for the Zags were nowhere near foul trouble, yet not being fed the ball inside at all. Gonzaga had 18 points to BYU’s 26 down low. That is not okay; especially when the Cougars’ 6-8 star forward Noah Hartsock only played for seven minutes and didn’t produce any baskets due to a lingering injury.  Our guards are great passers most of the time, but they need to learn how to avoid bounce passes to the bigs’ knees and ankles and get the ball up in the air where their height can be an advantage.

It was great to get the win. The energy in the Kennel was great, and was more evidence as to why Gonzaga is in the running for the Naismith Student Section of the Year. (Vote here for the KC now please!  https://www.facebook.com/ilovecollegehoops?sk=app_148595948584796 ) However, it must be noted that GU shot the three well (6-13) and the Cougars did not (6-28). Also, Hartsock not playing the whole second half, and only the start of the game was in the Zags’ favor as well. Finally, Gonzaga led by as much as 17 in the second half, yet again their opponent closed the gap to a two possession game in the closing minutes. Something needs to be done about finishing games, in which big leads are held.

The reality of the situation, despite being on cloud nine for redeeming the two recent losses to BYU, is that the conference title pretty much rests in the hands of USF. If the Dons knock off St. Mary’s Saturday and GU takes care of business in San Diego, the two WCC powers will share the crown for the second straight year. If not, Gonzaga’s run of 11 straight regular season league championships will come to an end. It sure was nice to get the W against the Cougars, but the focus is now on what happens Saturday in California.

Both the Gonzaga men’s and women’s basketball teams won critical games Saturday. The ladies hosted University of San Diego, while the guys were at Pepperdine.

The women moved their record to 21-3 with a 69-58 win. It wasn’t a blow out like many of the Lady Zags’ games, but it was a hard fought win with some great performances. Katelan Redmon led all scorers with 24 points. Also in double figures for the Bulldogs was Kayla Standish with 15 points and 13 rebounds to earn a double-double, and Haiden Palmer, who netted 14 points for GU.

The women hold a tie for first place in the West Coast Conference with BYU. The two teams face of Thursday in Provo for a chance to take control over the conference.

On the men’s side, it looked like the boys had put the devastating and embarrassing loss to BYU Thursday behind them and were going to make a statement at Pepperdine. The first half was completely dominated by the Bulldogs, who were taking advantage of their opponents who have only won twice in conference play.

However, just as it happened several times at the beginning of the season, a large leaded faded quickly in the middle of the second half when the Waves roared back from a 15 point deficit to make it a two point game.

Panic set in.

What was happening to the Zags? We could not lose to Pepperdine.

Finally after the three minute GU scoring drought was over, the Bulldogs began to chip away and build their lead back up. The Waves kept fighting, and their six three pointers in the second half sure helped them make it a game, but in the end, Gonzaga rolled to a 72-60 win.

Three Zags scored in double figures. Rob Sacre and Kevin Pangos each racked up 15 points, while Guy Landry Edi chipped in 13. Pangos was 3-6 from behind the arc, and Edi was 2-3. Mathis Mönninghoff had five points in 11 minutes on the court, but showed some fire and great penetration to the basket, indicating he could be a tremendous asset down the line if he chooses to be as aggressive as he was in Malibu.

Ugly. Careless. Down right awful. Those words pretty much summarize Thursday night’s performance by the Zags at BYU.

The Bulldogs failed in the very important and very prominent game 83-73. It’s honestly a surprise that it was that close of a finish. GU trailed by 19 with less than 10 minutes to go in the game. The best basketball was actually played near the end when the Zags were scrapping for points and put in the nonstarters, aside from Gary Bell Jr. to pick things up.

BYU gave Gonzaga the Blues

If it hadn’t been for Sam Dower’s surge of seven points, Marquise Carter’s four points, and David Stockton’s five points and five assists in the last 9:11, who knows what kind of whooping the Zags would have faced. In the last portion of the contest, Mike Hart, Dower, Carter, Stockton, and Bell Jr. were left on the court to chase the Cougars and the desperate need for a win to keep the hopes of a conference title alive.

By the looks of the beating in Provo, and St. Mary’s getting another W, the 11 year WCC regular season champs may end their streak at 11. There is still a lot of basketball to be played, but tonight showed the weaknesses the Bulldog’s have, and their inability to win the big games.

GU was just 3-19 from behind the arc, and two of those threes came in the final seconds of the game nonetheless. Oh and if that wasn’t bad enough, the Zags turned the ball over 19 times, in which the Cougars gained 20 points from those 19 mistakes. That is what truly lost the game.

Clearly the ball needs to be taken care of better. And the starters need to perform like starters.

Guy Landry Edi started the first half, played for a total of five minutes the entire game, and accumulated two fouls with no points; Carter replaced him to begin the second half. Elias Harris racked up 4 turnovers, all in the first half, and only scored seven points. Kevin Pangos also had four turnovers and only scored four points. As a starting five, they committed 12 of the 19 turnovers; Carter added four more making only 3 turnovers for the guys that are the “backups.” That is a big problem.

Dower led the team with 15 points and Bell added 14, while Carter chipped in 13 points and also in double figures was Rob Sacre with 11. Stockton led the team with five assists on the night.

There really isn’t much good that came out of this game, but one highlight is that when Stockton plays point guard and Pangos fills in at the two spot, the flow of the team appears to be a lot more effective.  We shall see how the Zags rebound from the loss at Pepperdine Saturday, and if Coach Few is willing to make the necessary adjustments to win a game; rather than leave in unproductive starters for too long as it appeared Thursday.

On the night of upsets across the nation in college basketball, Gonzaga was one of the teams that did not fall victim to the underdog. The Zags clinched their 100^th victory in the McCarthey Athletic Center Saturday night against San Diego 77-60.

The monumental victory in the Kennel was done well by the Bulldogs, as the starters, plus Sam Dower, had great games and showed a real team effort on the court. As a group, they shot 68% from the field in the second half to put away the Toreros who were only down four at halftime.

The “Big Three” to most basketball fans might be in Miami, but to GU supporters, the “Big Three” are Rob Sacre, Elias Harris, and Sam Dower. They combined for 48 points—Sacre scored 18, while Harris and Dower each had 15 points on the night. Considering they are the only post players for the Zags right now, (Ryan Spangler is out with an injury for a few weeks) they took advantage of their height and dominated the paint.

Elias Harris dishes inside to Rob Sacre

What is even more impressive is that Dower started the game 0-6 and collected all his buckets in the second half. Harris nearly had a double-double by halftime, and Sacre led the team in scoring after having a stale few weeks of basketball. Rob finished with 11 rebounds to earn the double-double and Harris finished the night with 13 boards.

The team effort was apparent through defense too. In the final 20 minutes of the game, GU only committed three fouls—eight for the entire night. The second half was much stronger for the Bulldogs, obviously, but the fact that they played strong team defense and stayed out of any kind of foul trouble was impressive.

It wasn’t only the Big Three that scored in double figures tonight though; Gary Bell Jr. continued his incredible freshman play with 11 points. The other two starters, Kevin Pangos and Guy Landry Edi (who got his first start of the season over Mike Hart) each had eight points for GU. The starting five racked up 50 of the 77 points on the board; with Dower’s 15, that left only one early bucket by Marquise Carter to close out the scoring for the Zags in the big win.

Despite the large margin of  victory, it was clear who the go to guys will be in the future—the starting five, along with Dower, Carter, and David Stockton, who had 17 minutes on the court, will receive the playing time. Hart lost his starting job and will probably be on the bench the majority of the time now; although he wasn’t getting many minutes as a starter either.

It will be interesting to see if this kind of production from the Zags can be carried out the rest of the season. The tremendous all around effort by all the guys on the court is what we have been waiting to see this whole season, and tonight, for the 100^th win in the MAC, it happened.

GU knocked off USF at home

It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t terrible, it just got done. The Zags knocked off the Dons 74-63 in the Kennel Thursday night.

A blizzard joined USF in arriving in Spokane Wednesday, and nearly a foot of snow covered the Gonzaga campus as 6,000 fans filled the MAC. It was the first game that students attended as classes for the spring semester only began Wednesday morning.

Four Zags had double figure scoring nights, with Guy Landry Edi coming off the bench for a team high of 15 points. Elias Harris and Rob Sacre each collected 14 points and Kevin Pangos racked up 12 for the Zags. The GU defense did its job too, holding all but one USF player to less than 10 points; Angelo Caloiaro had 14.

Both teams played sloppy basketball at times, which was very evident in the fact that each team committed 19 turnovers. Plenty of fouls were called too; the Dons had 27 team fouls while GU had 16. Turnovers and fouls were a major factor in the unimpressive game by both teams.

However, despite the lack of poise throughout the entire 40 minutes, both USF and GU had bright spots. The first half was very close (back and forth with nearly every possession) until about the 2:30 mark of the first half. The Dons had five threes in the first half to make it a good one early in the game. But the Bulldogs made a nice little run in the final minutes of the first half to pull away 41-32 at the break.

In the second half, the Zags opened as much as 20 points on the Dons, but the visitors wouldn’t give up. With about seven minutes left in the game USF closed it to nine points, but the home team wouldn’t relinquish the win and held on to move into second place in the WCC standings at 5-1.

Mike Hart attempts to defend his opponent

Mike Hart is a redshirt junior who walked on to Gonzaga’s  basketball team. He saw 29 minutes of game time Friday in GU’s home opener against Eastern Washington. He did not come of the court the entire second half either.

The question that looms in nearly every Zag fans’ mind is: “Why did Mike Hart play so much?” The guy only averaged five minutes per game last season and even less time the year before—so how did he nearly earn six times the amount of PT Friday?

Well, here goes the break down.

Guy Landry is serving an eight game suspension for some confusing international-professional violation imposed by the NCAA. The small forward is already one of our least deep positions, so with Landry not able to suit up, the three spot is even more open.

In comes Mike Hart. He is an ideal candidate for the small forward slot; but as a backup, not a starter. However, when suspensions and injuries become factors, the guys that should be on the bench, end up on the court during tip-off.

Okay, so give the guy the start over the freshman Gary Bell Jr. that is reasonable. But let him play over half the game, including the entire second half—that may be a stretch.

So, why did this happen again? Because Gonzaga can’t defend the three and Hart has the reputation as being the best GU defender.  Eastern was 13-29 from the three, proving they could hit the long shot, and that the trey was their biggest weapon.

Matchup our strength with their strength to try and counter—that was the theory I’m sure the coaching staff used when placing Hart in the starting lineup. It was also the same thought process that kept him in the whole second half.

While the concept of playing Hart in the role he was placed in Friday is reasonable, the problem was that his defense proved to be ineffective for the sharp-shooting Eagles. Even more of an issue was that he scored four points—two baskets—on ten shots. Thus, the coaches should have adjusted their plan.

When his defending didn’t do much, and there was basically no offensive contribution, the staff should have realized it was time to change the game plan and give the guy a rest.

Mike Hart will continue to develop and contribute for the Zags, but he is not a starter. Nor is he the player on the team that should see 20 straight minutes of game time. Most of all though, he needs to gain some confidence, make free throws and layups, and maintain his work-ethic, which clearly demonstrates his heart for the game.

A tweet from a local sports writer at the Spokesman Review, John Blanchette (@srjblanchette), was posted at 1:05 Saturday afternoon saying:

Gonzaga’s Guy Landry Edi ruled ineligible by NCAA for 1st 8 games, due to foreign play. Ruling appealed by GU, so was OK’d for exhibition.

This sucks. Guy was one of the new comers I expected to play a vital role and potentially start for the Zags. If he isn’t allowed to partake in the first eight games, he won’t see the hardwood until December 15^th.

While speculations are aplenty for what violation may have occurred, all that has been said is that there is some relation to his participation with the Ivory Coast National team he played for this summer.

Guy Landry Edi

Who knows where the NCAA is going with this allegation. I typically have respect for the NCAA, but with all of the stuff that has been going on in college sports lately; I seriously question their performance in the regulation of collegiate athletics in an appropriate manner.

Hopefully, Gonzaga is not implicated in this predicament. Ideally the appeal process will handle the situation. If not, then losing Guy for eight games may be the least of GU’s worries if there is a known issue going on with the program.