The Kennel is a special place to watch basketball. Gonzaga’s McCarthy Athletic Center has a home court that has hosted 98 GU men’s victories. The most recent came Saturday night against Santa Clara.

This win was special though—especially for me. My dad made it to his first game in the MAC. It was a good one to catch too. There was something very different about the entire event with my dad there; it felt more exciting; more important.

As part of my job as the media timeout coordinator, I am required to start the game clock 90 minutes before tip-off. So since the game began at 5pm PST, I was scheduled to arrive at the arena around 3:15. My dad came along for the pregame adventure and shadowed me throughout the evening before the game began.

It was fun showing him the ins and outs of the gym, all the while watching the seats fill up with fans staggering in every few minutes. I introduced him to a few people from the athletic department, and we observed warm ups together; analyzing different components of the team.

Once the game began, he took his seat in the press box and I sat at the table to perform my duties. At halftime I made it up to the box to chat with him for a few minutes and he was so happy to be there. Sure it was fun for him to visit is daughter in college 1,000 miles from home, but even more so, he was a basketball fan, watching one of the most electrifying games in one of the best venues in all of college basketball—that is what Zag basketball is really all about.

It’s the pure joy of a competitive and adrenalin filled game taking over the lives of 6,000 people in one building. And Saturday evening’s contest was one of the best; considering the student section was about an eighth of its normal size due to Winter Break, it was pretty impressive that the atmosphere still had the vibe it had.

The Bulldog’s trailed 10-0 to start the game; things looked grim. It wasn’t until Gary Bell Jr. scored at the 16:12 mark that the Zags slowly began their climb to a stunning 82-60 victory over the Broncos. The win moved the Bulldogs to 3-0 in the WCC. Bell finished the night with 15 points.

Sam Dower, or should I say Dower Power, racked up 17 points in 26 minutes on the court

But it was big Sam Dower dominating again—off the bench—with 17 points that led the Zags to victory. Dower, by the numbers, should easily be starting over Rob Sacre now. It is unlikely that the 7’0” senior will be relinquished of his duties as a starter, but Dower is earning more and more playing time and getting it.

Elias Harris and Kevin Pangos were also in double figures as Harris notched 12 points and Pangos contributed with ten.

Not only was the offense very effective in the final 30 minutes of the game—as they turned a ten point deficit into a 22 point win—but they played as a team; and they played well. GU rallied for 17 assists, five steals, and seven blocked shots on the night. It was the best defensive effort I have ever seen out of any of these guys too! Not to mention every single member of the team played and scored in the game.

It was a night to remember in the Kennel, that’s for sure; and what better way to experience it than with my dad watching from above—literally, about 15 rows above me with a smile on his face.

It was just a tease, the October 28^th exhibition game against Carroll College, and the November 5^th exhibition game against Corban University for the Gonzaga men’s and women’s basketball teams were only a taste of the upcoming basketball season.

Two weeks before the men’s season officially starts and a week before the women’s season takes off, these exhibition games were only a reminder of the upcoming months that satisfy hoop fans around the nation.

Friday, November 11^th, Zag supporters will have their chance to take in several hours of Bulldog basketball. The women will play in their first official game, followed by the men’s first official game of the 2011-2012 season.

Hofstra University of New York will enter the Kennel to play the Lady Zags at 4pm. At 8pm, the men will take the court at the MAC against local competition—Eastern Washington University. All four teams have competitive reputations at the NCAA Division 1 level, and each game is expected to be a great start to the year for Gonzaga.

Block out your vacation time kids, because you should be spending a lot of time at school durning winter break.

As the end of summer draws near for Gonzaga students prepare for the new school year, the anticipation for many is not the start of a new academic year, but basketball season that arrives only a few months after students.

The final schedule has not been released yet, but individual games have been publicized by the school’s athletic department, and the West Coast Conference released the compiled game list for the 2011-2012 season for the entire conference this week—allowing fans to piece together what will likely be the majority of the Zags’ season.

Many elite teams will be facing the Bulldogs this year, the majority at The Kennel nonetheless. Thanks to slipperstillfits.com, some GU faithful have already put together a list of the games set for the Zags. Here is what has been accumulated with times (PST & TV networks).

Nov 11th – vs. Eastern Washington University TBA

Nov 14th – vs. Washington State University TBA

Nov 26th – vs. Western Michigan University (at Spokane Arena) 1:00 pm

Nov 30th – vs. University of Notre Dame 8:15 pm, tentatively on ESPN2

Dec 3rd – @ University of Illinois 3:15 pm, tentatively on ESPN2

Dec 10th – vs. Michigan State University 6:00 pm, tentatively on ESPN2

Dec 17th – vs. Arizona (at Key Arena, Seattle) TBA, CBS

Dec 20th – vs. Butler 6:00 pm, tentatively on ESPN2

Dec 28th – vs. Portland, TBA

Dec 31st – @ Xavier 5:00 pm, tentatively on ESPN2

Jan 5th – vs. Pepperdine TBA

Jan 7th – vs. Santa Clara TBA

Jan 12th – @ Saint Mary’s TBA

Jan 14th – @ Loyola Marymount TBA

Jan 19th – vs. San Francisco TBA

Jan 21st – vs. San Diego TBA

Jan 26th – @ Portland TBA

Feb 2nd – @ BYU TBA

Feb 4th – @ Pepperdine TBA

Feb 9th – vs. Saint Mary’s TBA

Feb 11th – vs. Loyola Marymount TBA

Feb 16th – @ Santa Clara TBA

Feb 18th – @ San Francisco TBA

Feb 23rd – vs. BYU TBA

Feb 25th – @ San Diego TBA

Alright so by taking a quick look, the Zags seem to be loading up on some tough competition against high level programs before WCC play starts. While there is plenty to commentate about the matchups against the likes of Notre Dame, Michigan State, Arizona, Butler and of course the hated WSU, I will save those rants for later dates when basketball season really gets going.

This post is to share something else, something that involves planning. Christmas break. Like I said at the beginning, summer break is almost over and students have basketball season and future vacations to look ahead to, not really new books and classes. So what better way to spend the final days of summer than planning the next few vacations?

Obviously since basketball is a winter sport games are always played during the winter holiday break from school, which lasts four weeks for Gonzaga this year. However, in the past the Zags play one or two big games during the vacation month and then several less “primetime” caliber games throughout the end of December and beginning of January.

This year, appears a little different. First of all, WCC play begins December 28^th, nearly two weeks before classes begin again at Gonzaga. GU not only has five WCC games before students return from break, but three of them are home games. As a devoted fan and student, I really don’t want to miss out on three conference games, and I surely hope my fellow Kennel Club goers feel the same.

Students at this point, might as well plan on spending half their break at school. With the Butler game taking place at the beginning of winter break, and three conference games at the MAC in the last two weeks of vacation, it only seems appropriate that any devoted Zag has at least some inkling to spend a chunk of time in Spokane to cheer on the boys.

It still is several months away, but I encourage students to contemplate attending some of these games in the dark winter days, in hopes of providing that extra support for the Zags.

With a rough nonconference schedule, and an always testing WCC calendar, not to mention the addition of BYU to the league, it probably wouldn’t hurt the team to have a full student section for the games that take place while classes are out.

Take a vacation back to school!