Winless Road Dawgs Lose to Bears 93-81

Jerome Randle had 33 points to lead Cal to a 93-81 win over Washington at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley CA on Thursday.

The Bears lost at Seattle on January 16th by 15 and Randle was then held to 5 points, but Jerome’s 28 point swing coincided with Cal’s 27 point swing to really be the difference between the two ballgames. A lot of it had do with the way that Washington’s players rebound the ball and defends at home and how they did against Cal on Thursday and in general in a year that they are an ugly 0-7 on the road. At home they are like a guerilla army fighting like a bunch of crazed natives with pride and purpose.

On the road they are like an army out of its comfort zone, executing orders well sometimes while invading a strange land, but methodical rather than inspired. Cal center Jamal Boykin, who followed Randle with 20 points, remarked that it was amazing how differently the Dawgs rebound on the road as opposed to at home and without getting the exact quote from the TV broadcast, not much more really needs to be said.

Players usually never say a demeaning thing about the other team unless it is glaring and the 37-30 Cal rebounding advantage coupled with the 13-7 assist advantage were really an outgrowth of the way the Dawgs played on their heels. Cal shot the ball much better as well and the feeling I got was that it was because they were looser (again with UW playing tentatively compared to at home) and getting the ball in better position because of the assists.

Washington only lost the offensive rebounding battle 12-11, but in the 1st half where Cal’s lead was established the discrepancy was much greater. Cal had 10 offensive boards in the 1st half and 25 overall to Washington’s 12 total rebounds. Though Randle was the star of the game, Isaiah Thomas chipped away with 25 points to lead the Dawgs who put up a fight in spurts but played the role of the Washington Generals to the Bear’s Harlem Globetrotters well.

Quincy Pondexter had a disappointing night with 18 points, mostly when the Dawgs were fenced in while bouncing between a 19 and 10 point bulge for the last 2/3 of the game. Venoy Overton had a solid 15 point game which included 9-10 from the line and Isaiah also turned his free throw shooting around hitting 7-8. Matthew Bryan-Amaning was the best of the big men with 13 points, as Tyreese Breshers only lasted 9 minutes and Darnell Gant was on the floor for less than 60 seconds.

Matt and Isaiah tied for the lead in rebounds with 6 each in a game that really should be embarrassing for the purple and gold in front of the man who personified dominance on the glass on last years Pac-10 title team. Jon Brockman was there along with 2010 signee Desmond Simmons. The Dawgs must somehow gain the urgency and commitment that it will take to win on the road and do it by Saturday at 5PM (PST) when they travel down the coast to Palo Alto, CA to face Stanford. The Cardinal came back from an 18 point deficit to beat the Cougs 60-58 on Thursday.

ESPN blogger Diamond Leung was at the game and made a number of interesting observations.

Husky Recruiting Corner

2010 UW center prospect Enes Kanter was the subject of a recruiting profile for the Rivals Kentucky site. His prep school Coach, Derryk “Tank” Thornton, did all of the talking about how interested in big-time schools like UK, Kansas and Syracuse Enes is, but Enes was not quoted. Thornton did mention that Kanter likes Washington, but what our sources are telling us is that Kanter is looking around more because of the concern that he may not be able to be admitted to Washington.

What we are hearing is that opposing coaches are working the angle of the Charles Garcia case and Kanter is a bit concerned. Enes’ bond with Husky Assistant Raphael Chillious is very strong though and we also heard today that a visit to Montlake next week is on. One source told us that if Kanter can get in to the UW he will likely choose to go there, but that Kentucky’s John Calipari is always a worry when he comes on strong for a player, as it seems he is for Enes.

If there’s anything that Dawg fans learned from the Cal game it’s that next year they need production up front, especially on the glass and Enes Kanter, despite being a freshman should help considerably. As of the most recent reports he is averaging 19 rebounds per game to go 34 points. Whether he scores at a high level in the Pac-10 is anyone’s guess, but if he can just be a solid contributor on the boards and be supportive on the offensive end to Thomas, Venoy and the Washington guards that will make a huge difference.

2010 UW forward prospect Terrence Ross was also covered by Rivals in a recruiting update by their Kentucky site and they reported that Ross was getting strong recruiting interest from Washington and Oregon, “Meaning more competition for Kentucky”. Some feel that Ross and 2010 UW forward prospect Terrence Jones may want to be a package deal and all three of those schools would likely relish the idea of landing the pair. Jones was just named to the McDonald’s All-American West Team along with Kent WA’s Josh Smith.

Cougars Blow Huge Lead to Cardinal in 60-58 Loss

(Cougar Game Story Courtesy of Heath Harshman)

There’s really only one way to describe the WSU basketball game Thursday night away to Stanford. They ‘Coug’d It’. WSU let an 18 point lead in the final ten minutes slip away as the Cougs lost to the Cardinal, 60-58. The loss puts WSU at 15-9 overall and 5-7 in conference play, three games behind first place Cal, who they play Saturday.

Stanford’s comeback was led by guard Jeremy Green, who scored 24 in the earlier meeting this season against the Cougs. After Green was held to just six points at the half, the sophomore exploded for 18 in the second half, including the game winning bucket with 4.6 seconds remaining to complete the comeback for the Cardinal.

WSU got off on the right foot, starting the game on a 21-7 run. DeAngelo Casto had seven points and six rebounds in the run, which was supported by eight Stanford turnovers. Stanford answered back with an 8-0 run of their own, but the Cougs would round out the half with a 12-3 run of their own to go into the locker rooms up 33-18.

WSU shot well in the first half, 13-28, but it was the defense that spurred them to their lead. A good mix of zone and man defense from the Cougs kept Stanford off balance. Green and Fields were struggling with their shots while guard Jarrett Mann was turning the ball over often. The Cougs forced 11 turnovers overall in the first half, which led to 18 WSU points.

Fields and Green were held to just 11 points combined in the first half, but exploded in the final ten minutes for the Stanford comeback. WSU was up 44-26 with just over ten minutes remaining, when Fields, and more so Green, took over for the Cardinal. The duo combined for nine of the final 10 points for Stanford, who remains the only Pac-10 team who is unbeaten at home. Over the final six minutes Stanford outscored WSU 17-6, giving the Cougs their fourth loss in five games. Fields ended the game with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Stanford as a team were 19-40 from the field in the game, but shot 12-19 in the second half.

DeAngelo Casto and Klay Thompson led the line for the Cougs with 15 and 19 points respectively. Thompson shot the ball well at 7-16, but ended the game 0-5. WSU’s leading scorer also had four assists. Casto, who had his first pair of back to back double digit scoring nights for the Cougs in his career, also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double since the Pac-10 opener against Oregon.

The Cougs now travel to Berkeley to face conference leader Cal on Saturday (1PM PST, on FSN), who is coming off of a 93-81 victory over Washington Thursday night, putting them at 8-4 in conference play.

WSU lost to Cal in the earlier meeting this year in Pullman, 93-88. The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates, with Cal never really being threatened.

The Golden Bears were led by Jerome Randle’s 39 points on a ridiculous 11-18 from the field which included the senior hitting seven threes. Randle was too hot for UW to handle Thursday night as well, scoring a game-high 33 points on 12-19 shooting, not something that Coach Bone and the Cougar defense will be too happy to see.

Pac-10 freshman of the year contender Reggie Moore had 25 points and five assists in the first match-up with Cal and it’s likely that he would need to put up comparable numbers Saturday in order for the Cougs to head home to Pullman with a weekend split. Moore struggled in the loss against Stanford, scoring five points in the opening minutes, then failing to get back on the score sheet for the rest of the game. Moore shot a poor 1-10, but dished out five assists compared to just one turnover.

Consistent shooting and defense will be the difference Saturday, in a game that could get out of hand early for the Cougs if they fail to start well. Although the loss to Stanford was a somewhat unexpected setback for the Cougs, a win over the conference leader would be the perfect way to attempt to stay in the conference race.

Zags Blow Out Gaels in Spokane 80-61

(Zag Game Story Courtesy of Alex Dissing)

The rivalry that is Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga entertained once again…for Gonzaga fans that is. With a dominating second half, the Zags defeated the Gaels 80-61 in front of an electric crowd at McCarthey Athletic Center.

The loss handed Saint Mary’s their first road loss of the season and snapped their six-game winning streak.

Elias Harris, who averages 19.8 points a game in conference play, led the way emerging from his mini-slump with 19 points in only 23 minutes on the court. His game total was three more points than his previous two games combined.

Closing passing lanes to the inside, Saint Mary’s was dominant on defense early, allowing for a 12-5 lead through the first six minutes. To start off the game, Gonzaga was 2-10 from the field, both baskets being by Demetri Goodson.

After a slam from Robert Sacre and baskets from Matt Bouldin and Bol Kong, Gonzaga tied the game at 16 all with 9:30 left in the first. A minute later, the Zags soon took their first lead off of an inbound pass from Bouldin to Kong for the easy lay in.

Saint Mary’s center Omar Samhan, the leading scorer in the WCC at 21.7 points a game, kept the Gaels in the game the first half despite a strong defensive effort from Sacre. Samhan scored 14 in the first half, a much better first half performance than his six points that he recorded in the last meeting against the Bulldogs on January 14th. Samhan would finish with a game high 21 points and 11 rebounds.

With the game tied 36-36 with 5.4 seconds remaining in the half, Coach Mark Few called a timeout and drew up a play that would put the ball in Bouldin’s hands. Bouldin would deliver; hitting a three pointer off of a screen as time expired, giving the Zags a 39-36 lead going into the half.

Through the first 20 minutes, Gonzaga was 16-29 (55%) from the field while Saint Mary’s was 12-27 (44%). Center Robert Sacre exposed Samhan’s defensive weakness and led the Bulldogs with 10 points. Sacre was an impressive inside presence, finishing with 13 points on 6-11 shooting.

In the first possession of the second half, Bouldin hit his signature running forward-leaner, which would be a common reoccurrence throughout. Bouldin had all phases of his game working on the night and finished with 18 points, 8-15 from the field.

Gonzaga Center Will Foster blocked Samhan with 14:40 remaining, energizing the crowd. The energy seemed to spill over to the players, as the Zags went on a 12-3 run.

With only five points at the half, Elias Harris got it going with 8:40 remaining hitting back to back shots, the latter being a convincing breakaway slam dunk. Bouldin hit his groove with his aforementioned signature shot, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the second half.

The Zags only had only one turnover in the half while forcing nine Saint Mary’s turnovers. Needless to say, the second half completely belonged to the Bulldogs, and was perfectly summed up by a breakaway Bol Kong dunk with 1:11 remaining.

Gonzaga finished up 32-59 (54.2%) from the field with 48 points in the paint. Containing Omar Samhan on offense was a concern but dominating him on defense proved to be more vital in the final outcome. Saint Mary’s guard Mickey McConnell, who is third in the nation in three-point shooting, not only didn’t have a three-point field goal, he was held scoreless. After a 23 point performance in their last meeting, the Zags held freshman guard Matthew Dellavedova to 11 points on 2-8 shooting. The Gaels were only 19-52 (36.5%) from the field.

The victory improves Gonzaga’s overall record to 20-4 but more importantly improves their conference record to 8-1, giving them sole possession of the WCC.

Next on the Zags’ schedule: San Diego at home on Saturday at 7PM (PST).