The Beehive five: Brandon Clarke takeover, Northwestern triumph among Gonzaga’s best NCAA moments in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY – It’s where Gonzaga made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament and where the Bulldogs will make their next, facing McNeese State on Thursday at the Delta Center.

Some of Gonzaga’s biggest postseason wins and gut-wrenching losses have taken place in Salt Lake City. It’s also where the Bulldogs have played most often at the NCAA Tournament – 11 times in total, with an impressive record of 8-3.

Seattle, Denver and Indianapolis are next on that list, each hosting Gonzaga six times. The Bulldogs are 7-1 as the higher seed in Salt Lake City, which could bode well for Thursday’s 5 vs. 12 matchup, and they’ve won their past four games there dating back to a 2013 loss to Wichita State.

The triumphs outnumber the defeats, but we start with heartbreak when looking back at Gonzaga’s five most notable NCAA Tournament games in Salt Lake City.

2003

Arizona, almost: No. 1 Arizona 96, No. 9 Gonzaga 95 (OT)

A few miles from where Gonzaga will tip off on Thursday, the ninth-seeded Bulldogs nearly pulled off one of the 2003 tournament’s big upsets, leading top-seeded Arizona at halftime before crumbling in the second overtime period to come up short at the Huntsman Center on Utah’s campus.

A loaded Wildcats roster, featuring Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, Luke Walton and Andre Iguodala, couldn’t shake the Zags and GU went into halftime leading 44-41.

Ronny Turiaf fouled out with more than two left in regulation and Gonzaga hit an offensive wall during the second OT, failing to score for the final 2 minutes, 15 seconds after Tony Skinner’s free throws put the Bulldogs up 95-94. Stoudamire had the game’s final points on a decisive floater with 2:03 left.

Richard Fox, who had 13 points and five rebounds off the bench for GU, still remembers the postgame scene from the losing locker room in vivid detail.

“There was just a lot of emotion in that room because, obviously, the game was exhausting and we had a chance to win that game but didn’t do it,” he said. “I remember there was a lot of pride from that group collectively because we had the five juniors and there was a real feeling that we had turned a corner.

“It’s just amazing what a week does.”

2006

Zags avoid Xavier scare: No. 3 Gonzaga 79, No. 14 Xavier 75

March Madness? More like Morrison Madness.

Third-seeded Gonzaga was on the brink of an upset against 14th-seeded Xavier, entering halftime with a three-point deficit, trailing by as many as nine in the second half and facing a four-point hole with less than 3 minutes remaining.

The difference in the final minutes? Gonzaga’s roster featured the national player of the year and Xavier’s didn’t.

Adam Morrison scored 20 of his 35 points in the second half and had seven inside the final 2 minutes, knocking down a go-ahead 3-pointer to make it 72-71. J.P. Batista came up with a clutch steal on the ensuing possession and Morrison went to the free-throw line to extend the lead to three points.

Xavier trimmed it to 74-73, but Morrison assisted Batista to make it 76-73 and the Musketeers only managed two more points the rest of the ray.

Morrison, now the color commentator on Gonzaga’s radio broadcasts, and Batista, a graduate assistant for Mark Few, will both be present when the Zags return to Salt Lake City to open their 26th NCAA Tournament.

2013

Cinderella no more: No. 1 Gonzaga 64, No. 16 Southern 58

The Cliff Notes version of what transpired in Gonzaga’s NCAA Tournament opened on March 21, 2013?

“We were almost the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16,” guard Kevin Pangos said.

Gonzaga led 34-31 at halftime, but things became dire late in the second half when Derick Beltran’s jumper tied the game at 56. The Bulldogs’ starting guards came through with key 3-pointers, with Gary Bell Jr. knocking down the first to make it 59-56 and Pangos connecting on the next to open up a four-point lead after the Jaguars cut it to one point.

Southern contained Gonzaga’s Kelly Olynyk to four points in the first half, but the All-American erupted for 17 in the second to finish with 21 and 10 rebounds.

“We didn’t realize how many people were going to turn against us and turn it into an away game for us,” walk-on guard Rem Bakamus said. “The closer that game was and the longer it went on, it just felt like everybody in the arena wanted us to lose. Now having been in the tournament a few times, I get how popular that is, how common that is.

“But you go from being the Cinderella, first-time one seed, everybody’s favorite team to pull off wins in the tournament, to the villain and everybody wanted us to lose.”

2017

Too close for comfort: No. 1 Gonzaga 79, No. 8 Northwestern 73

Seemingly in cruise control, Gonzaga jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead against Northwestern, holding the Wildcats to single digits for the first 14 minutes of a second-round game in Salt Lake City.

Then things got interesting.

“We were up at half then they started running this attack the baseline hammer screen on the other side to get open 3s,” forward Przemek Karnowski said. “We kind of didn’t know how to guard it and we lost four or five 3s, some of them in transition. So they started coming back and that was another game everyone in the arena started turning against us.”

Northwestern chipped away at the deficit and trimmed Gonzaga’s lead to 63-58 on Vic Law’s dunk with less than 6 minutes to play.

Bulldogs fans know the rest: Zach Collins’ controversial blocked shot, Chris Collins’ technical foul, Gonzaga closing with 16 points in the final 5 minutes to book its ticket to the Sweet 16.

2019

BC takeover: No. 1 Gonzaga 83, No. 9 Baylor 71

Brandon Clarke showed his versatility in a second-round win over Baylor, thwarting the Bears seemingly every time they tried to put up anything inside the paint and finishing over them whenever he was within 5 feet of the basket.

The Gonzaga forward did wonders for his NBA draft stock with a career-high 36-point outing, blocking five shots and totaling five dunks to help the Bulldogs return to the Sweet 16.

Clarke also had eight rebounds and two steals while pushing his season block total to 110 – the most in the nation.

The Bulldogs took control with a 39-23 lead at halftime. Although Baylor outscored Gonzaga in the second half, the Bears never got within two possessions.

Corey Kispert (16 points) and Josh Perkins (11) were the other double-digit scorers for Gonzaga..