Zags top LCSC
It wasn’t a final exam by any means.
But Gonzaga University’s final preseason basketball exhibition against Lewis-Clark State College proved to be a much better test than the pop quiz the Bulldogs took against tiny Emporia State in their Nov. 5 exhibition opener.
The Zags drilled the weary NAIA Warriors 85-48 on Sunday in front of a McCarthey Athletic Center crowd of 5,761. And while the margin of victory was much greater than it was in GU’s 114-86 win over Emporia, the challenges presented by LCSC were much more complex – and greatly appreciated.
“It was a really good test for us,” Bulldogs coach Mark Few said after watching sophomores Sean Mallon and Adam Morrison each score 20 points in the Zags’ final tuneup prior to Friday’s season- and home-opener against Portland State. “(The Warriors) play hard and they’re physical. Emporia State didn’t have anybody even physically close to being able to match up with our bigs.
“We needed this kind of a challenge.”
And the Bulldogs’ bigs responded.
Mallon’s line – 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals – was sensational. And senior forward Ronny Turiaf added 10 points and six rebounds. In addition, the Zags got 12 points from sophomore point guard Derek Raivio and seven points, four assists and six steals from junior Nathan Doudney, who spelled Raivio at the point.
The Bulldogs worked smoothly and efficiently against LCSC’s zone defense, shooting 62.3 percent (33 of 53) from the field, and did a much better job of defending than they did against perimeter-oriented Emporia State.
“We’ve been working on defense all week, especially pressure, and I think we showed that today,” said Doudney, who redshirted last season after transferring from Texas Tech. “We really got out, got after them, got into the passing lanes and tried to push their offense out past the 3 (-point line).
“And this team was more physical. They’re more West Coast Conference size. They weren’t just out there running and gunning like Emporia was. Of course, they’re not Illinois or Georgia Tech or anything, but they were a good test for us.”
The Warriors (5-3), who got 12 points each from 6-8 senior forward Martin Brothers and junior guard Justin Fraser, came in having played seven games in the last 12 days, and it showed. They missed their first eight shots and trailed 24-6 just over 10 minutes into the game.
But their coach, George Pfeifer – a close friend and confidante of Few – had no problem with his team’s effort.
“I was proud of the way our kids battled,” he said. “We worked hard on the boards tonight.”
GU won the rebounding battle 42-27, but not many were pulled down uncontested. And the Warriors’ aggressive defense helped force the majority of the Bulldogs’ 20 turnovers.
“We’ve got to take better care of the basketball,” Few admitted. “We were careless at times tonight.”
Still, the Zags were dominant overall – a fact that prompted Pfeifer, whose Warriors lost to Washington State 62-53 in Pullman last Wednesday, to say, “They’re very talented, they’re well-coached, they’re very talented, they’re big and they’re very talented.”
Pfeifer was also impressed with the way Turiaf, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer last season, played in the face of the defense pressure his team applied inside.
“With Ronny out there, you have to pick your poison,” he explained. “You can’t leave him, but when you get that mindset you are picking your poison because they’ve got a lot of other weapons – and we understood that.
“And yet, he still goes out and gets his work done.”