Bulldogs dispatch Toreros

PORTLAND, Ore. – Wanna be a hero?

Take a number.

That seems to be the approach the Gonzaga Bulldogs are taking to the latter stages of this unsettled college basketball season. And it was David Pendergraft who became the latest Zag to respond to having his number called on Sunday evening.

The undersized 6-foot-6 power forward, who came into GU’s West Coast Conference semifinal showdown against San Diego averaging just 6.5 points per game, exploded for a career-high 22 against the Toreros and led the top-seeded and regular-season Bulldogs to a surprisingly easy 88-70 win.

The victory earned GU (22-10), which has appeared in the previous nine WCC title games, a spot in tonight’s 6:30 finals against the winner of Sunday’s late semifinal between third-seeded Saint Mary’s and second-seeded Santa Clara.

And it gave Bulldogs coach Mark Few an even deeper appreciation for the way his undermanned and undersized Zags have responded to the rash of injuries and suspensions that could have torn them apart.

“That was a really, really great win for us,” Few said, after watching his team take control early against the fifth-seeded Toreros (18-13) and never lift its collective foot off the gas. “Any time you win in March by double figures against a team I thought was playing really good … I’m really proud of our guys.”

Even an early game injury to sophomore guard Jeremy Pargo, who suffered a thigh contusion and played only 20 minutes, couldn’t rattle the Bulldogs, who defended with a passion, shot 47.6 percent (30-63) from the field and abused the taller Toreros on the boards by an unthinkable 47-27 margin, thanks to 10 rebounds each from Abdullahi Kuso, Sean Mallon and Micah Downs.

Few admitted, however, that the injury to Pargo was a concern.

“We’re not used to playing much without him,” he explained. “But the beauty of this team is that it has a lot of balance, and they’re able to absorb some things.

“So we absorbed it, and we’ll have to move on.”

Few indicated Pargo’s status for tonight’s title game might not be decided until just before tipoff, noting contusions are sometimes more painful the day after they happen.

“We’re going to have to do a good job tonight of rehabbing it and see what his status is tomorrow,” Few said.

Downs helped make up for some of Pargo’s lost production on the offensive end by throwing in 16 points to post his first double-double as a Zag. In addition, the Bulldogs got 14 points from Derek Raivio, 11 points from Kuso and seven assists from Matt Bouldin.

Even Will Foster, a seldom-used 7-4 freshman, contributed five productive first-half minutes while Few was attempting to keep his depleted roster of front-line players from getting into further foul trouble.

“It was huge,” Few said of Foster’s contributions, which included two points, two rebounds and a blocked shot. “We were trying to survive that first half and get out of there not having anybody with three fouls.

“Will did a tremendous job. He did what he can do. Will changed shots, I thought he did a nice job of rebounding the ball and he had a finish in there, too.”

It was during Foster’s brief appearance that the Zags were able to gain some separation and take a 40-26 halftime lead. And they proceeded to put USD away with a run of seven unanswered points midway through the half.

The Toreros were paced offensively by senior guard Ross DeRogatis, who finished with 17 points, mainly on his 5-for-10 effort from 3-point range. But many of his points came late when the outcome was no longer in doubt.

“We made a conscious effort to locate him early,” Raivio said of the early defensive work they did on DeRogatis. “He gets a lot of his points off transition.”

Downs, when asked about GU’s dominance, said if was simply a matter of want.

“Considering the shot lineup in there, we just go a lot harder for the ball,” he explained. “We’ve working a lot at practice on sealing the pocket, blocking out and just going after the ball.”

The Zags, in the absence of suspended sophomore forward Josh Heytvelt, have stepped up their tempo considerably and seem to relish the new style.

“It’s what’s working for us,” said Pendergraft, who knocked down four of six shots from 3-point range. “We’ve just got to keep playing hard and see what happens.”