Mathews brothers double up on NCAA tournament wins

SALT LAKE CITY – Jordan Mathews was excited. It just didn’t sound like it.

The Gonzaga senior guard barely had any voice left, which tends to happen when one spends most of Wednesday night hollering at the television.

Mathews was fully engaged watching younger brother Jonah, a freshman at USC, as the Trojans rallied from a big deficit to knock off Providence in the First Four in Dayton.

“That’s why my voice is sore,” Mathews said. “I was screaming at the TV, yelling at the TV for an hour. I was throwing Gatorade, calling my mom (who was in attendance).

“Jonah played well. When they win, I’m happy. Mom is going to fly to Tulsa (for the USC-SMU game) and then fly back for my game on Saturday. Two kids in the tournament – mom can’t ask for anything else.”

Mathews had a team-high 16 points in Gonzaga’s 66-46 win over South Dakota State on Thursday. He planned to spend the rest of the day just like basketball fans everywhere – watching tournament games.

“I’m worried more about the Zags than anybody else, but it’s still fun to watch,” he said. “It’s the best time of year, better than Christmas.”