Gonzaga-Santa Clara: 3 keys to the Bulldogs’ victory over the Broncos

Offensive MVP

Sophomore forward Filip Petrusev was virtually unstoppable, no matter who the Broncos put on him defensively. He hit 14 of 18 field-goal attempts and scored a career-high 31 points. He was particularly effective after Killian Tillie departed with an ankle injury near midway through the first half. Petrusev scored 20 points in the second half, including one second-half play where he picked off an inbound pass and went the length of the court for a basket.

Defensive MVP

Ryan Woolridge kept Santa Clara point guard Trey Wertz in check for the second time this season. The grad transfer from North Texas limited Wertz, SCU’s leading scorer at 12.8 points, to seven points on 3-of-9 shooting. Wertz’s final basket came with 48 seconds left and SCU trailing by 15. Wertz finished with five rebounds, five assists and three turnovers.

Key moment

Petrusev seemed to answer every Santa Clara run in the final 10 minutes of the second half with a timely bucket. The biggest came after the Broncos cut the deficit to 73-66 with 5:10 left and had the home crowd roaring. Petrusev countered quickly with a layup to boost GU’s lead to nine and he followed with a putback on Gonzaga’s next series.