From Donaldson’s block to Pangos’ layup, a decade-by-decade look at Gonzaga’s rivalry with Washington State

Gonzaga’s longstanding regional rivalry with Washington State should be significant to anyone with an affiliation to either school – or, for some, both schools – but it’s particularly meaningful to those who’ve been directly involved.

Take it from a Spokane native and NBA Hall of Famer who participated in five of the 150 meetings between the Inland Northwest foes.

“Growing up in Spokane, all you hear is ‘Cougs, Cougs, Cougs,’ ” former Gonzaga point guard John Stockton told The Spokesman-Review in 1983 after a 71-70 overtime win over Washington State at the Far West Classic. “I don’t think my career would have been complete without this win.”

After an eight-year hiatus, it may be a while before there’s another hole in the Gonzaga-WSU storybook, with both schools recently pledging to join the revamped Pac-12 Conference.

As the Inland Northwest rivals and current West Coast Conference foes renew their rivalry this Saturday in Spokane (6 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+), we decided to go back – way, way back – and revisit some of the most memorable moments between the Zags and Cougars, highlighting one game from every decade.

1900-10

Washington State 21, Gonzaga 18

Dec. 16, 1907: Official records of the first meeting between the schools are predictably sparse, but Daily Evergreen archives provide one account of the inaugural meeting. Pulling double duty with the football and basketball teams, coach John R. Bender didn’t join the team for a six-game, eight-day trip, but Evergreen records claim “W.S.C. easily excelled in passing and teamwork,” highlighting “center Anderson, guard Davis and forward Calhoun” (first names omitted) as individual standouts in a narrow win.

1911-20

Gonzaga 30, Washington State 12

Jan. 20, 1911: Gonzaga lost three consecutive games before picking up its first victory in the series in 1911. Frank McKevitt, a Hall of Fame inductee who doubled as a quarterback and punter for the football team, played outfield for the baseball team and served as a player/coach for the basketball team, led GU with six field goals. Summarizing the result, the next morning’s Spokesman-Review read: “Gonzaga college, which has this last year been upsetting a lot of calculations of northwest colleges heretofore regarded as of higher rating in athletics, shattered an ancient tradition to pulverization last night.”

1921-30

Washington State 27, Gonzaga 26

Jan. 18, 1924: WSU won 11 of 12 games in the series from 1916-25, but the Cougars nearly slipped in 1924 despite entering halftime with a 26-6 lead. Gonzaga’s halftime adjustments were effective at both ends of the floor, as the Bulldogs scored 20 points while limiting the Cougars to a single free throw in the second half. WSU’s advantage was down to one point with two minutes left, but in a game the Daily Evergreen classified as “a fight from the first whistle,” neither team would score another point, allowing the Cougars to prevail by a slim margin.

1931-40

Washington State 58, Gonzaga 19

Feb. 5, 1938: Gonzaga interrupted an eight-game Washington State win streak in 1935, but the Cougars proceeded to win the next 15 games during their most dominant stretch of the all-time series. Of those, no game was more lopsided than a 1938 meeting in Pullman, characterized by the S-R in a headline: “Washington State Has Everything Its Own Way Against Bulldogs.” Jack Friel’s team went on to win 23 games, matching the third-highest win total for the 30-year WSU coach. The 39-point blowout in 1938 still signifies the largest margin of victory by either team in the series.

1941-50

Gonzaga 46, Washington State 43

Feb. 25, 1950: One day after WSU beat Gonzaga comfortably, winning 52-34 in Pullman, the Bulldogs turned the tables on Friel’s Northern Division Champs when the teams played 24 hours later in Spokane. A 1,500-point scorer for Gonzaga, Rich Evans, totaled 17 for the Bulldogs in a game the Gonzaga Bulletin described as a “wild crowd pleaser.” Defensive play from Gonzaga’s Jack Curran was pivotal in containing WSU’s top scorer, 6-foot-8 Gene Conley, who was limited to 10 points before fouling out.

1951-60

Washington State 73, Gonzaga 53

Dec. 10, 1955: A 70-point game hadn’t been turned in by either team in the series until Friel’s Cougars managed to reach that total in 1955 while shooting 50% from the field in the first half and 46% for the game. Gonzaga’s fast-paced, up-and-down offense struggled to function against WSU and the Bulldogs finished shooting 26% from the field. “In the second half, with Gonzaga pressing in hopes of staging a rally, the Cougars started to run a little themselves and tossed the ball around in Globetrotter fashion,” wrote the S-R’s Danny May.

1961-70

Washington State 74, Gonzaga 73 (OT)

Dec. 11, 1961: A thrilling finish in regulation made way for a dramatic overtime period – and one of the most entertaining installments of the rivalry – during the first of two meetings in 1961-62. With 54 seconds remaining in regulation, WSU’s Byron Vadset knocked down a go-ahead 15-footer before Gonzaga missed its next two shot attempts. Needing one free throw to clinch the victory, WSU’s Dwight Damon came up short at the line and GU’s John Gambee connected on a game-tying hook shot. WSU’s Chuck Woods was fouled with three seconds left, making both free throws, but GU took advantage of the time remaining and Gambee launched a three-quarter -court pass to Bob Hunt, who dropped in a game-tying 20-footer at the buzzer. WSU led 74-73 in overtime when Damon missed two free throws with eight seconds left, but GU’s Elmer Deschaine fumbled the ball on the final possession.

1971-80

Washington State 66, Gonzaga 63 (2OT)

Dec. 13, 1978: In 1978, Gonzaga and first-year coach Dan Fitzgerald were on the brink of an upset win that would’ve helped the Bulldogs snap a five-game losing skid against their Inland Northwest rival. James Donaldson, a 7-2 security blanket for WSU, blocked a potential game-winning shot from GU’s Paul Cathey at the end of regulation, and the Cougars staved off the Zags in the second overtime, despite losing standout forward and eventual first-round NBA draft pick Don Collins to foul trouble. Donaldson, the future Seattle SuperSonic, was a defensive menace, swatting eight shots to go with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

1981-90

Gonzaga 71, Washington State 70

Dec. 30, 1983: Just 18 days after Chris Winkler knocked down a baseline jumper to sink the Zags in Spokane, the WSU guard had an opportunity to pull off another heroic feat when the rivals met in a third-place game at the Far West Classic. Jeff Condill, who’d defended Winkler when he hit the game-winner two weeks earlier, had a hand in the WSU player’s face when he elevated to shoot on the final possession at Portland Coliseum. This time, Winkler’s shot missed, allowing GU to hold on for a 71-70 win that gave the Zags their first victory over WSU in 12 tries. Stockton, the tournament MVP, scored 25 points to go with nine assists and seven steals. “If there’s a better point guard in the United States, well he’s not in the western United States, I know that,” Gonzaga coach Jay Hillock said.

1991-2000

Washington State 72, Gonzaga 67 (OT)

Nov. 24, 1995: While making our selection from the ’90s, it was tempting to use WSU’s decisive win in the 1996 NIT – the only known postseason meeting between the teams – but we ultimately elected to go with a much closer contest from the very same 1995-96 season. The first college hoops game at the Arena played out in dramatic fashion, with 8,479 fans watching, and went to overtime when GU’s Kyle Dixon drove to the basket, drew a foul on Donminic Ellison as the final buzzer sounded and went to the line to make two free throws. After GU rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half, the Cougars were the superior team in OT, making a handful of free throws to seal the win. “I felt on the bus ride over, it’s going to be A) ugly, B) unbelievably competitive, and C) it’s going to be a feeling after the game of gosh, why does one team have to lose?” WSU coach Kevin Eastman told the S-R’s Dave Boling.

2000-10

Gonzaga 110, Washington State 104 (OT)

Dec. 7, 2002: Blake Stepp vs. Marcus Moore, Marcus Moore vs. Blake Stepp. The standout guards went back and forth in the highest-scoring game between the Zags and Cougars – and only game in which both eclipsed the century mark. Moore scored a career-high 42 points for WSU and had 10 of the team’s 11 points in overtime, but the Cougars were ultimately outdone by Stepp, who registered 34 points. Moore’s half-court attempt at the end of regulation missed and Gonzaga, which led by as many as 17 points in the second half, relied on the overtime production of Ronny Turiaf, who scored eight of his 21 points in the extra frame. Richard Fox had 18 points and nine rebounds in his first start for GU.

2011-20

Gonzaga 71, Washington State 69

Dec. 5, 2012: WSU fans had likely seen enough of Kevin Pangos after he drilled nine 3-pointers on his way to 33 points in a 2011 game, but that was certainly the case after the Canadian guard delivered the game-winning layup a year later. The sophomore had made just 1 of 11 shots from the field, struggling all night before he drove the length of the floor and laid the ball in the basket with two seconds remaining – a dagger that not only helped the Zags prevail, but also stay unbeaten at 9-0. “I forgot about the misses and just kept shooting,” Pangos said. Kelly Olynyk scored 22 points, all in the second half, and GU withstood 45 combined points from Brock Motum and DaVonte Lacy.