No. 3 Gonzaga takes 15-game win streak to San Diego
Gonzaga has been so dominant in West Coast Conference play that a 13-point victory no longer feels impressive. Trailing with under nine minutes remaining at Loyola Marymount on Thursday was certainly out of the ordinary too. The third-ranked Bulldogs look to reclaim their high-level form and attempt to post their 16th consecutive victory when they visit San Diego on Saturday. Gonzaga (24-2, 11-0) will also be aiming for its 30th consecutive conference road victory. No. 29 was tougher than expected before the Bulldogs used a late 16-4 run to help notch a 73-60 win over Loyola Marymount. "We had to dig probably deeper than we've had to dig in quite a while and Loyola Marymount was the cause of that," Gonzaga coach Mark Few told reporters afterward. "They were pushing us around a little bit and beating us to balls and they definitely were the more physical team." The 13-point margin of victory matched the Bulldogs' low in conference play -- the Zags beat San Francisco 96-83 on Jan. 12 -- and the postgame feeling was that the effort will have to be much better against the upset-minded Toreros (16-10, 5-6). "They're a really, really tough team," power forward Brandon Clarke told reporters in reference to San Diego. "We're going to have to come out stronger and come out with more toughness instead of bringing it out in the last six minutes." Gonzaga defeated the Toreros 85-69 in a Feb. 2 home game as junior forward Rui Hachimura poured in 32 points. Hachimura scored 22 points against Loyola Marymount and averages a team-leading 20.2. Clarke contributed 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots against the Lions. He is averaging 16.8 points and a team-leading 8.2 rebounds and has also recorded a school-record 80 rejections. San Diego has lost three of its last four games and the last two setbacks were of the disheartening variety. The Toreros held a three-point lead with 19 seconds left at Pepperdine on Feb. 9 before falling 70-67. Then they led by 14 in the second half against BYU on Thursday night before eventually absorbing an 88-82 overtime loss to drop to 11-2 at home. San Diego coach Sam Scholl knows things could get worse before they get better with Gonzaga riding into town. But he is adamant that his team can rebound from the misfortune. "Just by trusting the belief we have in each other and understanding it's a quick turnaround," Scholl told reporters after Thursday's loss. "There's another challenge right around the corner. Like in life, challenges come around very, very quickly. We're going to work responding to that challenge that's going to be here Saturday." Senior forward Isaiah Pineiro has recorded five straight double-doubles and 11 overall, and he was superb in the first meeting with Gonzaga. Pineiro matched his career best of 30 points and collected 11 rebounds. Pineiro, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds against BYU, has team-best averages of 19.3 points and 9.1 rebounds. Senior shooting guard Olin Carter III (16.2 ppg) missed the first game against Gonzaga due to an abdominal injury. Carter matched his season best of five 3-pointers while scoring 20 points against the Cougars. Senior point guard Isaiah Wright, who averages 13.1 points and five assists, scored 16 points in the recent meeting against the Bulldogs. Gonzaga has won nine straight meetings against San Diego and 42 of the past 45. --Field Level Media |