No. 14 Gonzaga pummels South Carolina-Upstate 90-40
Published 11:36 pm Tuesday, March 3, 2009
SPOKANE — Andrew Sorenson spent his first year at Gonzaga as a member of the vocal student section known as the Kennel Club.
He walked onto the team as a sophomore, but saw no action. He played a handful of minutes over the next three seasons, usually when the game was out of hand.
Tuesday night he got his first start, and scored 15 points as No. 14 Gonzaga routed South Carolina-Upstate 90-40 to close the regular season.
“This is going to be a long-told story,” an ecstatic Sorenson said. “My kids are going to get sick of it.”
Sorenson started as part of Senior Day, and the fan favorite made five of 11 shots. He had scored a total of 23 points this season coming into the game.
Matt Bouldin led five Zags in double figures with 16 points as the Bulldogs routed the Spartans in what was a non-conference tuneup heading into this weekend’s West Coast Conference tournament.
Gonzaga (24-5) is 16-1 since New Year’s Day, losing only to No. 5 Memphis. The Zags won all 14 of their WCC games and are the top seed in the WCC tournament as they seek an 11th consecutive trip to the NCAAs.
Bobby Davis scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds to lead overmatched South Carolina-Upstate (9-21), which is in its second year of Division I basketball. It was their worst loss of the season.
The Zags harassed Upstate into 26 turnovers, including 18 steals, and turned many of those into breakaway stuffs. The Spartans shot just 29 percent from the field, while Gonzaga cooled after a blistering start to make 47 percent of its shots.
“We turned the ball over more than we had in quite some time,” Upstate coach Eddie Payne said. “Their pressure bothered us.”
Gonzaga scored 37 points off turnovers, and outscored the Spartans 36-18 in the paint in a dominating performance. They committed only four turnovers.
“It’s a perfect ending here at home for the seniors,” coach Mark Few said. “We wanted to get after them on defense, and everyone was incredibly unselfish.”
This was the final home game for Jeremy Pargo, who had seven assists; Josh Heytvelt, who scored 12 points; Micah Downs, who had 11; Sorenson and Ira Brown, who had seven points and six rebounds. They’ll miss the friendly confines of the McCarthey Athletic Center, where the Zags are 63-3 since it opened in 2004.
Gonzaga led 43-16 at halftime.
Other games
No. 7 Duke 84, No. 24 Florida St. 81
DURHAM, N.C. — Gerald Henderson scored nine of his 21 points in the final 2 minutes to help the Blue Devils (25-5, 11-4 ACC) hold off the Seminoles (22-8, 9-6). Duke won its fifth straight, matched the NCAA record for most wins in a decade with 286 and moved a half-game behind No. 2 North Carolina in the league standings.
Toney Douglas, who scored 27 points for FSU, made a 3-pointer with 2:25 remaining that gave Florida State a 76-74 lead. Then Henderson took over.
No. 8 Mich. St. 64, Indiana 59
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Kalin Lucas scored 15 points and Raymar Morgan had 14, including a crucial dunk with 27.5 seconds to play as the Spartans (24-5, 14-3 Big Ten) beat the Hoosiers (6-23, 1-16).
No. 10 Wake Forest 65, Maryland 63
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Al-Farouq Aminu had 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds as the Demon Deacons (23-5, 10-5) outlasted the Terrapins (18-11, 7-8).
No. 18 Clemson 75, Virginia 57
CLEMSON, S.C. — Terrence Oglesby scored 18 points and the Tigers (23-6, 9-6 ACC) used its inside power to beat the Cavaliers (9-17, 3-12) and snap a two-game skid.
No. 25 Syracuse 70, Rutgers 40
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Andy Rautins hit three 3-pointers in a 3-minute span to help break open a one-point game midway through the second half as the Orange (22-8, 10-7 Big East) beat the Scarlet Knights (10-20, 1-16).
Of note
Top honor for Portland coach
PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland men’s basketball coach Eric Reveno has been named the West Coast Conference coach of the year. Reveno helped guide the Pilots to an 18-11 overall record and 9-5 record in the WCC. Portland’s 18 wins are its most since 1996 when the Pilots went 19-8 overall and 9-5 in the WCC.
