USF beats Gonzaga 96-91 in OT

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco took the big blow and delivered a knockout punch to the big boys of the West Coast Conference.

Cody Doolin converted a three-point play with 4.1 seconds remaining in overtime, and San Francisco benefited from an intentional foul to upset Gonzaga 96-91 on Sa

turday in a game marred by the physical play.

Robert Sacre’s elbow on Angelo Caloiaro in the final minute of regulation was called an intentional foul. That helped the Dons (10-10, 4-1) force overtime and hand the Bulldogs (13-7, 3-2) consecutive conference losses for the first time since February 2000.

“I was joking with our alumni that this is kind of like ‘Caddyshack.’ We’re Lake Minnetonka. And they’re Camp North Star,” San Francisco coach Rex Walters said. “They’ve got the (fans) flying in our Learjets. They’re kind of the rich kids of the conference.”

Walters got his Bill Murray movies of 30 years ago mixed up; the lake and camp are in “Meatballs,” not “Caddyshack.” But his point was clear.

Doolin finished with 23 points and Caloiaro scored 17 points in the biggest win of the year for San Francisco, who moved into sole possession of second place in the conference behind No. 22 St. Mary’s. The home fans rushed the court and tossed everything from T-shirts to soft drinks airborne in a wild celebration afterward.

“I looked in our pile and didn’t see any players in there,” Walters said. “It made me nervous that we thought we could beat them.”

Steven Gray and Demetri Goodson had 20 points apiece for the Bulldogs, who suffered their second straight loss following a nine-game winning streak. A setback at Santa Clara on Thursday was their first defeat since an 83-79 loss at Notre Dame on Dec. 11.

Now a Gonzaga program that has made the NCAA tournament 12 straight years suddenly finds itself in a rut.

“We knew it would be tough going on the road in the league, and it’s been hard on us this year,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We took a step back this weekend.”

The Bulldogs still had a chance in the closing moments.

Doolin, only a freshman, milked the clock in the final seconds of overtime before driving the left of the lane and banking in a left-handed layup over Mathi Moenninghoff for a three-point play. The play was the last of many for a San Francisco team that set the stage with a frantic rally in regulation.

Caloiaro made a layup and drew a foul on Elias Harris with a little more than two minutes remaining to tie the score at 77-all. But he missed the free throw.

After the Dons went ahead by one, David Stockton — son of Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton — hit a 3-pointer to give Gonzaga an 81-79 lead 41.6 seconds left. Then, Rashad Green missed the second of two free throws, with Sacre grabbing the rebound that led to a sure-to-be-debated call by Gonzaga.

Sacre swung his elbows, connecting with Caloiaro’s face and knocking him to the ground hard. Officials initially called a foul, but changed it to an intentional foul after a video review — giving San Francisco two free throws and the ball and, seemingly, an early victory.

“Best elbow I’ve taken in a while,” Caloiaro said.

Few didn’t completely disagree with the call.

“I don’t know what to tell our guys,” he said. “He got tied up, two guys jumped on him and tied him up. We teach them to protect the ball with their elbows. It’s a tough situation for a kid to be in. But the letter of the law is if you swing your elbows near the face, it’s an intentional foul.”

The celebration would still have to wait.

The Dons chose not to foul in the waning seconds of regulation and watched helplessly as Goodson made a 3-pointer to force overtime. Goodson stood flexing his muscles at midcourt, swarmed by teammates in celebration.

Even that was premature.

The Bulldogs fell behind early in overtime but managed to tie the score again until Doolin sent them back to Washington with an unfamiliar conference losing skid.

“This means we’re toward the top of the conference,” Doolin said. “It’s definitely a confidence booster.”