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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Those tournament darlings from Gonzaga sure
aren't one-year wonders.
The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals for the
second straight year, stunning second-seeded St. John's 82-76 on
Saturday night behind 26 points from Matt Santangelo.
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Sat, March 18
Mark Few inherited a no-win situation when he took over the head coaching job at Gonzaga from his best friend Dan Monson. After all, anything short of a Final Four wouldn't equal what Monson did with the Zags last season.
The Zags faced a tougher schedule this year than last and had some real competition in their league (Pepperdine). Yet Few has guided the Bulldogs on a similar path, upsetting a No. 2 seed (St. John's) again, one year after Gonzaga upended No. 2 Stanford.
Few should be recognized and praised for getting the Bulldogs to
this point. Gonzaga probably had to win the WCC title game over Pepperdine to get into the tournament. Once in, the team's experience took over as they dismantled Louisville and St. John's by getting their shots when they wanted them.
Few should feel no different this season than a year ago. He was an integral part of last year's success as an assistant; now, he's calling the shots.
Gonzaga shouldn't have to hear anymore about respect and being a Cinderella. The Bulldogs belong in the nation's elite.
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Gonzaga, which made an amazing run to the West Regional final a
year ago as the No. 10 seed, shouldn't be considered a sleeper
anymore.
"We're still fighting for respect," Santangelo said. "Any
label you put on us means we're still playing and we're still
winning. That's what counts right now."
First-year coach Mark Few hugged his players, who gathered at
midcourt after the final buzzer, and they waved to their fans who
traveled all the way from Spokane, Wash., for the weekend.
"I am so happy for these kids right now," Few said. "They
have worked their entire basketball careers, and this is a great
thing for them right now. These guys came through when the lights
were on bright."
But after having toppled No. 2 seed Stanford a year ago, the
Bulldogs didn't stage a wild celebration that many lower-seeded
teams do after a major upset.
"When we are old and retired we will look back and get amazed
at what we've done," said Richie Frahm, who scored all 10 of his
points in the second half after getting 31 in the opener against
Louisville. "It took until last summer to realize what we did last
year. We don't plan on going home anytime soon."
The Bulldogs (26-8) will play sixth-seeded Purdue, which beat
No. 3 Oklahoma 66-62 earlier Saturday in a wide-open West Regional.
The top three seeds all fell Saturday, with Wisconsin beating No. 1
Arizona 66-59 in Salt Lake City.
St. John's (25-8), with its highest seeding since being a No. 1
in the West in 1986, finished a turmoil-ridden season with a
disappointing loss.
"We were so souped up about getting to the Final Four that this
really hurts," Chudney Gray said. "They made all the shots they
needed to. Whenever they needed one, Santangelo hit it. We didn't
get the stops we usually get."
|  | | Matt Santangelo, who scored a game-high 26 points for Gonzaga, shoots over St. John's Lavor Postell. |
The Red Storm overcame a pair of suspensions to leading scorer
Erick Barkley and an investigation just this week into Barkley and
teammate Lavor Postell.
But St. John's couldn't overcome Gonzaga's efficient offense and
effective zone defense that kept the Red Storm at bay.
Santangelo made 6-of-10 3-pointers, including three in the final
eight minutes as the Bulldogs pulled away from a 54-54 tie to take
control.
"We had a lot of success against their zone so they started to
go man-to-man on us," Santangelo said. "That opened up a lot of
things on the perimeter for us. I started to get off some screens
and get open looks. The other guys did a good job of getting me the
ball and I took it from there."
Santangelo added five assists and played all 40 minutes,
controlling the ball against a swarming St. John's press. After
committing 24 turnovers in a first-round win over Louisville,
Gonzaga had just 10 against the Red Storm.
"Matt did a fabulous job tonight," Few said. "He had his
thumb right on the tempo of the game. If he wanted to push it, then
we pushed it. If he wanted to run the halfcourt offense, we did
that."
Axel Dench added 12 of his 17 points in the first half to keep
Gonzaga close. Casey Calvary added 13.
Barkley led St. John's with 21 points and Anthony Glover added
18. Bootsy Thornton, who had topped 20 points in seven of his last
nine games, was held to 12 on 3-of-13 shooting.
"I think they've got a really good chance of going to (the
Final Four)," St. John's coach Mike Jarvis said. "There is a time
and a place for everything and maybe this is theirs. It wasn't
meant for us. Maybe it's meant for Gonzaga."
The turmoil hadn't affected Barkley or St. John's, which had won
12 of 13 games since the first suspension on Feb. 3 before falling
to Gonzaga.
Barkley hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 54 with 10:19 left. But he
missed two free throws that could have given St. John's the lead
two minutes later.
Gonzaga went on a 9-2 run to take the lead for good, with
Santangelo's 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down making it
59-54.
The Red Storm got off to a quick start in the first half and
looked like they would make it back to the round of 16 for the
second straight year.
They held Gonzaga's two leading scorers -- Frahm and Calvary -- to
just one point and led 34-25 on a driving layup off the glass by
Barkley with 4:52 to play.
The Bulldogs then went on a 8-2 run to end the half, highlighted
by Mark Spink's flying dunk over Gray.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Gonzaga NCAA Team Report
St Johns NCAA Team Report
Chat: NCAA Tourney
Gonzaga win inspires celebration, marriage proposal
Later, Sooners: Cornell leads Purdue to upset
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Matt Santangelo talks about the upset.
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