Perfection: when you look up this word in the dictionary it reads, “The state or condition of being perfect.” What it should read is “The state of Gonzaga’s 2016-2017 basketball season”.
It was a sellout crowd Thursday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, as the USD Toreros hosted the undefeated and number one ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. But the hometown crowd didn’t witness what they hoped as the Toreros fell to the visiting Bulldogs 96-to-38.
With the Zag’s victory they maintain their perfect record and improve to 29-and-0 on the season to clinch the West Conference Title.
Gonzaga’s 58-point victory marked their largest win so far this season. Four out of the Bulldogs five starting players finished the game in double figures. Josh Perkins and Jordan Mathews lead the team as they racked up 15 points each.
It was forward Jonathan Williams, who really exceeded on the night for the Bulldogs. Williams double –dipped, capping off the game with 14 points and 19 rebounds.
Regardless of “home court advantage” The ball seemed to always be in Gonzaga’s court. The team as a whole was 13-for-25 on shots taken beyond the three point arc and shot 66 percent from the field. While the Bulldogs offense was good their defense is what truly hurt the Toreos, limiting USD to just 24 percent shooting from the field.
The multiple missed shots made by the Toreros gave the Zag’s plenty of opportunities to rebound, and they took full advantage of that, something USD failed to do. The Zags finished the night out-rebounding USD 51-to-20.
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However despite the Toreros 58-point deficit Olin Carter III continued to impress the packed pavilion. He put up 15 points against the Gonzaga defense, sinking three of the teams six three-point shots.
With the loss to Gonzaga the Toreros have now fallen in six of their last seven games. They will finish off the season at home against Portland Saturday night. As for Gonzaga they will finish the regular season at home against BYU on Saturday evening, as they attempt to cap off a perfect season.
