Gonzaga humbles Saint Joseph's in mesmerizing fashion
It was eye-popping when they built a 13-point lead without missing a shot. It was jaw-dropping when they extended the lead to 38 by the time halftime mercifully arrived.
It was downright scary when the margin ballooned to 49 less than three minutes into the second half even though they didn't bother to play four starters.
Thirteenth-ranked Gonzaga dismantled Saint Joseph's 94-42 on Wednesday night, though the final score only hints at the real carnage. The Zags built a 60-11 second-half lead and harassed the Hawks into anemic 3 of 31 shooting before they finally took their foot off the gas pedal.
Said Gonzaga coach Mark Few to The Spokesman-Review, "It had to be one of the better, if not the best, defensive halves we’ve ever played. I thought we challenged pretty much every shot."
Said Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Tomorrow’s my 38th wedding anniversary. It’s a hell of a gift.”
Gonzaga's dominance would have been noteworthy had it come at the expense of a no-name small-conference foe, but it made it all the more impressive that the Zags did it to Saint Joseph's. The Hawks return two starters from a team that won 24 games last season, reached the NCAA tournament and pushed eventual national champion UConn to overtime in the opening round.
It was clear Saint Joseph's had taken a step backward when it fell to unheralded Fairleigh Dickinson to start the season. The extent the Hawks miss graduated stars Ronald Roberts and Langston Galloway became even more obvious Wednesday night when they limped out of Spokane following Martelli's worst-ever loss of his career.
Of course, Gonzaga may send a lot of teams out of Spokane this season shaking their head and wondering what just happened. Few has already acknowledged this is his deepest team, and by March he may also have to concede that it's his best.
Senior guard Gary Bell led five scorers in double figures on Wednesday with 18 points including five 3-pointers. Freshman Domantis Sabonis delivered a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 11 boards in only 19 minutes. Freshman guard Josh Perkins also was highly impressive with 13 points and 2 assists off the bench.
Tougher opponents await Gonzaga as the Zags play in the Preseason NIT semifinals and finals next week and visit Arizona and UCLA in December.
Wednesday was a sign they'll be ready.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
