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ekansekans's blog: "df"

created on 10/29/2012  |  http://fubar.com/df/b351055

PITTSBURGH -- Gonzaga senior Robert Sacres pre-game message to his younger teammates before facing West Virginia made up for in directness what it lacked in eloquence. "Hit em, is all youve got to say," the Canadian centre said. "Hit em, be physical, let everything else work itself out. As long as youre physical, thats all that matters. Show that Gonzagas not soft." Done and done. Dominating the lethargic Mountaineers on both ends of the floor, the Bulldogs rolled to a 77-54 win Thursday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Sacre, of North Vancouver, B.C., and Gary Bell Jr. scored 14 points apiece for seventh-seeded Gonzaga (26-6), which will play Ohio State or Loyola (Md.) in the third round on Saturday. Fellow Canadian Kevin Pangos of Holland Landing, Ont., added 13 points and five assists, and the fight the Bulldogs were expecting from the 10th-seeded Mountaineers (19-14) never materialized. West Virginia shot 32 per cent (16 of 49) from the field and had no answer when Gonzaga went on a 13-0 run midway through the first half to break it open. "This is the worst defensive team Ive ever had in 30 years," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "We dont get the help, we dont get the loose balls. We dont do the things weve done for years and years and years." And the Bulldogs did. Playing the versatile, brainy style thats become the programs calling card during its 14-year NCAA tournament run, Gonzaga controlled things from the opening tip and never let West Virginia get in the game. Coach Mark Few worried his inexperienced roster would have trouble with the six-hour flight east from Spokane, Wash., and the hostile crowd that tilted heavily toward the Mountaineers, a short 120-kilometre bus trip from Consol Energy Center. Pangos wasted little time putting his coachs fears -- and his own -- to rest. The freshman hit his first shot in NCAA tournament play and his second, a 3-pointer that gave Gonzaga the lead 90 seconds into the game. Bell added one of his own and Elias Harris quickly followed. "I had jitters going into it, Ill be honest," Pangos said. "Once you get playing, its just the same game. It was easier. Everyone brought it on the court. It was a lot of fun, playing with the guys. Everyone did their part." Gary Browne led the 10th-seeded Mountaineers with 15 points off the bench and Kevin Jones scored 13 in his final game for West Virginia, handed its worst post-season defeat in 28 years despite a decided home-court advantage. "(Gonzaga) came out tougher, more aggressive, more energized than we were," Jones said. "You see the result of it. They were the better team." On every inch of the floor. Its offensive flow disrupted by Gonzagas in-your-jersey defence, West Virginia failed to play with any rhythm on either end. The Bulldogs bottled up Jones and were more than happy to let forward Deniz Kilicli and senior guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant try to beat them. No chance. Bryant, playing in his sixth and final NCAA tournament game for the Mountaineers, couldnt get going. He missed all five of his shots during a miserable first half and finished with nine points on 2-of-10 shooting while getting badly outplayed by Pangos and Bell. Kilicli fared no better. The brutish centre from Turkey said Wednesday he didnt think the Bulldogs would be "prepared" to face a team as physical as West Virginia. Wrong. Gonzaga was more than ready and proved it during the final 12 minutes of the first half in which it blew the game open. An acrobatic layup in traffic by Guy Landry Edi started a 13-0 burst that gave the Bulldogs a 27-10 lead. The Mountaineers missed eight straight shots during the stretch and fell asleep on defence, a cardinal sin when you play for Huggins. During one sequence, Aaron Brown clanked a 3-pointer and then got caught watching -- along with Bryant and Browne -- as Edi streaked behind them and collected a long pass from Pangos for a dunk. Huggins exploded out of his chair and called a timeout, but the Bulldogs kept right on going, taking a 40-22 lead at the break to cap a nearly flawless first half. "We were getting open looks and we were just knocking them down," Bell said. The only real miscue came from sophomore point guard David Stockton, the son of Hall of Fame guard and Gonzaga alum John Stockton. Though the younger Stockton knocked down a 3-pointer during the game-turning run, he also airballed a free throw. His father, sitting six rows behind the Gonzaga bench, stifled a laugh as his son shook his head, one of the few mistakes the Bulldogs made on a night they rolled into the round of 32. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers slump into an off-season wondering what happened to the grittiness thats been the teams identity since Huggins returned to his alma mater. West Virginias defeat was its worst in the NCAA tournament since losing to Maryland by 25 in 1984. Nearly three decades later, it may take Huggins just as long to get over a disappointing effort in which his players failed to compete. "Ive never gotten beat like that," Huggins said. "We just were never in the game. Shouldnt say never. Maybe a couple times. But not very well. I dont know. Have to figure it out." Wholesale Jerseys From China . The top-ranked Serb twice landed hard on the court Monday at the O2 Arena, but it didnt stop him from beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (4), 6-3 and setting up a Wednesday showdown with Group A rival Andy Murray. NFL Jerseys China . Ortiz finished the best April of his career with a pair of solo homers, Mike Aviles hit a three-run shot and the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 on Monday night. http://bloodcopy.org/wholesale.html . Now were into the thick of it with the second round of action.Brian Williams and Connor Rankin scored shootout goals Tuesday to guide the Tri-City Americans to a 2-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders in the Western Hockey League. Prince Albert could not beat Americans netminder Eric Comerie in the shootout as Mark McNeill and Anthony Bardaro both failed to score for the Raiders. Tri-City improved to 7-3-1 on the season, while Prince Albert dropped to 7-2-2. Jesse Mychan scored in regulation for the Americans, while Reid Gardiner replied for the Raiders. Elsewhere in the WHL it was: Brandon 7, Medicine Hat 6; Kamloops 4, Red Deer 0; Moose Jaw 5, Everett 2; Calgary 5, Prince George 0; and Seattle 6, Spokane 4. At Prince Albert, Sask., Comrie stopped 31-of-32 shots in the victory, while Luke Siemens made 27 saves at the other end. Prince Albert opened up the scoring with Gardiners first-period goal before Mychan tied things up early in the third. Both teams struggled on the power play with Prince Albert failing to score on two chances and Tri-City unable to convert on three man-advantage opportunities. Raiders general manager Bruno Campese said his team couldnt capitalize in overtime. "With our chances on fouur-on-four when youre putting up your best against their best and tonight and they were better.ddddddddddddWe have to bury our chances," Campese said. "It could have gone either way." One bright spot for Prince Albert was Gardiner, a first-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, who scored his second goal of the season. "So far he has been awesome," Campese said. "Hes been really good at both ends of the rink." Wheat Kings 7, Tigers 6 At Medicine Hat, Alta., Ryan Pulock scored twice in the third as Brandon (6-3-1) outlasted the Tigers (4-7-1). --- Blazers 4, Rebels 0 At Red Deer, Alta., Colin Smith scored his seventh goal of the season and assisted on two others as Kamloops (9-0-1) downed Red Deer (5-7-1). --- Warriors 5, Silvertips 2 At Moose Jaw, Sask., Torrin White had two goals and two assists as the Warriors (5-4-1) beat Everett (2-7-1). --- Hitmen 5, Cougars 0 At Prince George, B.C., Chris Driedger made 30 saves as Calgary (7-1-2) shut out the Cougars (5-4-1). --- Thunderbirds 6, Chiefs 4 At Kent, Wash., Alexander Delnov had two goals and two assists as Seattle (5-3-0) got past Spokane (6-3-0). ' ' ' 

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