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NCAA Tournament Recap (Gonzaga-Stanford)
Posted: Sat March 13, 1999 at 10:26 p.m. EST SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Matt Santangelo scored 24 points as 10th seed Gonzaga stunned Stanford, 82-74, in the second round of the West Region in the NCAA Tournament. Quentin Hall added all of his 14 points in the second half for the Bulldogs (27-6), who bolted to a 23-10 lead in the first nine-plus minutes and trailed only at 1-0 in the most convincing upset of the tournament thus far. Gonzaga hit 11 3-pointers overall and made 13-of-16 free throws in the final 1:58 as it reached the regional semifinals for the first time in school history. It bounced shorthanded Minnesota in the first round and will play sixth-seeded Florida at Phoenix on Thursday. "I can't be happier for the kids," said Bulldogs coach Dan Monson. "It's been a long road for us to get recognition. I'm just happy it's not a Cinderella story. It's about us. We can play with anyone in the NCAA Tournament. I told them, `If we control the boards, I guarantee you will have success.' It was a tremendous effort." Arthur Lee scored 24 points and Kris Weems added 18 for Stanford (26-7), which never got untracked offensively and had no answers for the smaller Bulldogs, who not only had good looks from 3-point range but also outrebounded the taller Cardinal, 47-33. "They're a scary team," admitted Cardinal coach Mike Montgomery. "They can really shoot the ball well and are playing very well. (This game) was not indicative of what we did all year." Stanford's departure eliminated the Pac-10 from the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Cardinal, Arizona, Washington and UCLA -- which all made the field of 64 this year -- reached the regional semifinals. Like their first-round game against Minnesota, the Bulldogs attacked from the perimeter as Casey Calvary scored their first eight points on a pair of 3-pointers and the finish off an alley-oop. A 3-pointer by Santangelo made it 15-6 at the 13:46 mark and a shot from beyond the arc by Ryan Floyd extended the lead to 23-10 with 10:47 left in the first half. The Cardinal closed within 26-22 on a six-footer by Madsen, but Mark Spink had a lay-in and Richie Frahm drilled a 3-pointer to rebuild the lead to nine. Stanford, however, ended the half on an 8-3 spurt to close within 34-30. The 6-1 Santangelo followed his own miss to give the Bulldogs a 46-39 lead with just over 14 minutes to play, but Lee had eight points in a 10-3 tear as the Cardinal drew even, 49-49, and had momentum on their side after he made two free throws with 11:18 to play. Spink countered with one free throw and Jeremy Eaton hit a 10-footer to put Gonzaga in front, 52-49. Tim Young made 1-of-2 before Eaton had a lay-in to push the lead to four. Stanford hung around and closed within 61-57 after three free throws by Weems with 5:04 to play, but Frahm sank 2-of-3 from the line before Hall nailed a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Bulldogs a 66-57 cushion with 3:29 to go. "Coach does a great job and everyone came to play," said Spink, who had four points and five rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. "I had friends at Arizona and we traded scouting reports, and the one thing they told me was, `If you make a mistake, they'll make you pay for it'." Calvary sank a free throw to push the lead to 10 before Stanford began a furious comeback, led by Lee and Weems. The Cardinal got as close as 75-71 on two free throws by Lee with 40.5 seconds left, but Hall, Santangelo and Frahm each made two free throws to seal the victory. Gonzaga shot only 41 percent from the floor but hit 11-of-20 (55 percent) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs' reserves, though, accounted for 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from the foul line. Gonzaga made 23-of-32 free throws, going 22-of-30 in the second half. "Their inside guys off the bench played tough," said Cardinal forward Mark Madsen. "Eaton and Calvary definitely hurt us, stepping out and hitting 3-pointers early in the game." Lee was 6-of-18 from the field and 11-of-12 from the line for the Cardinal, who shot 39 percent (24-of-61). Stanford's reserves accounted for only two points on 1-of-6 shooting. Stanford reached the Final Four last year, winning the Midwest Region for its first appearance in the national semifinals since 1942.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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