NCAA West: Gonzaga upsets L'ville, 77-66

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Here they go again. <br>Gonzaga, the little Jesuit school that became the darling of last season's NCAA tournament with its improbable run to the West regional final, knocked off Louisville

Thursday, March 16th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Here they go again.
Gonzaga, the little Jesuit school that became the darling of last season's NCAA tournament with its improbable run to the West regional final, knocked off Louisville 77-66 in the first round Thursday night behind Richie Frahm's 31 points.

As they were last year, the Bulldogs are seeded 10th in the West. A year ago, their first victim was No. 7 seed Minnesota. This time, the seventh-seeded Cardinals of coach Denny Crum couldn't stop the scrappy and accurate 'Zags.

Despite a season-high 24 turnovers, Gonzaga pulled away in the second half with timely shooting and a tight defense that held Louisville to 38 percent from the field.
The Bulldogs (25-8) play the winner of Thursday night's Northern Arizona-St. John's game in Saturday's second round.

Marques Maybin scored 21 and Nate Johnson 14 for Louisville (19-12), making its 23rd NCAA appearance in Crum's 29 seasons at the school. It was the second year in a row that the Cardinals lost in the first round as a No. 7 seed.

Matt Santangelo scored 16 and Alex Dench had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists for Gonzaga, which shot 57 percent from the field.
Frahm, one of four seniors in the Bulldogs' starting lineup, was 4-for-8 from 3-point range and figured at both ends of the most spectacular and decisive moments in the game.

With Gonzaga leading 49-48, Louisville's Quintin Bailey was headed for a breakaway stuff. But the 6-foot-5 Frahm, who had seven blocks all season, somehow blocked Bailey's dunk from behind. At the other end, Frahm sank a 3-pointer from the corner to the roar of the big pro-Bulldog crowd and Gonzaga led 52-48 with 10:51 to play.

The play triggered an 11-4 run that put the Bulldogs ahead 60-52 on Santangelo's bank shot with 5:50 to go.

Before Frahm's block and 3-pointer put Gonzaga ahead for good, there were 20 lead changes, 15 in the first half as Louisville clung to a 39-38 lead at the break.

Rashad Brooks' 3-pointer capped an 11-2 run that gave the Cardinals a 32-25 lead with 6:05 left in the half.

But after a Gonzaga timeout, Ryan Floyd, Frahm and Santangelo sank 3-pointers in a 9-1 spurt that put the Bulldogs back on top 34-33 with 2:45 to go.

While the 'Zags were 8-for-16 from 3-point range, Louisville was 2-for-17. The Cardinals' Tony Williams, a 36 percent 3-point shooter during the season, was 0-for-7. In his final collegiate game, Williams scored nine points in the first half but was 0-for-5 from the field in the second and finished with 11 points.

Last year, Gonzaga beat Minnesota, Stanford and Florida and gave eventual national champion Connecticut a major scare in the NCAA West Regional final in Phoenix. This season, after coach Dan Monson moved to Minnesota and quick guard Quentin Hall used up his eligibility, Gonzaga struggled at times, but won the West Coast Conference tournament with an overtime victory over Pepperdine.

Gonzaga's Casey Calvary, the MVP of the WCC tournament, had two spectacular blocks but took only two shots, both dunks on lob passes. He finished with eight points.