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“Our approach was good,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “Our young guys got under the lights for the first time and it didn’t seem to bother them.”
Newcomers Larry Gurganious and Jeremy Pargo impressed in their debuts as Gonzaga Bulldogs with the former scoring a game-high 16. Gonzaga downed Lewis-Clark State College 83-31 in an exhibition men’s basketball game on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 6,000 at the McCartney Athletic Center.
But while the two freshmen shined, it was the steady work by veterans like Derek Raivio, J.P. Batista, Adam Morrison and Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes who kept the visiting Warriors down and out.
With a renewed commitment to defense, the Zags held LC State to single digits until 4 minutes to go in the first-half. Sparking the defense early and setting the tone was Cespedes who stole the ball for a breakaway, then hit a three-pointer, all the while disrupting LCSC's offense.
David Pendergraft proved to be especially effective inside for rebounds, defense and hustle while scoring in deep and scoring from as far away as 20 feet. He looked comfortable and scrapped for everything.
“We’ll take this game and just build on it. This will help us get ready for two weeks from now,” Few said in reference to the regular-season opener Nov. 18 against the University of Idaho and a Nov. 21 date with the University of Maryland in the first round of the Maui Invitational.