• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Daye, Gonzaga survive scare by Saint Joe's

Nov 30, 2007 - 6:14 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Reserve Austin Daye scored 17 points off the bench as 19th-ranked Gonzaga escaped with a 70-65 overtime victory over Saint Joseph's on Thursday night.

Matt Bouldin collected 16 points and seven rebounds and David Pendergraft scored 13 for the Bulldogs, who own a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series.

With the game tied at 63-63 in OT, freshman Daye drilled a jumper and Micah Downs sank two free throws with 21 seconds remaining as the Bulldogs built a four-point edge.

"I just come off the bench, try to do my role and do my thing," said Daye, who shot 5-of-13 anda dded four rebounds.

Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli praised Daye as an NBA-caliber player.

"There's very little question," Martelli said. "You better pay your cable bill because you'll see him on TNT and (ESPN)."

Saint Joseph pulled within two on a pair of foul shots by Pat Calathes, who finished with a season-best 25 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He also had five blocks.

But Gonzaga (6-1) made key free throws in the waning seconds to seal the victory.

"We made big free throws down the stretch," Daye said. "That's what pulled it out for us."

The Bulldogs won their first road contest before a small but hostile sellout crowd of 3,200 at Memorial Fieldhouse.

"That was a tough venue to play in tonight," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "It's our first road experience."

In regulation, Calathes converted a three-point play with his thunderous one-handed dunk over Pendergraft to help the Hawks (3-2) grab a 53-47 edge with five minutes remaining.

However, the Bulldogs rallied behind an aggressive 10-4 surge that was capped by Bouldin's shot from the arc at the 1:53 mark.

"We really just knew we had to execute," Bouldin said. "We came out, ran plays really well toward the end. We knew we could do it."

After Jeremy Pargo was called for an offensive foul, Tasheed Carr tied the game at 59-59 with a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to go.

Gonzaga had two chances to come away with the win in regulation, but Pendergraft misfired on a runner in the lane and Downs failed to convert on the possible game-winning follow-up just before the buzzer.

"We either wanted it to (Daye) or somebody taking it to the rack," Few said. "He had a wide-open put-back, but Micah just rushed it. He had enough time to shoot it."

Few had the Bulldogs off and running in the first half, jumping out a commanding 29-12 lead over the first 10 minutes.

But Saint Joseph used an 18-6 burst to close out the half, cutting the deficit to 35-30 at intermission.

"I knew Saint Joe's was going to mount a run and dig in," Few said. "That's what Martelli's all about."

A number of St. Joseph's students, while waiting to gain entry into the facility, had surrounded Gonzaga's bus as it arrived in front of the building.

"Our guys' approach was terrific," Few said. "Having the fans lined up around our bus when we got here really dialed our guys in. In our league and around our region, we get that a lot."

Bouldin was singled out by the crowd as he stepped off the bus because of his long, curly hair.

"It's not very often you walk into a gym and they're banging a drum in your face," Bouldin said. "Yelling at you, telling you to 'cut your hair.' Stuff like that. I hear it all the time."