Gonzaga holds off Eastern in opener

| November 12, 2011 8:15 PM

SPOKANE (AP) - Gonzaga had to come back from a late deficit to beat unheralded Eastern Washington 77-69 on Friday night, and Bulldogs coach Mark Few warned that might be a season-long pattern for his 23rd-ranked team.

"Our entire schedule is going to be like this," Few said. "We cannot get caught up in the hype and the rankings."

Instead, Gonzaga (1-0) needs to find ways to beat seasoned teams like Eastern Washington (0-1), Few said.

"Hopefully we can step up in the last 5 minutes and win some games," Few said.

That's what they did Friday.

Trailing 65-64 with 6:40 left, Gonzaga outscored the Eagles 13-4 the rest of the way, with 11 points coming at the free throw line.

Rob Sacre had 22 points, including six in the final push to victory, and 10 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Marquise Carter added 17 points and Elias Harris had 16 for Gonzaga, which shot just 37 percent. The Zags did make 36 of 51 free throws.

The loss spoiled the debut of Eastern Washington coach Jim Hayford, and was the 24th straight loss for the Eagles in the series, dating to 1990. Collin Chiverton, a junior college transfer, led Eastern with 25 points, and the Eagles made 13 3-pointers to stay close.

E. WASHINGTON (0-1)

Colimon 6-16 2-2 17, Griffin 1-1 1-2 3, Forbes 2-4 2-2 8, Chiverton 8-24 3-3 25, Ederaine 0-4 2-2 2, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Hankins 2-2 0-0 4, Johnson 2-7 0-0 5, Winford 1-1 0-0 2, Hickert 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 23-61 10-11 69.

GONZAGA (1-0)

Sacre 4-9 14-18 22, Carter 2-11 12-18 17, Stockton 0-2 0-0 0, Harris 6-11 3-5 16, Hart 2-7 0-2 4, Pangos 2-4 6-6 11, Bell 2-4 0-0 4, Dower 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 19-51 36-51 77.

Halftime_Gonzaga 38-35. 3-Point Goals_E. Washington 13-29 (Chiverton 6-12, Colimon 3-7, Forbes 2-4, Hickert 1-2, Johnson 1-4), Gonzaga 3-13 (Carter 1-3, Harris 1-3, Pangos 1-3, Hart 0-1, Stockton 0-1, Bell 0-2). Fouled Out_Colimon, Ederaine, Griffin, Johnson, Winford. Rebounds_E. Washington 29 (Forbes 6), Gonzaga 50 (Sacre 10). Assists_E. Washington 13 (Colimon 8), Gonzaga 11 (Carter 4). Total Fouls_E. Washington 33, Gonzaga 11. Technical_Ederaine. A_NA.