story by David Harten

PORTLAND, Ore. – Check the numbers in Western’s 83-81 loss to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They may tell you that the Toppers lost the game following Gonzaga’s Demetri Goodson banking in a runner with 0.9 seconds left to give the Bulldogs the win.

But look a little closer, and you’ll see exactly where Western lost it: The free throw line.

Western (25-9) was a dreadful 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) from the line on the night, which played a big role in the Toppers second round exit.

The numbers don’t lie.

Sophomore forward Sergio Kerusch was 1-for-6 from the line himself on the night.

“Personally, I’m going to shoot as many free throws as I can we I get back,” Kerusch said. “But at the same time, we still had a chance to win. With of our free throw mishaps and misses we still had a chance to win.”

The number of made free throws for the Toppers matches the number of made threes by senior guard Orlando Mendez-Valdez in the first half.

Mendez-Valdez was the sparkplug early for Western. Scoring 17 points in the first 10 minutes of the game and helping them to a 37-35 halftime lead. At that point, Western was 1-for-6 at the line.

Through all the free throw troubles, Western launched a furious comeback in the final 2:14. Trailing 81-72, Mendez-Valdez hit a reverse pivot, turnaround three to start the charge, and a tip-in basket by sophomore forward Steffphon Pettigrew with 7.6 seconds remaining tied the game at 81. All the dramatics set up Goodson’s heroics.

“I just looked up on the clock and saw seven seconds,” Goodson said. (Jeremy) Pargo was calling for it, but I just kept going down and saw the lane, drove, took the shot and made it. It just feels good.”

Western shot 70 percent from the free throw line on the season, including a perfect 14-for-14 in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game victory over South Alabama.

“We had opportunities,” head coach Ken McDonald said. “Even with them making the last basket. (Gonzaga) watch tape and see where they messed up on, blowing a nine-point lead with two minutes to go is something they’ll look at. But you can’t dwell on it, but you can learn from it and some of those things, you never know how it’s gonna go.”

Neither team utilized any depth, with only one reserve on each squad seeing double-figure minutes, that being Anthony Sally for Western.

Mendez-Valdez led all scorers with 25 points, including a blistering 7-for-10 from three. Junior guard A.J. Slaughter was right behind him with 24. Matt Bouldin’s 20 points paced Gonzaga.

The Toppers hit 12-of-26 (48 percent) three pointers on the game and shot 51.6 percent (32-for-62) from the field.

Western returns four starters next year, only losing Mendez-Valdez.

“I told the guys they’ve got a good squad coming in next year,” Mendez-Valdez said. ” They got a taste of what it feels like and I strongly believe they can be here next year and be in the same situation. No doubt with the guys coming in and the guys they have already, and especially with Coach Mac leading the way.

Worth noting from Portland

Player of the Game:

Senior guard Orlando Mendez-Valdez, in a landslide. The national stage was his and he took full advantage of it. Nailing three-pointer after three-pointer in the first half and keying the nine-point comeback in the final two minutes. His dive for a Matt Bouldin loose ball and pass ahead to Steffphon Pettigrew for a dunk typifies the kind of player he is. He finished with a game-high 25 points, three rebounds and seven assists.

Play of the Game:

For the game, obviously, Demetri Goodson’s bank-in runner with 0.9 left. But for Western it’s a tie. Pettigrew’s tip-in with 7.6 left sent the place into premature hysteria, but Mendez-Valdez’s reverse-pivot, turnaround three-pointer that keyed the run was as tough a shot in any situation that you will ever see. The two plays deserve a nod for different reasons.

Turning point:

Though the game ended in dramatic fashion, the turning point came at the beginning of the half with a 6-0 Gonzaga run that gave them the lead and forced Western to play catch-up the rest of the game. Western got the lead briefly at 60-59 with 11:12 left, but the rest of the way, they were playing from behind.