This Week in Gonzaga History: Nov 4-10

Today we begin a new feature, where we take a week-by-week glance at Gonzaga history. Every Monday, we will take a trip in the time machine and highlight some of the biggest moments in their 20-year run of excellence. These can be games, commitments, notable off-the-court drama, etc. I will try to find something for every day between now and March. So without further ado, come with us on a trip down memory lane for the week of November 4-10.

November 4, 2000 – Gonzaga defeats the Yakima Sun Kings 103-86 in an exhibition

This was the first game action for freshman Blake Stepp and transfer Dan Dickau. The two of them combined for 45 points, including 7-13 from deep, in the victory. They would go on to make a few more threes in their respective careers. Casey Calvary’s 26 points led Gonzaga on the night.

November 5, 2004 – Gonzaga defeats Peoria State 114-86 in an exhibition

Ronny Turiaf’s senior season started off with a bang. The big man finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds, and most notably, hit a three pointer!! Sean Mallon scored 28 points and sophomore Adam Morrison added 18. The most shocking statistic from this game: Morrison had EIGHT assists.

November 6, 1999 – Gonzaga defeats Old Dogs AAU 133-60 in an exhibition

This was the first game for new Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who took over at the start of the 1999 season after Dan Monson left for Minnesota. This scrimmage is meaningful for a few reasons. The first being the aforementioned start of a new era. The second being Richie Frahm going bonkers. He drained eight threes and finished with 34 points. The Old Dogs AAU team was a group of Gonzaga Alumni. Scott Snider, who played in the mid-90s, led the Old Dog with 11 points. Jarrod Davis, who averaged nearly 20 a game back in the early 90s, added 10 for the Old Dogs. Also, Old Dogs is a tremendous Alumni team name.

November 7, 2002 – David Pendergraft commits to Gonzaga

At the time, Pendergraft was a four-star recruit from Brewster, WA. After being a role player his first two years, Pendo had a solid junior year and followed it with All-WCC honors in his senior season. The fan favorite finished his career shooting 44 percent from deep, which is currently ninth in Gonzaga history.

Getty Images | Jim Rogash

November 8, 2003 – Gonzaga defeats Northwest Sports 123-72 in an exhibition

This was the beginning of the senior seasons of Blake Stepp, Corey Violette, Kyle Bankhead, Tony Skinner and Richard Fox. It was also the freshman seasons of Derek Raivio, Adam Morrison and Sean Mallon. Talk about a reload. Six Zags reached double figures in this exhibition win, led by 20 points from Erroll Knight, who was making his debut after transferring from Washington.

November 9, 2012 – Gonzaga defeats Southern Utah 103-65

#21 Gonzaga began their 2012-13 season with a route over the Thunderbirds. At the time, nobody expected that Gonzaga would achieve their first number one poll ranking in school history a couple months later. The Zags were led in this game by freshman and clean-shaven Przemek Karnowski. Huge Piece (shoutout Free Ira Brown) went 10-for-16 from the field. The 22 points in his debut ended up being his third highest point total in his entire career. He went on to score 23 and 24, both against San Francisco. Gonzaga forced 28 turnovers and racked up an incredible 18 steals on the night. Kelly Olynyk did not play the first three games of the season, coming off his redshirt year.

November 10, 2006 – Gonzaga defeats Eastern Washington 90-75

In the first game of the Post-Morrison Era, Derek Raivio showed the team could still put up points. Raivio finished with 21 points. Sophomore Josh Heytvelt led the team with 22 and freshman Matt Bouldin was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in his debut. The win extended the nation’s longest home-court win streak to 41 games and Gonzaga improved to 29-0 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Join us next week when Austin Daye makes his Gonzaga debut, and much much more!