MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Gonzaga was trailing Indiana State by
three points in the second half Sunday when Dan Dickau pulled up
for a quick 3-pointer that banged off the rim.
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Sunday, March 18
A battle of two clubs without the national reputation, even though Gonzaga has made it to the Sweet 16 three straight years. Casey Calvary, a high-jumping, dynamite inside performer, has been on all three of those teams. Calvary had 24 points and was a major factor in the post.
Calvary was joined by backcourt whiz Dan Dickau. Without much publicity, Dickau has become one of the nations' premier point guards. Remember the name. Dickau went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line to break open a close game against a tough Indiana State team. He was brilliant in the second half in scoring 17 of his 20. He's a PTPer who loves to do it when the pressure is on the line.
The Sycamores battled, led by Matt Renn and Michael Menser who had 16 and 15 points respectively, but Gonzaga had too much on the inside as it dominated the glass. Gonzaga marches on to the Sweet 16 under Mark Few. They're dancing with joy in Spokane, Wash.!
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Mark Few, Gonzaga's coach, had seen enough.
He immediately called time out and yelled two words at his
players: "Settle down!" All the fans in the Pyramid heard it – and so did the Bulldogs.
Casey Calvary scored 24 points and Dickau added 20, making all
12 of his free throws, as 12th-seeded Gonzaga beat No. 13-seeded Indiana
State 85-68 at the South Regional to advance to a third consecutive regional semifinal.
The Bulldogs (26-6) will play top-seeded Michigan State, an 81-65 winner Sunday over No. 9-seeded Fresno State. That Sweet 16 matchup will be Friday in Atlanta.
Gonzaga had some trouble early against the Sycamores (22-12),
whose first-round defeat of Oklahoma was their first tournament victory since Larry Bird led the team to the 1979 championship game.
After Marcus Howard's 3-pointer put Indiana State up 51-48 and
Dickau missed his 3-pointer with 11:32 to go, Few called his
players over and gave them a stern lecture.
"Every once and a while we have to tame these wild dogs. They
run a little too fast," Few said. "At that time we were beginning
to take control of the game. We had some advantages that we needed
to at least explore a little bit before we take too quick shots."
Dickau agreed it was a good move to stop play.
"That was a questionable shot. I deserved him to tell me to
settle down," Dickau said. "As far as the rest of the game goes,
we started to go to Casey more which is what we needed to do."
Afterward, Calvary and freshman Kyle Bankhead each hit 3s and
Dickau made a smooth spinning move down the lane to put the
Bulldogs ahead 56-51 with 9:17 remaining.
|  | | Gonzaga and Casey Calvary have shown the big boys they can play with three straight trips to the Sweet 16. |
A barrage of 3-pointers from both sides followed, with Indiana
State's Michael Menser hitting two 3s sandwiched around one by
Calvary.
Matt Renn's 3-pointer for the Sycamores tied it at 60, but
Dickau followed with a pull-up jumper and two free throws to put
Gonzaga ahead 64-60 with 7:23 to go.
Gourde scored 15 points, and Alex Hernandez 12 for the Bulldogs,
who beat second-seeded Stanford in 1999 and then No. 2 St. John's
last year en route to the round of 16.
With Gonzaga's continued NCAA tournament success, Few hopes the next time the Zags will get more respect.
"I was very disappointed with the seed they gave us. It was
just a lack of knowing how good this team is and maybe how good our
conference is," Few said. "It's silly to think if we go 13-1 in
our conference that we're not better than a fourth-, or fifth-, or
sixth- or seventh-place team out of one of the football schools'
leagues."
Indiana State, the Zags' first lower-seeded opponent in the
tournament, got 16 points each from Renn and Howard, while Menser
added 15.
Renn and Menser, the Sycamores' two senior starters who played
in the school's only consecutive NCAA appearances, tried to be
positive after the defeat.
"We have nothing to hang our heads about," Renn said. "We
were in the game until the last four or five minutes."
Indiana State coach Royce Waltman said he was sad to see Renn
and Menser leave, but proud of the rebuilding they were part of.
"I'm still extremely pleased for these two guys here and our
team for what they've done in the past couple of weeks. We were a
little bit down at the end of the season. We came back and won our
conference and won a game here," Waltman said.
Indiana State led 37-32 after a tight and fast-paced first half.
But Dickau, who didn't have a field goal in the opening 20 minutes,
had a rebound basket and made a free throw to start Gonzaga on a
9-0 run to go ahead 45-43 with 14:48 left.
Gonzaga looked like the inexperienced tournament team in the
first half with sloppy plays, missed shots and 13 turnovers. It
gave Indiana State reason to believe it could win.
"We knew where they were coming from, but at the same time we
came out ready for them and respected their players," Calvary
said.
Dickau, who scored 21 points in the first half against Virginia
in the first round, only scored on three free throws and had four
turnovers by halftime Sunday. The Zags, who average 14.3 turnovers
a game, had just two in the second half.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Indiana State Clubhouse
Gonzaga Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Despite the victory, coach Mark Few was critical of Gonzaga's seeding (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
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