It's not that Josh Heyvelt is reluctant to play the role of enforcer. But given a choice, the 6-foot-11, 260-pounder would just as soon feather in a rainbow three-pointer from the top of the key than mix it up beneath the rim.
Yet if the fourth-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs are going to continue to advance in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, their big man must duplicate a few more performances like the one he had Thursday in a 77-64 victory against No. 13 seed Akron at the Rose Garden.
"I read an article, I can't remember where I read it, but it said guards get you past the first round and then bigs get you into the deeper rounds," sophomore guard Matt Bouldin said. "He's really important just because a lot of teams tend to be guard heavy, and as long as he can battle them and rattle them, it really opens up a lot for the rest of the team."
When Heyvelt scores 22 points and collects eight rebounds as he did Thursday, then the Zags look like a national-championship contender.
But when he shies away from contact and fails to police the paint, Gonzaga doesn't have the muscle to withstand a physical attack like the beating Akron's McKnight brothers dished out in the first half. Older brother Chris McKnight banged against Heyvelt early on, giving away to younger brother Brett and bruising forward Nikola Cvetinovic.
"Akron's game was to give it to the McKnight brothers and just pound you, pound you and pound you," Heyvelt said. "That's no fun. You're constantly pushing and shoving and fighting. It wears you down and gets you tired."
Akron led 38-35 at halftime largely because the Zips outscored the Zags 16-14 in the lane. Inside the locker room, past first-round flameouts haunted Heyvelt, who admitted he was worried Gonzaga might extend its three-game tournament losing streak.
Trailing 49-43 with less than 15 minutes left in the second half, Bouldin whipped a pass to Heyvelt, who flushed a dunk that brought the red-, white- and blue-clad Zags fans to their feet and started the Bulldogs' comeback.
Nearly 6 ½ minutes later, Heyvelt drained a three-pointer that gave Gonzaga a 64-52 lead, capped a 21-3 run and sealed the victory.
Senior forward Micah Downs added 15 points; Bouldin chipped in 12 points, five assists and five rebounds; and Austin Daye finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
"We got going because we picked up on defense, just extending, forcing turnovers and getting out and running," said senior guard Jeremy Pargo, who had nine points and five assists. "But you've got to give a lot of credit to Josh. We've got a lot of guys on this team who can do a lot of things, but nobody can really do what he does."
Akron had just four points in the paint in the second half, and Heyvelt held the McKnight brothers to a combined 15 points and seven rebounds।
Yet if the fourth-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs are going to continue to advance in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, their big man must duplicate a few more performances like the one he had Thursday in a 77-64 victory against No. 13 seed Akron at the Rose Garden.
"I read an article, I can't remember where I read it, but it said guards get you past the first round and then bigs get you into the deeper rounds," sophomore guard Matt Bouldin said. "He's really important just because a lot of teams tend to be guard heavy, and as long as he can battle them and rattle them, it really opens up a lot for the rest of the team."
When Heyvelt scores 22 points and collects eight rebounds as he did Thursday, then the Zags look like a national-championship contender.
But when he shies away from contact and fails to police the paint, Gonzaga doesn't have the muscle to withstand a physical attack like the beating Akron's McKnight brothers dished out in the first half. Older brother Chris McKnight banged against Heyvelt early on, giving away to younger brother Brett and bruising forward Nikola Cvetinovic.
"Akron's game was to give it to the McKnight brothers and just pound you, pound you and pound you," Heyvelt said. "That's no fun. You're constantly pushing and shoving and fighting. It wears you down and gets you tired."
Akron led 38-35 at halftime largely because the Zips outscored the Zags 16-14 in the lane. Inside the locker room, past first-round flameouts haunted Heyvelt, who admitted he was worried Gonzaga might extend its three-game tournament losing streak.
Trailing 49-43 with less than 15 minutes left in the second half, Bouldin whipped a pass to Heyvelt, who flushed a dunk that brought the red-, white- and blue-clad Zags fans to their feet and started the Bulldogs' comeback.
Nearly 6 ½ minutes later, Heyvelt drained a three-pointer that gave Gonzaga a 64-52 lead, capped a 21-3 run and sealed the victory.
Senior forward Micah Downs added 15 points; Bouldin chipped in 12 points, five assists and five rebounds; and Austin Daye finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
"We got going because we picked up on defense, just extending, forcing turnovers and getting out and running," said senior guard Jeremy Pargo, who had nine points and five assists. "But you've got to give a lot of credit to Josh. We've got a lot of guys on this team who can do a lot of things, but nobody can really do what he does."
Akron had just four points in the paint in the second half, and Heyvelt held the McKnight brothers to a combined 15 points and seven rebounds।
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