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Wake Forest tops No. 17 Gonzaga, 77-75

The Columbian
Published: December 6, 2009, 12:00am

Gonzaga forward Elias Harris is not sure why he was ejected late in the first half against Wake Forest.

What is sure is that No. 17 Gonzaga could not recover from the game-changing loss of its second-leading scorer and top rebounder, and fell 77-75 to Wake Forest on Saturday at Spokane.

“My feeling is I did nothing wrong,” said Harris, who came in averaging 14 points and eight rebounds a game.

Harris said he and Wake Forest’s Chas McFarland were struggling for rebound position on C.J. Harris’ missed 3-pointer.

“I put one hand on his chest and went for the rebound and he fell,” Elias Harris said. “I didn’t know what happened.”

Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said he didn’t see the play.

“It was a big momentum swing for us,” Gaudio said. “I don’t feel good for the young man (Harris). He’s a terrific kid.”

The referees whistled Elias Harris for a flagrant foul and ejected him from the game with Gonzaga (6-2) leading 31-22 with just over 2 minutes left in the half.

C.J. Harris was awarded five free throws — three for the foul on his shot and two for the technical on Harris — and he sank four. Wake Forest (5-2) also got the ball back, and Ari Stewart made a 3-pointer to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 33-31. The Demon Deacons took a 34-33 lead at halftime on Stewart’s long 3-pointer at the buzzer.

C.J. Harris led Wake Forest with 19 points.

Gonzaga is 65-4 in the McCarthey Athletic Center since the building opened in 2004.

The physical game featured 42 fouls and two technicals on Gonzaga.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few pointed to Wake Forest’s 42-36 rebound advantage, including 16 offensive rebounds.

“They are a phenomenal offensive rebounding team,” Few said. “They got extra shots.”

Matt Bouldin led Gonzaga with 22 points.

At Kansas St. 86, Washington St. 69 — Dominique Sutton had 16 points and pressured Washington State’s Klay Thompson into a frustrating night, leading Kansas State (7-1).

Kansas State looked sharp coming off its worst game of the season, using a swarming defense to set up easy baskets on offense. Denis Clemente scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to prevent a comeback and Jacob Pullen added 21 for the Wildcats, who scored 39 points off Washington State’s 25 turnovers.

The Cougars (6-2) had no answer for Kansas State’s pressure, fumbling their way to an insurmountable 20-point hole in the first half. Thompson, the nation’s second-leading scorer, had 22 points, hitting all 11 of his free throws to get there.

Reggie Moore added 16 points for Washington State.

At Portland State 98, Eastern Washington 75 — Dominic Waters had 23 points and eight assists to lead Portland State in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams.

Melvin Jones added 19 points for the Vikings (3-4, 1-0 Big Sky). Glen Dean and Jeffrey Forbes led Eastern Washington (3-5, 0-1 Big Sky) with 17 points each.

At Missouri 106, Oregon 69 — Missouri extended its non-conference home winning streak to 41 games, including a perfect 34-0 under coach Mike Anderson, with a victory over Oregon in the Big 12-Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

The Ducks, shot just 24 percent before the break as Missouri (5-2) used runs of 11-0 and 22-1 to build a 53-24 halftime lead.

Seattle 78, at UC Davis 68 — Charles Garcia had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Seattle. Chris Gweth had 22 points and Cervante Burrell scored 16 points for the Redhawks (5-4).

At No. 5 Kentucky 68, No. 10 North Carolina 66 — Freshman star John Wall shook off a leg injury to finish with 16 points, including the clinching free throws with 4 seconds remaining, and the fifth-ranked Wildcats (8-0)held off North Carolina (7-2).

At No. 15 Ohio St. 111, E. Michigan 60 — Jon Diebler scored 21 points for Ohio State, who lost star player Evan Turner to broken bones in his back and will be out for up to weeks.

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