Kevin Pangos Scores Career-High 34 Points for Gonzaga; Syracuse Captures Maui Title

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Gonzaga's trip to the Hawaiian Islands for the Maui Invitational didn't exactly live up to expectations when the Bulldogs lost their opening-round game to Dayton, Monday night, 84-79.

However, Dayton being a pretty good team and it being early in the season, the 11th-ranked Bulldogs took the defeat in stride, went on to hammer Chaminade, 113-81, on Tuesday and rolled to a 91-81 win over Arkansas Wednesday, largely on the sharp-shooting of junior guard, Kevin Pangos.

The 6'2" Canadian drilled seven of eight from beyond the three-point arc and hit 10 of 15 shots overall to lead the Bulldogs with a career high 34 points.

Regarded as one of the best pure shooters around, Pangos hit seven of eight from the foul line, grabbed three rebounds and dished out four assists.

Gonzaga took a 38-31 lead into the break and maintained their lead in the second half as Pangos threw down 19 points in the final 20 minutes.

The nation's top team in shooting percentage at a cool 57%, the Bulldogs improved to 6-1 on the season, while their star shooter increased his scoring average to an even 20 points per game.

Wrapping up the Maui tournament, Minnesota dumped Chaminade, 83-68, Dayton topped Cal, 82-64, and #8 Syracuse took the championship, 74-67, over #18 Baylor, led by C.J. Fair's 24 points.

Gonzaga Pays Back St. Mary's Behind Kevin Pangos' 27 Points; Murray State Last Unbeaten to Fall

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, February 9, 2012

Official attendance for Gonzaga's showdown with St. Mary's was quoted at 6,000, but inside the McCarthy Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington, it sounded more like 60,000 and the home Bulldogs treated the guest Gaels like they weren't invited.

Before a loud and often deafening crowd, freshman guard Kevin Pangos pumped in 27 points to lead Gonzaga to a 73-59 pummeling of #13 St. Mary's the leaders in the race for the West Coast Conference title.

St. Mary's came into the game riding a 12 game winning streak with an unbeaten, 10-0 record in the conference and a two game lead over the Zags, but Pangos and his fellow Gaels took St. Mary's dazzling point guard, Matthew Deledevoda out of his game, limited the Gaels to 38% shooting, and, with the win, may have secured themselves another trip to the NCAA tourney.

Earlier in the season, St. Mary's had treated the Bulldogs with disdain, pounding them, 83-62, and taking control of the top spot in the conference, but Thursday night, on their home floor, the Zags were clearly the better team, shooting 53% and out-rebounding St. Mary's 40-26.

Pangos, a speedy sharpshooter who is also developing into a slashing driver, was 8-for-16 from the field, making five of six of his three-pointers and going 6-for-6 from the line, along with four boards, two assists and a pair of steals.

The win upped Gonzaga's record to 19-4 overall and 9-2 in the conference. With non-conference wins over Notre Dame, Butler and Arizona on their resume, the Bulldogs appear poised to re-enter the Top 25 next week and ride a wave of confidence through the remainder of the season and into tournament play.

They still trail St. Mary's by a game in the conference schedule, but will likely face them again in the WCC tournament, the winner receiving an automatic bad to the the NCAA tourney.

NOTABLE: The last of the undefeated teams in Division I finally met its match as #7 Murray State fell to Tennessee Tech, 72-68, despite 31 points from Isaiah Canaan. The Racers entered the game at 23-0 with a stranglehold on the Ohio Valley conference. Following the loss, their lead is still 2 1/2 games over Tennessee State with just four more conference tilts left on the schedule, the final three of those on the road. The non-conference game with St Mary's on February 18 is of particular importance as both the Gaels and the Racers will be looking for a signature win to ensure a trip to the big dance.

Pangos Hoists 33, Ties 3-Point Record for Gonzaga in Bulldog Victory over Washington State

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, November 14, 2011

Kevin Pangos missed all three shots he took from inside the 3-point arc in Gonzaga's 89-81 win over Washington State. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, he hit nine of 13 from outside the arc, tallying a career-high 33 points tying Dan Dickau's school record for made threes in a game to help the Zags move to 2-0 on the season.

Pangos, a 6'1" freshman guard, lit up the scoreboard for Gonzaga after scoring only 11 points in their season opening, 77-69, win over Eastern Washington on Friday.

In his 37 minutes, Pangos also dished six assists and grabbed a pair of rebounds. He was also 6-for-6 from the line, including two clutch free throws with time winding down. Center Robert Sacre, saddled with foul trouble much of the game, made six straight foul shots as the Bulldogs failed to score a field goal in the final five minutes, but held off a late rally by the Cougars. Sacre played only 23 minutes, but contributed from the charity stripe, making all 13 of his free throws.

The Bulldogs are expected to remain a force in the West Coast conference after being knocked out in the second round of last season's NCAA tournament by Jimmer Fredette and the BYU Cougars.