Zags up 36-35 at half

Gonzaga is shooting the lights out again against Santa Clara, but this time so are the Broncos.

Gonzaga made its first five shots and 9 of its first 12. The Bulldogs built an early nine-point lead only to see Santa Clara respond with a 16-6 surge to take a 24-23 lead on John Bryant’s layup with 7:18 left.

The Bulldogs rattled off eight unanswered points (six by Josh Heytvelt) to move in front 36-30 with 4 minutes left, but they had three late turnovers and didn’t score again. Meanwhile, Santa Clara closed within 36-35 at the break on James Rahon’s bank shot and a pair of Bryant free throws.

Gonzaga, which shot 55.4 percent in a 95-43 win over the Broncos in Spokane, made 14 of 25 shots (56 percent). SCU was in the mid 50s for much of the half before finishing 14 of 29 (48.3 percent).

Heytvelt has 13 points and two steals. Matt Bouldin added nine points and Jeremy Pargo chipped in six points and three assists. Kevin Foster leads Santa Clara with 13 points. Bryant picked up two fouls and played just 10 minutes. He has eight points and five rebounds.

More at the final buzzer.