Gonzaga Gets Sidelined By Hawaii

Anthony Carter scored a career-high 33 points as Hawaii held off Gonzaga 78-70 late Monday night to advance to the third round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Carter, who scored 28 points in the Rainbows’ first-round victory over Arizona State, took charge down the stretch against the Bulldogs, scoring 11 of his team’s final 16 points.

The Rainbows will play host to Western Athletic Conference foe Fresno State in a third-round game Thursday night.

Hawaii (21-8), which scored 60 points in the paint, appeared to be cruising to a runaway victory against Gonzaga (24-10), building a 60-47 lead midway through the second half.

But a 15-2 Gonzaga run, with Bakari Hendrix and Quentin Hall combining for all of the points, evened the game at 62.

But five points by Carter, who was 13 of 23 from the field, put the Rainbows ahead for good and ended the Bulldogs’ season.

Hendrix topped the Bulldogs with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Hawaii 78, Gonzaga 70

Gonzaga (24-10) - Santangelo 4-15 0-0 9, Frahm 5-12 0-0 13, Nilson 1-1 2-2 4, Hendrix 10-22 4-7 26, Griffin 0-0 2-2 2, Hall 3-8 2-5 9, Floyd 0-0 1-2 1, Leasure 1-1 0-0 3, Dench 1-3 0-0 3, Calvary 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 11-18 70.

Hawaii (21-8) - Galloway 6-10 3-5 15, Robinson 4-14 1-2 9, Kroeger 1-1 3-5 5, Smith 7-15 0-0 14, Carter 13-23 6-7 33, Cartwright 0-1 1-2 1, Zivanovic 0-1 0-0 0, Ambrozich 0-1 1-2 1, Moeller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-66 15-23 78.

Halftime - Hawaii 42, Gonzaga 35. 3-point goals - Gonzaga 9-23 (Santangelo 1-6, Frahm 3-7, Hendrix 2-4, Hall 1-4, Leasure 1-1, Dench 1-1), Hawaii 1-8 (Robinson 0-1, Smith 0-4, Carter 1-3). Fouled out - Gonzaga, Calvary. Rebounds - Gonzaga 41 (Hendrix 13), Hawaii 41 (Robinson 13). Assists -Gonzaga 19 (Santangelo 6, Hall 6), Hawaii 13 (Smith 5, Carter 5). Total fouls - Gonzaga 21, Hawaii 17. Technicals - None. A - 10,254.