Zags work OT for third win in six days
Gonzaga doesn't play another basketball game until next Saturday when it visits Portland. It'll be a nice break from the three-games-in-six-days stretch the Bulldogs just completed. GU went 3-0 in that stretch, capped by a thrilling 85-83 win over Illinois on Saturday.
Read on for more.
Staff and wire report
Freshman forward Elias Harris made an off-balance 8-foot shot in the lane with 12.6 seconds left to lift the Gonzaga Bulldogs to a wild 85-83 overtime victory over
“With as much as we’ve been traveling I’m just off-the-charts proud of how our guys hung in there,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Especially with the nature of the game where we couldn’t do anything wrong early, couldn’t do anything right in the middle and then we showed a lot of poise down the stretch. We got the shots we wanted and dug out a couple of stops. That’s a great sign for us.”
The Bulldogs dominated early, scoring the first 10 points and leading 32-11 at one point. The Zags, much like the first half of the
But it didn’t last. After playing turnover-free for the first 12 minutes, Gonzaga had six turnovers before halftime as
The Bulldogs couldn’t shake the turnover bug in the second half and the Illini seemingly took advantage of every miscue.
Gonzaga eased back in front 50-45, but the Illini scored the next seven points to take their first lead. They eventually led by eight, 66-58, after Bouldin’s turnover led to Demetri McCamey’s dunk at the other end with 10:30 remaining.
Then it was the Bulldogs’ turn to rally. They pulled within two on Bouldin’s post-up basket and took the lead 73-72 on Bouldin’s driving layup.
Senior reserve forward Dominique Keller, a thorn in Gonzaga’s side throughout, made a layup and a 17-footer to put
McCamey missed a 3-pointer, but Mike Davis grabbed the offensive rebound and Keller, who scored a career-high 22 points, drained an open 3 to tie it. Demetri Goodson’s shot was blocked in the closing seconds, sending the game to overtime.
“When we can get Elias the ball anywhere around the basket or even 8 to 10 feet (away), it’s amazing how consistent he is,” Few said.
Gray (20), Harris (19), Sacre (19) and Bouldin (18) combined for 76 of Gonzaga’s 85 points. Kelly Olynyk scored all eight of the team’s bench points.
“They played the other night, flew yesterday and they come out and stick it to us,”
Gonzaga had a season-high 21 assists, seven from Bouldin, but finished with a season-high 21 turnovers, which led to 33 Illini points. The Bulldogs outrebounded