Recap and highlights: No. 1 Gonzaga cruises past Auburn

Drew Timme scored 28 points, Corey Kispert had 25 and the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Auburn Tigers 90-67 Friday in Fort Myers, Florida.

Timme, a sophomore forward, showed his strength inside grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. He also shot 11 of 16 from the floor and made 5 of 6 free throws.

Kispert finished 9 of 14 from the field and made four 3-pointers.

Gonzaga freshman guard Jalen Suggs added 12 points and a game-high six assists.

Allen Flanigan led Auburn with 20 points. JT Thor and Jamal Johnson each scored 11 points.

Auburn took an early 6-5 lead, but an 11-0 run by the Zags put them in control. Timme started the run with three-point play and Kispert finished it with a deep 3-pointer.

Gonzaga led 49-35 at halftime and used a 7-0 spurt to push the lead over 20. The Zags got the lead to as much as 30 when they led 80-50 late in the second half.

The Zags shot 53% from the field while Auburn made just 37% of its shots.

The Tigers, in an attempt to keep up with Gonzaga, shot 35 3-pointers. They made 11. Gonzaga was 6 of 12 from 3.

The Bulldogs, behind Timme, dominated inside. GU held a 52-16 advantage on points in the paint. Gonzaga also outrebounded Auburn 44-32 and scored 19 second-chance points to the Tigers two.

First half

15:31 – Gonzaga 16, Auburn 6: The Bulldogs use an 11-0 run to take a 10-point lead.

Drew Timme sparked the run with a strong finish through a foul under the basket. Joel Ayayi followed with a 3-pointer and then Jalen Suggs stole a slack pass and raced down court for a dunk. A zone-busting 3 from Corey Kispert pushed the Zags’ lead to double digits.

Gonzaga has already forced five Auburn turnovers. 

11:40 – Gonzaga 26, Auburn 16: Corey Kispert has 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting to lead the No. 1 Zags.

Gonzaga has made Auburn pay for its six turnovers, turning them into 10 points on the end.

Auburn has stayed in the game through its perimeter shooting. The Tigers first 12 points came on four 3-pointers. Their other two buckets were mid-ranger jumpers.

7:43 – Gonzaga 34, Auburn 20: The Zags push the lead to 14 behind a 6-0 run.

Drew Timme has 10 points and six rebounds. The forward is 4-of-5 shooting with a made 3-pointer.

Gonzaga has held Auburn scoreless for the last 2-1/2 minutes. 

Auburn is led by Jamal Johnson, who has six points on 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range.

2:32 – Gonzaga 45, Auburn 32: Drew Timme has 16 points and Gonzaga continues to keep Auburn at a double-digit distance.

The Tigers did cut the GU lead to 9 – 39-30 – with a 10-2 run, but Timme responded with four points.

Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs has two fouls in the first-half for the second straight game. This time coach Mark Few kept the freshman in the game and Suggs responded with a coast-to-coast finish, making a nice side-step to avoid a charge on the lay-up.

Halftime

Gonzaga 49, Auburn 35: Drew Timme has 17 points, Corey Kispert has 14 and the Bulldogs controlled the first 20 minutes of the game.

Kispert got the Zags going early, with 11 points in the first eight minutes. Timme kept the offense rolling late in the half, making 6 of 10 shots and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.

Freshman guard Jalen Suggs has eight points for Gonzaga, but his minutes were limited at the end of the half because he has two fouls.

Jamal Johnson leads Auburn with eight points. Devan Cambridge added six points.

Auburn led 6-5, but the Zags ripped off an 11-0 run and haven’t looked back.

The Tigers have stayed in the game thanks to the 3-pointer. Their first 12 points came on 3s and they are 6 of 14 from 3 in the half. Johnson and Cambridge have made two 3s each.

Gonzaga shot just 4 of 12 from 3, but was 50% from the field.

Gonzaga forced Auburn into 11 turnovers and turned the ball over six times themselves. 

Timme has a game-high seven rebounds. Suggs has three assists.

Second half

15:32 – Gonzaga 61, Auburn 43: The Bulldogs came out of the break hot, scoring the first seven points to get their lead to 21.

The Tigers responded with a pair of Allen Flanigan 3-pointers. He has 13 points.

Drew Timme continues to lead the Zags. He has 20 points. 

11:34 – Gonzaga 74, Auburn 47: An 11-0 Gonzaga run heading into the under-12 timeout has the Bulldogs with their largest lead of the game.

Drew Timme has 24 points and Corey Kispert has 23 for Gonzaga. 

The Zags have made 6 of their last 8 field goal attempts, while Auburn hasn’t scored in 3:14.

GU freshman Jalen Suggs has 10 points.

7:53 – Gonzaga 80, Auburn 52: Drew Timme and Corey Kispert continue to lead the way for the Bulldogs.

Timme has 26 points and 10 rebounds. Kispert has 25 points with four 3-pointers.

Allen Flanigan leads Auburn with 15 points.

With a nearly 30-point lead and under 8 minutes to play lets see if GU coach Mark Few finds some minutes for sophomore forwards Pavel Zakharov and Martynas Arlauskas.

2:13 – Gonzaga 88, Auburn 64: The Bulldogs head into the final 2-1/2 minutes with the game well in hand.

Freshman center Oumar Ballo saw the court for Gonzaga in the last four minutes. He has four points and one rebound.

Gonzaga sophomores Pavel Zakharov and Martynas Arlauskas were set to check in after the timeout for their first action of the game. 

Pregame

Game preview