Gonzaga bigs lead way to breakthrough win over Bruins at Climate Pledge Arena
SEATTLE – Three takeaways at the buzzer from No. 8 Gonzaga’s 82-72 win late Saturday night over No. 25 UCLA at Climate Pledge Arena.
Big deal
It wasn’t much of a surprise, but bigs on both teams carried the scoring load.
In the first half alone, Gonzaga’s Graham Ike and Braden Huff and UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau, a Kennewick, Washington, native, piled up 45 of the teams’ 85 points. The trio combined to make 16 of 20 field-goal attempts and went 4 of 4 on 3-pointers.
At the break, the Zags led 45-40 and held a 20-10 edge in paint points.
The bigs continued to dominate in the second half.
Bilodeau surpassed his 15.6-point average with 16 first-half points. He made his first four 3-pointers before misfiring with 6:30 remaining. He closed with 24 points, but he had 22 points with nearly 17 minutes remaining in the second half.
Ike was nearly perfect in the first half – 6 of 7 from the field, 15 points, four assists, two dunks – and showed no signs of the sore left ankle that kept him on the sideline in GU’s last game.
Ike seemed to favor the ankle at times in the second half, but he battled through it and continued to make big-time contributions. He finished with 25 points, five rebounds and a career-high five assists.
Huff did most of his damage in the first half with 14 points, but he added four points in the final five-plus minutes to help the Zags dig out the victory. He finished with 21 points and four rebounds.
Climate control
Gonzaga hasn’t had much luck in Climate Pledge Arena, dropping all three of its matchups against ranked teams. The fourth time was the charm.
The Zags finally broke through against UCLA late Saturday night after previous losses to Alabama, UConn and Kentucky.
GU’s last wins in Seattle came at KeyArena, prior to the building being renovated and renamed Climate Pledge Arena. That came in the 2016 NCAA Tournament with victories over North Dakota State and Iowa to reach the Sweet 16.
Gonzaga is now 16-8 in KeyArena/Climate Pledge and has an 8-3 series lead over the Bruins.
All 10 of Gonzaga’s wins have been by double figures. GU’s 10-point wins over Alabama and UCLA have been the closest margins.
Saint-Supery, Smith provide lift
Gonzaga’s point-guard combo of freshman Mario Saint-Supery and junior Braeden Smith didn’t have their usual assist totals, but they came through with timely points.
Saint-Supery scored six points in each half. He nailed a 3-ball to extend Gonzaga’s lead to 70-64 with 7:25 left.
Smith only hit one shot, but it was a timely 3-pointer that gave Gonzaga the lead for good at 62-60 with 10:37 remaining. The Seattle native also had two assists.