Gonzaga opens NCAA Tournament with hard-fought 73-64 win over Kennesaw State | Recap and highlights
PORTLAND – Emmanuel Innocenti tilted his head back and exhaled.
Gonzaga wasn’t in the clear against Kennesaw night when the junior’s 3-pointer dropped through the net with 11 minutes to play, but it still felt like a major breakthrough for an offense that had been harnessed much of the night.
It eventually came together for the third-seeded Zags, who used scoring runs at the end of the first half and midway through the second to pull away from the 14th-seeded Owls for a 73-64 victory at the Moda Center.
The result gave Mark Few’s team its 17th consecutive victory in an NCAA Tournament opener – a run that stretches back to Stephen Curry’s sophomore season at Davidson, when the Wildcats beat the Zags 73-66 in a first-round game in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Gonzaga (31-3) advances to Saturday’s Round of 32 game against 11th-seeded Texas (20-14), which overcame a 35-point outing from BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa to beat the sixth-seeded Cougars 79-71 on Thursday. Few’s teams have a 5-4 record against those coached by Texas’ Sean Miller, most recently beating Miller’s team 88-84 in a game that was played less than 100 yards from Saturday’s venue at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Gonzaga had to overcome early and late pushes from a Kennesaw State team that created constant foul pressure on Few’s team.
The Zags established a game-high 14-point lead with under seven minutes remaining in the second half, but the Owls mounted a final rally and created some tense moments down the stretch.
Point guard Mario Saint-Supery fouled out with under two minutes to play and two other Gonzaga starters – Graham Ike and Jalen Warley – were on the verge of doing so, both playing with four fouls.
The Zags trailed much of the first half, but went on a key 10-0 run with Ike on the bench to take a 33-27 lead into halftime. Freshman Davis Fogle knocked down Gonzaga’s first 3-pointer of the night with 10 seconds remaining in the half to open up a two-possession lead entering the break.
Ike finished with a team-high 19 points, making 6 of 13 shots from the field, but the Zags also got major contributions from Fogle, who finished with 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting in his NCAA Tournament appearance. Warley, making his March Madness debut in his fifth college season, registered 12 points and 12 rebounds.
First half
19:13 – GU 2, KS 0: Owls win the tip and Johnson misses his first attempt. Ike opens the scoring with a layup on the other end. We are finally underway in Portland.
15:29 – KS 6, GU 2: Owls size causing GU problems early. Zags have missed their last five attempts and are being outrebounded 5-1.
Ike is 1 of 3 from the field and picked up an early foul. Taylor leads Kennesaw with four points.
11:26 – KS 14, GU 7: Owls go on a 7-0 run and Mark Few calls for timeout.
Kennesaw has done a great job setting the tone, smothering Gonzaga’s offense and converting at the free throw line (5 of 6).
GU is 3 of 14 from the field and 0 of 4 on 3-poiners. The Zags have also been outrebounded 11-6.
7:07 – KS 16, GU 13: Zags get some back, mostly at the free throw line, but are still just 4 of 20 from the field at the U8 media timeout.
Diagne has checked in as GU tries to match the Owls size. Zags’ defense is holding strong, limiting Kennesaw to 1 of its last 11 attempts from the field.
5:45 – GU 19, KS 18: Zags take the lead on a nice find from Grant-Foster to Warley in the post. Kennesaw calls timeout.
Ike leads all scorers with nine points and Saint-Supery and Grant-Foster add four apiece.
3:06 – KS 25, GU 21: Ike picks up his second foul at the U4 media timeout, as the Owls charge back ahead on a 3-pointer from Rickard.
Zags have four turnovers in the last 2:13 and fumbled a couple of opportunities for fast break points.
Rickard leads KS with 10 points and three steals, while Johnson adds eight points.
Halftime
Gonzaga closed the first half of a 10-0 run to lead Kennesaw State 33-27 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Moda Center in Portland.
Davis Fogle buried the teams’ first 3-pointer in the closing seconds, as GU shook out of a poor shooting spell late in the half.
Kennesaw made things difficult inside, using its size to its advantage. Gonzaga opened the game 4 of 20 from the field.
GU got solid contributions from Fogle, Tyon Grant-Foster and Jalen Warley, all with six points apiece. Graham Ike leads with nine points.
Kennesaw led by as many as seven points.
Second half
15:40 – GU 42, KS 33: Zags pad to their lead with a slight advantage in the second half.
Ike has five of GU’s nine points since halftime, bringing his total to 14 for the game. GU has outrebounded the Owls 7-1 since halftime, changing the first-half trend.
10:37 – GU 48, KS 42: Owls go on an 11-1 run and Mark Few lets the Zags play through it. GU answers with a 3-pointer from Innocenti and a breakaway dunk from Grant-Foster. Kennesaw calls timeout.
Owls hanging around, but that was a crucial five-point swing for GU.
7:32 – GU 57, KS 46: Fogle breaks through for a dunk, Warley gets a and is fouled for two free throws at the U8 media timeout.
Big minutes from the freshman Fogle, who is second on the team with 12 points off the bench. Fellow freshman Saint-Supery also broke out of a shooting slump with a 3-pointer after missing his first five attempts.
Zags taking over down the stretch. Owls are going to need to find some easy offense they’ve yet to have this game.
3:45 – GU 65, KS 56: Sherman hits a 3-pointer and the Owls call timeout as they bring the Zags lead back under double figures at the under 4-minute mark.
Zags need a few more solid possessions to see this one through, but Kennesaw has given them a fight all night.
Johnson and Taylor lead the Owls with 15 points apiece. Ike has 17 for Gonzaga.
2:53 – GU 67, KS 61: Ike assessed a flagrant foul for an elbow during an offensive possession. Zags did not like the call.
Sherman makes both free throws, then Saint-Supery is called for a blocking foul and Simpson makes one of two free throws to trip GU’s lead more.
Things tightening up now. Ike, Warley and Saint-Supery have four fouls apiece.
1:42 – GU 69, KS 64: Warley makes a layup, then Saint-Supery fouls out on a play where he didn’t appear to make any contact. Sherman makes both free throws and Gonzaga calls timeout.
0:26 – GU 71, KS 64: Ike makes a crucial basket inside, Owls miss a 3-pointer and are forced to foul. Zags going to escape some late-game antics with a win. Tough game from start to finish for GU, which will advance to play 11th-seeded Texas in the second round.
We’ll be back with a full recap shortly.
Starting five’s
Gonzaga: Jalen Warley (6.8 ppg), Mario Saint-Supery (8.6 ), Adam Miller (7.6), Emmanuel Innocenti (5.8), Graham Ike (19.7)
Kennesaw State: RJ Johnson (14.5 ppg), Trey Simpson (9.2), Frankquon Sherman (10.3), Braedan Lue (11.1), Amir Taylor (7.3).
Tipoff time pushed back to 7:24 p.m.
After getting a late start to warmups, Gonzaga-Kennesaw State will tipoff at 7:24 p.m. on TBS.
Texas upsets BYU to reach second round
From the First Four to the Round of 32, the Texas Longhorns have quickly built momentum at the NCAA Tournament.
Sean Miller’s squad upset No. 6 Brigham Young 79-71 at the Moda Center in Portland on Thursday, and awaits the winner of Gonzaga-Kennesaw State in the second round.
Gonzaga was likely to face a former conference foe in BYU and a future top three NBA draft pick in AJ Dybantsa. Instead, with a win the Zags will face a longhorns squad that was up and down this season.
Texas lost five of its last six games before beating NC State in the First Four in Dayton on Tuesday.
Pregame
Once again Gonzaga is strapping up its dancing shoes.
The third-seeded Bulldogs (30-3) open the NCAA Tournament against 14th-seeded Kennesaw State (21-13) tonight at the Moda Center in Portland. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on TBS.
GU arrives in the Big Dance having won its final appearance in the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Zags posted one of their finest regular seasons under coach Mark Few, despite losing second leading scorer Braden Huff to a knee injury on Jan. 15.
WCC Player of the Year Graham Ike will carry the load for the Zags as he has all season. The forward is averaging 19.7 points a game and 8.2 rebounds.
The Owls were up and down to close the season after leading scorer Simeon Cottle was dismissed from the team due to his alleged involvement in a point shaving scandal. Still, Kennesaw rallied for three wins at the CUSA Tournament to punch their ticket to tonight’s matchup.
Follow along with this thread for updates throughout the night, and find the latest coverage at our NCAA Tournament Central page.
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