Gonzaga relieved, survives Kennesaw State in NCAA tournament
PORTLAND, Ore. — Graham Ike scored 19 factors and third-seeded Gonzaga held off tenacious No. 14 seed 73-64 in a defensive battle that ended with some drama Thursday night time in the primary spherical of the NCAA tournament.
Davis Fogle added 17 factors for the Bulldogs, who will face No. 11 seed Texas on Saturday in the West Region.
“We battled the storms,” Ike mentioned. “This team is built for adversity from the jump, and I’m just super proud of how we handle it.”
RJ Johnson and Amir Taylor every had 15 factors for Kennesaw State (21-14), which made its second March Madness look after profitable the Conference USA tournament.
Fogle’s dunk gave Gonzaga its first double-digit lead at 57-46 with 7:54 to go, however the Owls capitalized on a sequence of late fouls by the Bulldogs that enraged each the massive Gonzaga crowd on the Moda Center and coach Mark Few.
Ike was known as for a flagrant foul on Frank Quon Shermanwho made each photographs to get Kennesaw State to inside 67-60 with 3:06 to go.
Mario Saint-Supery headed to the Zags’ bench after his fifth foul and Sherman made free throws to get the Owls to inside 69-64. Ike responded with a jumper and Gonzaga held on.
“I’m really happy that we got through this one,” Few mentioned. “It wasn’t pretty. But the bottom line is you just win. And we get to move on.”
Jalen Warley added 12 factors and 12 rebounds for Gonzaga (31-3), which has made 27 straight tournament appearances. The Zags misplaced in the nationwide title sport in 2017 and 2021.
Gonzaga reached the 30-win plateau for the ninth time in program historical past and gained the West Coast Conference tournament for the sixth time in seven years. The Bulldogs will likely be a part of the Pac-12’s relaunch subsequent season as a non-football member.
Gonzaga was a 20½-point favourite, in response to DraftKings Sportsbook. But Kennesaw State led 14-7 after the primary 9 minutes and maintained the lead till Warley’s layup put Gonzaga in entrance 19-18 with 5:46 to go in the half. The sport was shut from there because the Bulldogs didn’t put away the bodily Owls.
“We were really soft on the offensive end and we weren’t drawing any fouls,” Few mentioned. “We weren’t creating any advantages, we weren’t getting the ball to the rim. It started by just getting some stops and getting out and attacking.”
Gonzaga went on a 10-0 run to shut out the primary half for a 33-27 lead. The Zags stretched it to 42-31 early in the second half.
The Owls closed to inside 42-38 on Kaden Rickard‘s layup. A pair of free throws from Johnson and Sherman’s layup bought Kennesaw State to inside 43-42 with 11:47 to go. But the Bulldogs responded with Emmanuel Innocenti‘s 3-pointer and Ike’s dunk.
“Just couldn’t get over that hump,” Kennesaw State coach Antoine Pettway mentioned. “That’s a really good team and Coach Few does a tremendous job. That dude Graham is a handful, but I thought our guys battled and stuck to the game plan. We will be back. It was a great taste.”
Gonzaga stays with out ahead Braden Huff due to a knee harm. He has sat out 16 straight video games and was not anticipated to return in the opening rounds.
The Owls reached 20 wins this season for less than the second time in college historical past, regardless of dropping main scorer Simeon Cottle at midseason due to a federal probe into gambling. They completed sixth in the CUSA regular-season standings earlier than rolling via the convention tourney.
