 | CONNELL GRANGE SUPPLY WHERE THE CUSTOMER IS STILL THE COMPANY |
|
Printable Page
03/19 23:56 CDT Third-seeded Gonzaga holds off No. 14 seed Kennesaw State for a
73-64 March Madness win
Third-seeded Gonzaga holds off No. 14 seed Kennesaw State for a 73-64 March
Madness win
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) --- Graham Ike scored 19 points and third-seeded Gonzaga
held off tenacious No. 14 seed Kennesaw State 73-64 in a defensive battle that
ended with some drama Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Davis Fogle added 17 points for the Bulldogs, who will face No. 11 seed Texas
Saturday in the West Region.
RJ Johnson and Amir Taylor each had 15 points for Kennesaw State (21-14), which
made its second March Madness appearance after winning the Conference USA
Tournament.
Fogle's dunk gave Gonzaga its first double-digit lead at 57-46 with 7:54 to go,
but the Owls capitalized on a series of late fouls by the Bulldogs that enraged
both the large Gonzaga crowd and coach Mark Few.
Ike had a flagrant foul on Frankquon Sherman, who made both shots to get
Kennesaw State within 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 within 69-64. Ike answered with a jumper and
Gonzaga held on.
Jalen Warley added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Gonzaga (31-3), which has made
27 straight tournament appearances. The Zags lost in the national title game in
2017 and 2021.
Gonzaga reached the 30-win plateau for the ninth time in program history and
won the West Coast Conference Tournament for the sixth time in seven years. The
Bulldogs will be part of the Pac-12's relaunch next season as a non-football
member.
Gonzaga was a 20 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. But
Kennesaw State led 14-7 after the first nine minutes and maintained the lead
until Warley's layup put Gonzaga in front 19-18 with 5:46 to go in the half.
The game was back-and-forth from there as the Bulldogs failed to put away the
physical Owls.
Gonzaga went on a 10-0 run to close out the first half with a 33-27 lead. The
Zags stretched it to 42-31 early in the second half.
The Owls closed within 42-38 on Kaden Rickard's layup. A pair of free throws
from Johnson and Sherman's layup got Kennesaw State within 43-42 with 11:47 to
go. But the Bulldogs responded with Emmanuel Innocenti's 3-pointer and Ike's
dunk.
Gonzaga remains without forward Braden Huff because of a knee injury. He has
missed 16 straight games and was not expected to return in the opening rounds.
The Owls reached 20 wins this season for just the second time in school
history, despite losing leading scorer Simeon Cottle at midseason due to a
federal probe into gambling. They finished sixth in the CUSA regular-season
standings before rolling through the conference tourney.
____
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
