By Jim Meehan
McClatchy News Service
SPOKANE — This one looked like most of Gonzaga’s easy victories so far this season.
It just didn’t feel like it for most of the first half, particularly when San Francisco closed within three points with just over 1 minute remaining. Those final 70 seconds offered a clear illustration of just how small the margin for error is for opponents hoping to hand the top-ranked Zags their first loss.
Gonzaga strung together seven quick points — the dagger a buzzer-beating 40-footer by Corey Kispert — and carried the momentum forward with a dominating second half for an 85-62 victory Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
The Dons did a lot of things right in the first half, riding senior guard Jamaree Bouyea’s slashing drives and sharp shooting behind the 3-point arc. They showed resiliency and hit several timely baskets to keep it close.
But San Francisco’s 19 minutes of hard work unraveled in a hurry. Gonzaga (10-0, 1-0 West Coast Conference) made the Dons (7-5, 1-1) pay for every mistake and completely stifled USF’s offense in the closing half.
“It was a great second half, and it was a great second-half of defense against a pretty potent offense,” Zags coach Mark Few said. “I think we all saw in the first half what they were capable of doing.”
The Dons kept it competitive behind Bouyea’s 16 first-half points. The Zags threatened several times to create a comfortable margin, but Bouyea wouldn’t let it happen.
The Dons never recovered from Kispert’s buzzer-beater at the half and the Zags took off, scoring the first seven points of the second half to open up a 54-37 lead. Gonzaga led by as many as 29 points in the closing minutes.
The Zags shut down Bouyea in the closing half and kept running mate Khalil Shabazz in check throughout. Bouyea made just one field goal in the second half and finished with 18 points. Shabazz was 2 of 10 and scored seven points.
Gonzaga freshman point guard Jalen Suggs, returning from a two-game absence with a right leg injury, overcame first-half foul trouble and made things tougher for Bouyea on the offensive end. The Zags also did a better job of contesting Bouyea’s shots when he was able to penetrate into the lane.
“We did a great job on Shabazz all night. He’s a really dynamic scorer,” Few said. “And Bouyea is just a good player. He had his way with us in the first half. We got Jalen back in there in the second half and he did a nice job guarding him.”
Kispert finished with 26 points, and Joel Ayayi (18 points and 10 rebounds) and Drew Timme (10 points and 11 boards) added double-doubles. Ayayi posted double-doubles in all three games this week.
The Dons managed just seven field goals in the second half after connecting on 14 in the first.
Arizona 86, Wash. St. 82, 2OT
PULLMAN — Freshman Bennedict Mathurin had his first career double-double, Terrell Brown Jr. hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left and Arizona beat Washington State 86-82 in double overtime Saturday night.
Mathurin was 8-of-12 shooting and finished with career highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Brown scored 15 points. James Akinjo added 18 points, six assists and three steals, and Azuolas Tubelis had 12 points and nine rebounds for Arizona (9-1, 3-1 Pac-12).
Washington State (9-1, 1-1) had won nine in a row.
Brown’s 3-pointer broke an 81-all tie and, after WSU’s Isaac Bonton made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line, Mathurin hit two foul shots with nine seconds left to cap the scoring.
Bonton led the Cougars with 25 points. Noah Williams scored 16, Andrej Jakimovski added 15 and Efe Abogidi had 12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals before fouling out about 30 seconds into the first overtime.
WSU was outscored 25-19 from the foul line despite attempting five more (37) free throws than the Wildcats. The Cougars made just 5 of 14 from the stripe after regulation.
Washington State was without DJ Rodman, Volodymyr Markovetskyy, Ryan Rapp and Brandton Chatfield due to COVID-19 protocol.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Washington State center Dishon Jackson (21) reaches for a rebound against Arizona in the first half Saturday in Pullman. Arizona won 86-82 in double overtime to hand the Cougars their first loss of the year. (Dean Hare/Associated Press)
