National Basketball Association
Gonzaga 74, UCLA 62
When: 7:15 PM ET, Friday, March 27, 2015
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Officials:
# James Breeding, # Ray Natili, # Bert Smith
Attendance:
17669
By SportsDirect Inc.
Gonzaga 74, UCLA 62: Przemek Karnowski had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Bulldogs advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years with a convincing win over the Bruins in Houston.
Domantas Sabonis added 12 points and eight boards for second-seeded Gonzaga (35-2), which meets No. 1 seed Duke in the South Region final Sunday. Aside from Karnowski and Sabonis, no other Bulldog shot better than 36.3 percent from the field while the team shot a combined 3-of-19 from 3-point range.
Kyle Wiltjer had 10 rebounds and four assists for Gonzaga but struggled to eight points on 4-of-12 shooting, while Kevin Pangos finished with 10 points on 3-of-10 from the field - 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Norman Powell (16 points) and Tony Parker (16 points, 11 rebounds) were the top offensive performers for 11th-seeded UCLA (22-14), which was outrebounded 50-39 and didn't make a 3-pointer for the first 37 1/2 minutes.
UCLA went more than six minutes without a field goal midway through the first half, but Gonzaga did not begin to pull away until shortly thereafter, when Byron Wesley scored five points during a 9-2 burst to create a 25-14 cushion. The Bruins opened the second half with six straight points to get within 35-34 before the Bulldogs answered with a 12-0 run, holding UCLA scoreless for five minutes to open up a double-digit advantage.
Beginning with about 12 minutes left, Sabonis and Karnowski scored 12 straight Gonzaga points as the lead swelled to 59-45. The Bruins made three late 3-pointers in a span of 40 seconds before the Bulldogs' guards wrapped it up at the foul line.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gonzaga dominated UCLA in an 87-74 road win when the teams met on Dec. 13. Wiltjer scored 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting in that contest - the Bruins' only home loss of the season. ... Bryce Alford's 3-pointer with 2:20 left was UCLA' first long-range connection of the game, extending the school's streak to 521 straight games with at least one 3-pointer. ... Wesley scored 14 points for the Bulldogs, who have never been to the Final Four.
Top Game Performances
UCLA |
|
Gonzaga |
Tony Parker 16 |
Scoring |
Przemek Karnowski 18 |
Bryce Alford 4 |
Assists |
Kyle Wiltjer 4 |
Tony Parker 11 |
Rebounds |
Kyle Wiltjer 10 |
Tony Parker 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Byron Wesley 5 |
Gyorgy Goloman 2 |
Steals |
Kevin Pangos 2 |
Norman Powell 3 |
Blocks |
Przemek Karnowski 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
UCLA
|
62 |
38.8 |
3-13 |
7-11 |
12 |
35 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
Gonzaga
|
74 |
40.3 |
3-19 |
17-23 |
15 |
45 |
4 |
5 |
5 |