Graham Ek scored 19 points and third-seeded Gonzaga beat tenacious No. 14 seed Kennesaw State 73-64 in a defensive battle that ended in dramatic fashion Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Davis Fogel added 17 points for the Bulldogs, who will face No. 11 seed Texas in the West Region on Saturday.
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“We battled the storm,” Ike said. “This team was built from the beginning to deal with adversity, and I’m very proud of the way we handled it.”
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RJ Johnson and Amir Taylor each scored 15 points for Kennesaw State (21-14), which is making 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 left, but the Owls took advantage of a series of late fouls by the Bulldogs that infuriated the large Gonzaga crowd at Moda Center and coach Mark Fife.
Ike was called for a flagrant foul on Frankquon Sherman, who hit two field goals to bring Kennesaw State within 67-60 with 3:06 left.
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Mario Sansupéry sprinted to the Zags bench after his fifth foul and Sherman hit a free throw to pull the Owls to 69-64. Ike responded with a jumper and Gonzaga held on.
“I’m really glad we got through this,” Fife said. “It’s not pretty. But the most important thing is you win. And then we move on.”
Jalen Warley added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Gonzaga (31-3), which is making its 27th straight tournament appearance. The Zags lost in the national championship games in 2017 and 2021.
Gonzaga reached the 30-win mark for the ninth time in program history and won the West Coast Conference Tournament for the sixth time in seven years. The Bulldogs will participate in the Pac-12’s restart next season as a non-football member.
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Gonzaga is a 20 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. But Kennesaw State jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first nine minutes and held on to the lead until Worley’s layup gave Gonzaga a 19-18 lead with 5:46 left in the half. The game was back-and-forth from that point on, with the Bulldogs unable to stop the Owls’ physical play.
“We were really soft offensively and we didn’t draw any fouls,” Favre said. “We didn’t create any advantages, we didn’t get the ball to the basket. It was just making some stops early on and then going out and attacking.”
Gonzaga went on a 10-0 run and ended the first half with a 33-27 lead. At the beginning of the second half, the Zags chased the score to 42-31.
Kaden Rickard scored on a layup to bring the Owls within 42-38. With 11:47 left in the game, Johnson’s two free throws and Sherman’s layup helped Kennesaw State chase the score to 43-42. But the Bulldogs responded with a three-pointer from Emmanuel Innocenti and a dunk from Ike.
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“Just couldn’t get over it,” Kennesaw State coach Antoine Pettway said. “This is a really good team and coach Few did a great job. That Graham guy was a handful, but I thought our guys fought and stuck to the game plan. We’ll be back and it was a great taste.”
Gonzaga forward Brayden Huff remains sidelined with a knee injury. He has missed 16 consecutive games and is not expected to return for the first round.
The Owls reached 20 wins this season, just the second time in school history, despite losing leading scorer Simeon Cottle midseason due to a federal investigation into gambling. They finished sixth in the CUSA regular season standings and entered the conference tournament.
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