National Basketball Association
Gonzaga 84, Arizona 80
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 14, 2019
Where: McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona
Officials:
# Deidre Carr, # Gregory Nixon, # David Hall
Attendance:
14644
By Field Level Media
Corey Kispert led four Gonzaga players in double figures with 18 points as the sixth-ranked Bulldogs took advantage of cold-shooting No. 15 Arizona and then held on for an 84-80 victory on Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Filip Petrusev had 16 points and seven rebounds for Gonzaga (11-1), while Joel Ayayi added 15 points and Admon Gilder chipped in 13.
Arizona (10-2) shot 38.5 percent from the field for the game -- and made just two of its first 20 3-pointers -- allowing the Bulldogs to lead by 16 points with 2:12 to go. But the Wildcats responded with a furious 15-1 run that forced Ryan Woolridge to make two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to seal the win.
Arizona post player Zeke Nnaji had 16 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while fellow freshman Josh Green scored a team-high 17. But star freshman point guard Nico Mannion struggled from the field, making 3 of 20 shots and missing his first nine 3-point attempts, although he did have 10 assists.
Gonzaga, which was up 35-34 at half, gained separation with a 12-0 run, started by a 3-pointer from Gilder for a 45-45 tie. Gilder added another 3-pointer during the spurt as the Bulldogs took a 54-45 lead on a fast-break layup by Kispert with 12:31 to go.
Arizona was within five before a 12-3 run pushed Gonzaga's lead back to 69-55.
Gonzaga is 3-0 against ranked Pac-12 teams this season, also beating Oregon at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and winning at Washington.
Arizona was up by nine twice in the first half, including at the 11:06 mark when Max Hazzard drilled a 3-pointer. The Wildcats' poor shooting -- 1 of 15 from 3-point range in the first half -- helped Gonzaga climb back as the Bulldogs grabbed their first lead at 34-32 on Kispert's 3-pointer with 1:20 to go.
Gonzaga freshman forward Anton Watson, who recently missed almost all of four games because of an ankle injury, played one minute in the first half but left with a shoulder injury and did not return. Senior big man Killian Tillie, hampered by injuries in the past two seasons, did not return after rolling his left ankle with 6:58 to go.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Gonzaga |
|
Arizona |
|
Corey Kispert 18 |
Scoring |
Josh Green 17 |
|
Joel Ayayi 7 |
Assists |
Nico Mannion 10 |
|
Corey Kispert 8 |
Rebounds |
Zeke Nnaji 17 |
|
Filip Petrusev 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Josh Green 6 |
|
Joel Ayayi 1 |
Steals |
Josh Green 2 |
|
Filip Petrusev 4 |
Blocks |
Zeke Nnaji 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Gonzaga
|
84 |
47.5 |
9-23 |
17-30 |
19 |
40 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
| Arizona
|
80 |
38.5 |
8-30 |
12-13 |
17 |
40 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
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