National Basketball Association
Gonzaga 109, Bryant 70
When: 8:30 PM ET, Friday, November 18, 2016
Where: McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington
Officials:
# Ronald Brokenbrough, # Klaus Endrissat, # Nate Harris
Attendance:
6000
By The Sports Xchange
A combination of a considerable size advantage, torrid shooting from the floor and constant trips to the free-throw line by No. 14 Gonzaga produced a lopsided result as the Zags walloped Bryant 109-70 on Friday night at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash., in the Battle of the Bulldogs.
Center Przemek Karnowski racked up 22 points, 16 of them in the first half, to lead four scorers in double figures for Gonzaga, which shot 45 free throws in the foul-filled game, making 34. Bryant took just 19 free throws and made 11, a 23-point difference at line.
The Zags (3-0) used a 10-1 run midway through the second half to expand their 12-point halftime advantage to 84-58 and take any suspense out of the final seven minutes. Gonzaga emptied its bench with 3:51 to play while leading by 30.
Gonzaga also got 20 points and eight rebounds from forward Johnathan Williams, 18 points each by forward Zach Collins and guard Josh Perkins, and 13 points from guard Nigel Williams-Goss in the romp.
Nisre Zouzoua led Bryant (1-2) with 22 points and guard Adam Grant added 17, all of them in the first half. Marcel Pettway scored 10 points before fouling out with 9:03 to play. He was one of three Bryant players disqualified by fouls.
Bryant went the final 5:21 of the game without a field goal and committed 23 turnovers.
"We were trying to play hard and the final score is not indicative of how well Bryant played," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "We were able to string together a couple of threes that got us rolling. We played with good energy. Our press was good tonight -- it's something we've been working on -- and it's just November so we still have a lot of to work on."
Gonzaga led by as many as 18 points in the first half before settling for a 50-38 advantage at intermission. The Zags shot 63 percent (17 of 27) from the floor and went to the free throw line 19 times in the first 20 minutes, making 14. Gonzaga forced 14 Bryant turnovers and its bench outscored Bryant's reserves 13-0.
Gonzaga shrugged off an early deficit and moved to the lead on a 3-pointer by Silas Melson with 16:37 left in the first half. The Zags then launched an 18-3 run in which Bryant went 1 of 8 from the floor and had eight turnovers against the Gonzaga defense.
Karnowski paced the Zags with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor in the first half and Williams-Goss added 11.
"We just kind of took what they gave us -- they played behind us some tonight and it didn't really work for them," Few said. "It was a good win for us coming off the emotional game we had against San Diego State."
Grant led Bryant in the first half with 17 points and Zouzoua had 11 as Bryant stayed within relative striking distance by shooting 53.6 percent as a team and outrebounding Gonzaga 16-11.
NOTES: With Friday's win Gonzaga is 2-3 all-time against schools from Rhode Island (Bryant 2-0, Providence 0-2, Rhode Island (0-1). ... Five Bryant players scored in double figures against Salve Regina on Tuesday, marking the 20th time that has happened in the program's Division I history. Bryant is 18-2 in such games. ... Gonzaga has played in front of 230 consecutive sellouts inside the McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000). The Zags have won 163 of the 176 games played inside the facility since it opened in 2004-05. ... Friday's game marked the seventh time Bryant has faced off against a nationally ranked foe in its five-year Division I tenure. ... Gonzaga junior G Nigel Williams-Goss has been named to the 2017 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 watch list. The award is the most prestigious collegiate basketball honor and recognizes the nation's most outstanding basketball player each season.
Top Game Performances
| Bryant |
|
Gonzaga |
|
Nisre Zouzoua 22 |
Scoring |
Przemek Karnowski 22 |
|
Ikenna Ndugba 4 |
Assists |
Nigel Williams-Goss 5 |
|
Dan Garvin 7 |
Rebounds |
Przemek Karnowski 8 |
|
Nisre Zouzoua 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Nigel Williams-Goss 7 |
|
Nisre Zouzoua 2 |
Steals |
Josh Perkins 2 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Rui Hachimura 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Bryant
|
70 |
42.6 |
7-15 |
11-19 |
12 |
28 |
0 |
6 |
23 |
| Gonzaga
|
109 |
55.7 |
7-19 |
34-45 |
14 |
36 |
6 |
11 |
11 |
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