‘Unbelievable’ Anton Watson puts on show in Gonzaga’s win over UCLA at Maui Invitational

HONOLULU – No Jalen Suggs, no Julian Strawther, but lots and lots of Anton Watson.

Gonzaga’s fifth-year senior delivered the performance of his career Wednesday and made certain the final game of the Maui Invitational was memorable for something other than the frequency of the referees’ whistles.

Watson did it all – at both ends of the court – to carry the Zags to a 69-65 victory in the fifth-place game at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. UCLA (4-2) settled for sixth place.

The 6-foot-8 forward scored 32 points, made 14 of 15 shots, pulled down seven rebounds and added two assists, two steals and one block in 30 minutes. His previous career high was 23 points.

“I was talking to my brother (Deon) a lot,” Watson said. “I kind of told him I need to see the first one go through. I was just being aggressive, they kind of gave me some open shots and I kept it rolling.

“Being aggressive has been key for me the whole year and this was the game to do it.”

The Zags and Bruins have met the previous three seasons with Gonzaga posting a 3-0 record, including two unforgettable NCAA Tournament games. Suggs’ 40-footer at the buzzer ended the Zags’ 93-90 overtime win at the 2021 Final Four. Strawther’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds fueled Gonzaga’s 79-76 victory in the Sweet 16 last March.

This one was all Watson from the opening tip to the final buzzer, other than the 10 first-half minutes he sat on the bench with foul trouble. He had a lot of company in that department as the teams were called for 51 fouls and 60 free throws.

At one point in a team huddle midway through the second half, UCLA coach Mick Cronin offered a loud reminder of the scouting report, screaming at his players, “Watson is right-handed.”

On Gonzaga’s next possession, Watson drove to his right and was fouled by Kenneth Nwuba, the UCLA forward’s fifth foul with 9:38 left to play.

After a GU turnover, Watson scored inside. Then, left alone near the top of the key, Watson swished his third 3-pointer and the Zags led by nine.

“Hats off to Watson,” Cronin said. “He looked like (former Gonzaga standout Drew) Timme.”

During a 14-minute stretch in the second half, Watson was the only Zag with a field goal. The streak ended on Nolan Hickman’s layup – on a nice pass from Watson to put GU in front 66-60 with 1:15 left.

UCLA pulled within three on Lazar Stefanovic’s 3-pointer. Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard turned the ball over with 38 seconds remaining, but Dylan Andrews’ shot bounced off the rim and was hauled in by Ben Gregg.

Gregg hit 1 of 2 free throws and then snagged another big defensive rebound, leading to a pair of Dusty Stromer free throws with 8.7 seconds left.

Watson, who entered the game with 990 career points, reached 1,000 early in the first half.

He scored 12 of Gonzaga’s first 15 points and eventually made his first seven shots. His teammates were 0 of 7 before Hickman and Nembhard hit back-to-back buckets to bump the Zags’ lead to 19-9.

Watson picked up his second foul with 7:46 remaining, seconds after he missed his only shot of the game. He sat out the remainder of the half, joined on the bench by starting post Graham Ike, who also had two fouls.

There were 29 fouls called, resulting in 40 free throws and very little flow in the opening half.

UCLA went roughly 8 minutes between field goals and fell behind 30-17 after Nembhard’s three-point play – Nwuba was called for goaltending – with 5:11 left.

The Bruins cut the margin to six, but Hickman temporarily stopped the comeback with a 3-pointer. UCLA regained the momentum and trailed just 38-34 at the break, thanks to an eight-point edge at the foul line.

Gonzaga stretched the lead to 53-42 after another Watson 3 and it was 64-53 after Watson’s dunk with 4:40 remaining.

“Unbelievable,” Gregg said of Watson. “We all know he has it in him. It was one of those nights he turned it on and he was killing it. He’s more than capable of doing that.”

The Bruins kept battling, but the Zags came up with a couple of key defensive stops in the final minute.

Of the eight Zags that played, seven finished with three fouls and Ike had four. Nembhard chipped in 12 points and Hickman added 11. Gregg and Jun Seok Yeo combined for nine points off the bench and Gregg had a team-high eight rebounds in 18 minutes.

UCLA standout center Adem Bona, who came in averaging 15.8 points, battled foul trouble and finished with 11 points in just 22 minutes. Stefanovic, who shared team-high scoring honors with 16 points, also finished with four fouls.