Zach Norvell Jr. heats up again after halftime as Gonzaga beats North Dakota

Zach Norvell Jr. produced another fine stat line – 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals, four assists – in Gonzaga’s 89-83 overtime win against North Dakota.

Like several recent games, it took a while for Norvell to find his shooting stroke.

The redshirt freshman guard was just 1 of 6 from the field and scored three points in the first half. He scored nine points in the second half and seven in the extra session.

Norvell had 15 of his 22 points against Villanova in the closing half. He scored all 21 of his points in the second half against Creighton. He had 14 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes against Incarnate Word.

“Man, I’m praying for the day I can get it going early,” Norvell said. “Just staying confident and sticking with it. The guys always having confidence in me is really big. I keep taking my shots and have confidence they’re going in.”

Norvell made 5 of 7 shots, including 2 of 3 3-pointers, and all four of his free throws in the second half and in overtime.

“We have to figure out the key to get him going in the first half,” coach Mark Few said. “He’s had some pretty rough first halves, but he’s the one guy that doesn’t let it affect him over 40 minutes and he’s able to respond.”

Teammates appreciate Norvell’s strong finishes.

“I have a lot of confidence in that guy and he has confidence in himself,” point guard Josh Perkins said. “Seeing that go in as a freshman, that takes big, uh, yeah he’s a great guy.”