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Gonzaga Basketball

No. 7 Florida hands No. 17 Gonzaga its first loss of the season in 111-105 2OT thriller

Second overtime

Final – Florida 111 Gonzaga 105: Florida ices the game at the free throw line. Thriller in the first matchup of ranked teams at the PK80.

Full analysis online at spokesman.com/zags shortly.

24.1 – Florida 107 Gonzaga 102: Gonzaga having to foul now. This one will come down to free throws.

1:23 – Florida 106 Gonzaga 100: Gators are on fire from deep this period, knocking down three from distance.

2:04 – Florida 103 Gonzaga 97: Florida reaches the century mark fort he second straight game, while Gonzaga just can’t get anything to fall.

Bulldogs’ offense seems to be struggling without Tillie and Perkins after they both fouled out.

First overtime

End first overtime – Florida 95 Gonzaga 95: Zags get a shot off, but Melson can’t connect.

Five. More. Minutes.

0.7 – Florida 95 Gonzaga 95: Portland-native Silas Melson gets a bucket and is fouled but misses what would be the game-winning free throw. As Florida takes a full-court shot, Egor Koulechov is called for a travel and Gonzaga will get the backk back with less than a second.

Insane.

17.3 – Florida 92, Gonzaga 91: Florida’s Kieth Stone hits 1 of 2 free throws to put the Gators ahead. Gonzaga coach Mark Few calls a timeout with only five seconds left on the shot clock for the Bulldogs. That was the Zags’ final timeout.

0:43 – Florida 91, Gonzaga 91: No lead is safe as Perkins hits a big 3-pointer to tie this one back up.

2:19 – Florida 89, Gonzaga 85: Bulldogs answer right back with a huge bucket and foul for Silas Melson, who converts the three-point play, but Chiozza answers with a 3-pointer on the other end to keep Florida ahead.

Williams also has a career-high 30 points for the Zags.

3:20 – Florida 83, Gonzaga 80: Gonzaga caught sleeping after a second straight travel call and Florida hits a corner 3-pointer to take the lead.

4:00 – Gonzaga 80, Florida 80: Fouls on both teams turn into free throws. Bigger news is Tillie has fouled out for Gonzaga.

Second half

End of regulation – Gonzaga 78, Florida 78: Silas Melson’s shot can’t connect and we’re going to overtime.

Scoring leaders: Gonzaga – Williams 26, Tillie 17, Perkins 14, Kispert 7. Florida: Hudson 26, Allen 16, Chiozza 12.

22.4 – Gonzaga 78, Florida 78: KeVaughn Allen splits the defender and hits the reverse layup to tie the game. Zags take their final timeout with the shot clock turned off.

Both teams also in the bonus.

35.1 – Gonzaga 78, Florida 76: Massive three-point play from Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins finishing with contact in the lane and making the free throw.

Florida takes its second timeout of the half with the ball. Both teams with one timeout remaining.

1:03 – Florida 76, Gonzaga 75: Florida’s Hudson now up to 26 points after a big 3-pointer. On the other end, Silas Melson’s shot from deep is blocked which leads to a fast-break foul on Chiozza, who makes both free throws.

3:52 – Gonzaga 70, Florida 69: Huge five-point play from Florida gets the Gators right back into the game, followed by an Allen corner 3-pointer.

Williams is now up to 26 for the Bulldogs, who have switched back into a man defense.

Corey Kispert is also into double figures for the Zags at 10 points.

Game reset: Both teams with two timeouts, Florida is in the bonus and Gonzaga has the possession arrow in its favor.

7:18 – Gonzaga 60, Florida 59: Everything running through Florida’s Jalen Hudson and Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams right now as they both have hit the 20-point mark.

A huge Tillie 3-pointer leads to Silas Melson drawing a charge as the Zags have started to find their footing.

Scoring leaders for the game are Williams (22), Hudson (20), Tillie (15) and Florida’s Chris Chiozza (10).

10:15 – Florida 53, Gonzaga 51: Both defenses turning up the pressure, but Florida is still struggling to contain Johnathan Williams, who is now up to a game-high 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting.

Not much going right for the Zags outside of Williams, including a transition 3-pointer and a pair of and-one plays for Florida heading into the media timeout.

The Bulldogs have also struggled over the last 20 minutes from deep, shooting only 26 percent from 3-point range compared to 41 percent from the Gators.

15:43 – Florida 42, Gonzaga 41: Bulldogs sloppy out of the break on offense, while Florida has started to find some space against the Zags defense.

Jalen Hudson now up to nine points for the Gators, who open the half on a 13-5 run.

Halftime

Gonzaga 36, Florida 29: Johnathan Williams scored seven of his game-high 12 points in a three-possession stretch as No. 17 Gonzaga took a 36-29 lead into halftime against seventh-ranked Florida in the Motion Bracket semifinals of the PK80 Invitational at the Moda Center in Portland.

Outside of a 13-0 Florida run midway through the half, the Gonzaga defense had its best showing of the season, holding the Gators to 38 percent shooting from the field. Florida scored 108 points and shot nearly 60 percent in its quarterfinal win over Stanford on Thursday.

Killian Tillie added 10 points for the Bulldogs, while Josh Perkins and Williams each dished out three assists.

KeVaughn Allen paced the Gators with seven points, while Egor Koulechov, the team’s leading scorer this season, was held without a point.

First half

Halftime – Gonzaga 36, Florida 29: 3-point shooting contest to end the half as the Gators are trying to bust the Bulldogs’ zone. Tillie responds on the other end with a trey of his own though.

Tillie also joins Williams in double figures with 10 points.

That was also possibly the best defensive half of the season for the Zags, holding the Gators to 38 percent shooting and forcing seven turnovers.

3:52 – Gonzaga 27, Florida 23: Once again, the switch to the zone defense has triggered a nice run for the Bulldogs. On the offensive end, Johnathan Williams is doing it all over the floor, scoring seven straight points on an alley-oop, 3-pointer and jump hook.

Williams is also the first player into double figures with 12 points.

7:36 – Florida 23, Gonzaga 19: A pair of Tillie free throws stops the Florida run at 13 straight points. The sophomore followed that up with a huge one-handed slam for the Zags first FG in more than five and a half minutes.

Tillie leads the Zags with seven points so far.

The Bulldogs have also switched back to their zone defense, but rebounding is again an issue as the Gators have the 11-7 advantage.

Gonzaga will also be in the bonus for the remainder of the half after the Gators’ seventh foul.

11:31 – Florida 15, Gonzaga 13: Gonzaga has again gone to the bench quickly, with Zach Norvell Jr., Jacob Larsen and Hachimura seeing the floor.

With the starters taking a breather though, the Zags offense has started to slow, while the Gators go into the timeout on a 11-0 run.

15:58 – Gonzaga 9, Florida 4: Gonzaga having no problem finding its shooting range early on, as Corey Kispert and Silas Melson hit early 3-pointers.

The Bulldogs opened up in a man defense one night after smothering Ohio State with a zone. The Zags have forced three Florida turnovers.

Gonzaga big man Killian Tillie was forced to the bench in the opening minutes after a foul, giving Rui Hachimura some key minutes.

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Gonzaga announces starting five

  (Colin Mulvany)
(Colin Mulvany) Buy this photo

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Gonzaga faces another pair of talented wings in Florida matchup

Florida guard Egor Koulechov, left, is averaging nearly 22 points per game. (Ron Irby / Associated Press)
Florida guard Egor Koulechov, left, is averaging nearly 22 points per game. (Ron Irby / Associated Press)

PORTLAND – The Florida Gators and Gonzaga Bulldogs are familiar with each other from last year’s clash won by the Zags 77-72 in the AdvoCare Invitational semifinals in Orlando.

However, Florida’s two top offensive weapons weren’t involved in last year’s game. Egor Koulechov, a graduate transfer from Rice, bumped his scoring average to 21.8 with a 26-point effort in Thursday’s rout over Stanford. The 6-foot-5 wing is shooting 56 percent from distance and he also has a team-high 10 offensive rebounds. | READ MORE »

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Bulldogs delaying Thanksgiving feast until after PK80

The Zags do their pre-game warmup dance before the Utah State game earlier this month in Spokane. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
The Zags do their pre-game warmup dance before the Utah State game earlier this month in Spokane. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review) Buy this photo

PORTLAND – The Gonzaga men’s basketball team was busy on Thanksgiving Day with a 9:35 p.m. tip-off against Ohio State in the PK80 Invitational.

So the Zags dined on customary pre-game fare and adjusted their meal plan, pushing the team’s Thanksgiving feast back to Saturday. | READ MORE »

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NCAA men’s basketball

At Rose Garden, Portland

➤ Friday, Nov. 24: No. 7 Florida Gators (4-0) vs. No. 17 Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-0), 8 p.m. PT TV: ESPN2 Online: Watch ESPN