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Gonzaga Basketball

Recap and highlights: No. 1 Gonzaga beats No. 6 Kansas in season opener

Kansas forward David McCormack is surrounded by (from left) Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert, Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs on Thursday at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, Fla. The Bulldogs held the 6-foot-10, 265-pound junior to just eight points. (Chris Tilley/Fort Myers Tip-Off)
Kansas forward David McCormack is surrounded by (from left) Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert, Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs on Thursday at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, Fla. The Bulldogs held the 6-foot-10, 265-pound junior to just eight points. (Chris Tilley/Fort Myers Tip-Off)

Drew Timme scored 25 points, Jalen Suggs had 24, Corey Kispert added 23 and the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs beat the No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks 102-90 on Thursday in Fort Myers, Florida.

Timme paced the Zags with his inside presence, shooting 11 of 15 from the floor and grabbing six rebounds. Gonzaga shot 65% and held the rebounding edge 33-24.

Suggs carried GU in the second half scoring 17 points in the period. The freshman point guard also finished with eight assists and four rebounds after missing the final nine minutes of the first half because of foul trouble.

Kispert got it done with Suggs on the sideline, scoring 17 points and shooting 6 of 8 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes as Gonzaga took a 54-46 lead at the break.

Gonzaga finished 6 of 18 from 3, while Kansas made 8 of 18.

Guard Joel Ayayi had a quiet but effective night, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds and scoring 15 points while his teammates grabbed the headlines. Andrew Nembhard, recently ruled eligible to play this season, added 11 points as the first guard off the bench for the Zags.

Kansas was led by Marcus Garrett’s 22 points. Ochai Agbaji had 17 points, Bryce Thompson scored 12 and Jalen Wilson added 11.

Agbaji was hot early for the Jayhawks, scoring 13 points in the first half. But the guard picked up his fourth foul with just under 12 minutes to play and KU trailing by 3. He hit the bench and with 10 minutes to play the Zags reeled off a 13-2 run and didn’t look back.

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First half

16:18 – Gonzaga 14, Kansas 6: Drew Timme has six points and three rebounds and the Zags have jumped out to an early lead.

Gonzaga freshman Jalen Suggs made a statement early, throwing down a lob from Joel Ayayi after the Bulldogs had forced a turnover in the backcourt.

Suggs was assessed a technical foul after the dunk for taunting the Kansas defender he elevated over.

11:36 – Gonzaga 27, Kansas 15: Senior guard Corey Kispert is up to 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and the Zags lead the Jayhawks by a dozen.

Kispert connected on a transition 3 to push his career total points over 1,000.

7:55 – Gonzaga 32, Kansas 25: The Jayhawks have made 4 of their last 5 shots and have cut into the Zags’ lead behind behind nine points from Marcus Garrett.

Gonzaga freshman Jalen Suggs picked up his second foul on a charge. The point guard has seven points and three assists, but will likely miss most of the rest of the half with the foul trouble.

3:37 – Gonzaga 43, Kansas 34: Corey Kispert and Drew Timme each have 14 points and the Zags continue to keep the Jayhawks at bay at the under-4 minute timeout.

Kispert dribbled into a deep 3 beyond the top of the arc to push the Gonzaga advantage back to 9.

Gonzaga has forced five turnovers – two from their 1-2-2 3/4-court trap, converting them into 8 points.

Halftime

Gonzaga 54, Kansas 46: Corey Kispert and Drew Timme lead the way for the Bulldogs with 17 points apiece after a great shooting half from GU.

Gonzaga shot 67.7% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, missing just five shots inside the arc. They shot 5 of 10 from 3-point range, led by Kispert shooting 3 of 5.

Kansas didn’t shoot much worse, connecting on 55% of its shots. The Jayhawks made 6-of-11 3-pointers in the half to keep within striking distance of the Zags.

Ochai Agbaji leads the way for KU with 13 points. He has two made 3s. Marcus Garrett added 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting.

Gonzaga’s touted freshman trio of Jalen Suggs, Julian Strawther and Dominick Harris all saw action for the Bulldogs in the first 20 minutes. Suggs started and made an instant impact, but was pulled early with foul trouble. Stawther and Harris each got two minutes at the end of the half.

Second half

15:57 – Gonzaga 57, Kansas 56: A 10-3 run from the Jayhawks to open the second half has KU within 1.

Gonzaga got an early two points from Drew Timme, but that’s been almost all the offense has been able to do against a stingy KU defense. The Zags haven’t made a field goal in 2:58.

Marcus Garrett is up to 14 points for the Jayhawks, but picked up his third foul early in the period on a reach-in.

11:28 – Gonzaga 70, Kansas 67: Jalen Suggs is back from early foul trouble and powering Gonzaga in the second half.

The freshman point guard has six points in the half and is up to 13 points for the game after missing the final nine minutes of the first half with two fouls. The 6-foot-4 guard is attacking the rim in transition and in the half-court sets and is 5-of-9 shooting.

Kansas is led by Ochai Agbaji’s 15 points, but the guard picked up his fourth foul on a soft call just before the under-12 timeout.

7:45 – Gonzaga 78, Kansas 73: Drew Timme continues to impress inside for Gonzaga with 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

The Zags are shooting 62% and continue to pressure the Jayhawks, forcing 12 KU turnovers and turning them into 16 points.

Kansas has struggled from beyond the arc this half after making 6 of 11 in the first half. The Jayhawks have made just one 3-pointer in the first eight minutes of the second half.

Kansas forward David McCormack, Timme’s matchup, has been held to just six points in the game. He is 3-of-8 shooting. 

3:18 – Gonzaga 96, Kansas 78: An 8-0 run from Gonzaga gives the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game.

The Zags made 4 of their last 4 shots to spark the run. The Jayhawks went over two minutes without scoring.

Pregame

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