Recap and highlights: West Virginia takes down No. 3 Gonzaga 86-78 in overtime at Battle 4 Atlantis
PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS – Three time zones away and 3,000 miles from home, a Gonzaga team that hadn’t faced much resistance in its first give games this season finally came across some choppy water in Wednesday’s opener against West Virginia at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
In a contest featuring 14 lead changes, a late scoring flurry from Braden Huff and a clutch 3-pointer from West Virginia’s Tucker DeVries that pushed the game into overtime, the Mountaineers controlled the extra frame and pulled off a dramatic upset, knocking off the third-ranked Zags 86-78 at Imperial Arena.
Huff scored on four consecutive touches down the stretch and Gonzaga had a five-point lead with 25 seconds to play, but a long 3-pointer from DeVries trimmed the advantage to two points and the Bulldogs turned it over on the following possession, allowing DeVries to go back to the free throw line and tie the game up at 81-81.
ESPN / Youtube
With 5.9 seconds remaining, Gonzaga’s Khalif Battle lost his handle and turned it over, preventing the Bulldogs from getting a look at the basket during the final possession of regulation.
West Virginia went on to outscore Gonzaga 15-7 during the overtime period, holding the Bulldogs to 2 of 10 from the field and 0 of 4 from the free throw line.
Javon Small had a game-high 31 points for the Mountaineers, making 9 of 18 shots from the field while going 4 of 10 from the 3-point line and 9 of 11 from the free throw line.
Huff scored 19 points to lead the Zags, Battle had 16 and Nolan Hickman added 13 more for Gonzaga. Ryan Nembhard had 12 assists and just one turnover, but GU’s point guard struggled from the field, going 1 of 10.
Gonzaga (5-1) will move into the loser’s bracket at the Battle 4 Atlantis and face No. 14 Indiana (4-1) after the Hoosiers lost 89-61 to Louisville in an earlier game on Wednesday.
First half
19:40 – GU 0, WV 0: Zags win the tip and can’t find a quality look on the first possession, Ike misses a 3-pointer, and we’re underway at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
15:40 – GU 9, WV 8: Zags take the lead with a string of 3-pointers. Hickman, Ajayi and Battle all hit from outside at the first media timeout.
WV’s Harris broke up an ally oop and was hurt before the timeout.
11:31 – GU 20, WV 16: Hickman hits a 3-pointer and the Zags are hot from outside to start this one, 5-for-8 on 3s.
Hickman leads with eight points, while Ajayi adds five. Hansberry has a game-high 10 points for West Virginia.
7:54 – GU 27, WV 20: Zags go on a 10-0 run, but the Mountaineers stop the bleeding with a steal and dunk from DeVries.
Huff called for a rebounding foul at the U8 media timeout.
3:56 – GU 29, WV 26: Battle turns it over at the U4 media timeout. Zags have gone cold, without a field goal in the last 4:43.
1:49 – GU 37, WV 28: Battle scores eight straight points for the Zags and WV calls a timeout. Zags guard has 14 in the game, shooting 5 of 6 from the field.
Halftime
Gonzaga ride Khalif Battle’s hot hand to lead West Virginia 39-31 at halftime in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.
Battle has a team-high 14 points, making 5 of 7 shots from the field. Ryan Nembhard facilitating with six assists.
Zags shooting 42% from the field and 6 of 14 on 3-pointers. Mountaineers shooting 30% and have hit 6 of 18 3s.
Second half
16:17 – GU 43, WV 40: Small hits a 3-pointers to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 run and the Zags call a timeout. WV has a 9-4 advantage in the second half.
14:39 – WV 45, GU 43: Mountaineers now on a 12-0 run and have taken the lead at the U16 media timeout. WV is 6 of 9 from the field in the half, while the Zags are 2 of 7.
11:44 – WV 50, GU 49: Battle puts back a dunk to pull the Zags back within one at the U12 media timeout. Battle has a team-high 16 points.
Mountaineers have hit seven of their last nine shots.
7:22 – WV 58, GU 56: Zags draw up a nice play to get a 3-pointer for Hickman. Mountaineers keeping the lead, but GU has the ball on the other side of the U8 media timeout.
5:31 – GU 59, WV 58: Zags finally able to take the lead back on a layup from Huff. WV on a 2:30 scoring drought.
3:19 – WV 62, GU 61: Mountaineers retake the lead after a 3-pointer from Small and a layup form Harris. Gregg is fouled at the U4 media timeout and will shoot two free throws when play resumes.
Small has been outstanding for WV. He has 24 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field.
1:44 – GU 67, WV 64: Zags go to Huff on back-to-back possessions and he makes two left hooks to put the Zags back ahead. WV calls a timeout.
Huff has 15 points, supplying the spark in the second half.
0:20 – GU 71, WV 69: DeVries hits a 3-pointer and the Mountaineers call timeout. Zags have the upper hand, but this one’s going to get dragged out.
0:05 – GU 71, WV 71: DeVries strips Hickman near midcourt and is fouled. He makes both shots and the Zags call timeout to try and draw up a winning shot.
0:00 – GU 71, WV 71: Battle can’t put up a shot going hard to the basket and we’ll head to overtime.
Overtime
0:35 – WV 81, GU 76: Mountaineers take advantage at the free throw line with six points at the stripe in the extra period. Zags can’t convert on offensive end.
Starting 5
Gonzaga going with the same starters: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Michael Ajayi, Graham Ike.
WVU starters: Javon Small, Toby Okani, Tucker DeVries, Amani Hansberry, Sencire Harris.
Pregame
Let the Battle commence.
No. 3 Gonzaga is in Paradise Island, Bahamas, to take part in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament this week. The Zags open today against West Virginia at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN.
The winner of today’s game will advance to face Louisville in the semifinals. The Cardinals dispatched Indiana in the early game.
The Zags have wins over two Big 12 teams already this season, West Virginia could be the third. The Mountaineers (3-1) have wins over Iona, UMass and Robert Morris and lost to Pittsburgh.
Game preview
More on the Zags