No. 8 Gonzaga survived at the buzzer after San Francisco missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer to extend their win streak to 14 games in a 68-66 victory Saturday in Spokane, Wash.
This was the Bulldogs’ 34th straight win over the Dons in their 100th meeting for 78-22 all time.
Jalen Warley led Gonzaga (21-1, 9-0 West Coast Conference) with a game-high 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while Davis Fogle and Tyon Grant-Foster each chipped in 15 points off the bench. Fogle also had nine rebounds.
San Francisco (13-9, 5-4) almost played spoiler by making three straight 3-pointers to cut the lead to 68-66 with 1:02 left after going 3:22 without scoring.
Junjie Wang’s 3-point shot with three seconds left bounced off the front of the rim before the Bulldogs’ Fogle corralled the rebound with no time left.
Legend Smiley was 5-for-6 from 3, scoring 18 points for the Dons. Ryan Beasley had 14 points and four made 3-pointers, and Vukasin Masic tallied 11 points.
Shortly after the Bulldogs extended their advantage to 14 points — their biggest of the day as the Dons never had the lead — San Francisco exploded from 3-point range as part of making its first six shots in the second half. Veniamin Abosi and Smiley made back-to-back 3s as part of a 14-6 run as the lead dwindled to 53-47 with 12:35 to play.
The Dons got within three points before Grant-Foster broke Gonzaga’s 2-of-10 shooting stretch with a layup to make it 63-57 with 3:36 to play.
The Bulldogs dominated down low all game, outsourcing the Dons in points in the paint 36-12.
Gonzaga jumped out to a quick lead as San Francisco missed its first eight shots. Warley made a driving layup through traffic at the 12:03 mark to make it 14-3.
The Dons continued to struggle from the field but came alive from 3-point range. Beasley capped a stretch of 4 of 5 made from behind the arc and San Francisco cut the lead to 22-15 with seven minutes remaining in the half.
Mario Saint-Supery sank a runner and the Bulldogs made four of their final five shots of the half to go into the break up 36-25.
Gonzaga missed 15 of its 18 3-pointers in the game but shot 55.8% (24 of 43) from two-point range.
The Dons were the opposite, shooting 50% (14 of 28) from 3-point range, including making 9 of 16 in the second half, but shot 29.6% (8 of 27) from two-point range.
–Field Level Media
