Gonzaga defeats ucla in a thrilling sweet sixteen matchup
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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (PSF)- It was a wild end with multiple lead changes in the Sweet 16 matchup between the #3 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs and the #2 seed UCLA Bruins on Thursday night. UCLA looked to be dead in the water, not scoring for 11 minutes in the second half.
They were down eight with a minute to go. After two missed free throws from Drew Timme, the Bruins miraculously took the lead 76-75 on a three from guard Amari Bailey with 14 seconds remaining. One would think that the Zags might be in some trouble down this late and that the momentum would be on UCLA’s side.
However, that would not be the case. Next possession, the Zags march the ball down the floor and Julian Strawther nailed a deep three pointer to regain the lead 78-76 with seven seconds left. That essentially sealed the win for Gonzaga as UCLA turned the ball over on the next possession, had to foul, Strawther made one of two free throws, and Tyger Campbell’s last second three point attempt failed.
UCLA collapsed in this game as they were up 13 at one point. The team was in a tough situation though because they were missing two starters Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona. The Bruins had a great first half behind the trio of Campbell, Bailey, and Jaquez, but the second half is where the team started to distengrate.
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Drew Timme had 36 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks in the comeback win. The senior who seems like he’s been at Gonzaga forever comes up big once again. The Zags as a team shot 50 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three point range, and a measley 52.9 percent from the free throw line. UCLA far outpaced Gonzaga in free throw percentage at 81.3, had a slightly higher three point percentage at 38.9, but fell behind on field goal percentage at 41.8 percent.
This was the second wild finish to a Sweet 16 game on Thursday night, with the Kansas State vs Michigan State game also coming down to the wire. Kansas State won 98-93.
Drew Timme said in a postgame interview that Strawther “saved my ass” referring to him hitting that game-winning three after Timme missed both free throws two possessions ago.
Gonzaga will play #4 seed UConn in the Elite 8 tomorrow night in Las Vegas.