Josh Perkins scored 20 points and Zach Norvell Jr. added 19 as the Zags pulled out an 89-83 victory at home to improve to 9-2.
SPOKANE – Unheralded North Dakota gave No. 12 Gonzaga all it could handle Saturday night.
Josh Perkins scored 20 points and Zach Norvell Jr. added 19 as the Zags pulled out an 89-83 victory in overtime.
Johnathan Williams added 14 points for Gonzaga (9-2).
“We were lucky that game was at home,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We let them get some belief. They outhustled us.”
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Gonzaga, which came in ranked second in the nation in field-goal percentage, shot terribly for much of the game. The Zags were shooting in the 30s for most of the first half, as North Dakota built a 34-30 halftime lead.
“We had an offensive problem and that affected our defense,” Few said. “We’ve been working on our press. That really helped us tonight.”
Geno Crandall scored 28 for North Dakota (4-7), which is struggling this season after qualifying for the NCAA tournament last season. Cortez Seales added 23 on 11-of-15 shooting.
North Dakota coach Brian Jones said he was proud of his players.
“Our guys really responded and played with poise until some crucial moments,” Jones said. “We fought and clawed and gave ourselves a chance to win the game. I thought their pressure wore us down. They have a great bench, depth, and toward the end we wore down a little bit.”
The game was tied 69-69 at the end of regulation.
Gonzaga opened the overtime period with 11 consecutive points — five by Norvell — for an 80-69 lead.
After struggling most of the game, Gonzaga made 5 of 7 field goals and 9 of 10 free throws in the overtime period to stay ahead of the Fighting Hawks.
Gonzaga came in shooting 50.9 percent, but shot 44 percent for the game. North Dakota hit 52 percent.
The game was played in a tepid environment, without its normally raucous student section, because of Christmas break.
Perkins scored 18 of his points in the second half, while Norvell scored 16 in the second half.
North Dakota made five of its first six shots to open the second half and built a 45-33 lead.
Gonzaga responded with a 13-0 run, and Rui Hachimura’s layup put Gonzaga ahead 46-45.
Three-pointers by Dale Jones and Crandall put North Dakota up 62-53.
Gonzaga stormed back. Perkins’ three-pointer tied the score at 64-64 with 2:50 left. A basket by Williams put Gonzaga up 66-64 with 1:40 left.
Norvell scored for a 68-64 lead, capping a 13-0 run.
Williams made one of two free throws for a 69-66 lead. But Crandall connected on a three-pointer with two seconds left in the second half to tie the score and send it into overtime.
Taller Gonzaga won the rebound battle 44-27, and had an 18-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. That led to a 22-0 advantage in second-chance points.
Oklahoma upsets No. 3 Wichita State
WICHITA, Kan. – No one had to convince Oklahoma’s players a game at No. 3 Wichita State presented a measuring stick of sorts.
Sooners star guard Trae Young believes the 91-83 victory “will open a lot of eyes in the college-basketball world,” and fellow freshman Brady Manek agreed.
“That’s probably the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of,” Manek said. “We just showed that we can play on a big stage against a great team.”
Young, the nation’s leading scorer, led the way. He finished with 29 points and 10 assists, but it was his 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the game’s first nine minutes that set the tone for the Sooners (8-1).
Young has scored at least 28 points in seven straight games.
Manek scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half for Oklahoma.
Darral Willis Jr. came off the bench to lead the Shockers (8-2) with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Landry Shamet added 17 points.
“We let them get comfortable in the first half,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said, “and you can’t do that against a team that talented and that well-coached.”
Behind Young and Manek, Oklahoma stormed to a 54-39 halftime lead. The Shockers entered Saturday allowing 68.2 points a game. The Sooners were 20 of 40 from the field and 10 of 23 from the three-point line in the half.
“That’s probably our best half because Wichita State is really good,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said.
Note
• No. 10 Xavier trailed by 22 points at home in the second half before surging to a 68-66 victory over East Tennessee State.
Trevon Bluiett, who missed 11 straight shots in one span, connected on a jumper with 6.3 seconds left to give the Musketeers (10-1) their biggest comeback victory in 18 seasons at the Cintas Center. Bluiett finished with 18 points.