Gonzaga rides hot hand of Julian Strawther, beats Xavier in PK85 tournament finale
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PORTLAND - Julian Strawther came up clutch with 23 points and the No. 6 Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-2) overcame a second-half deficit to defeat the Xavier Musketeers (4-3) 88-84 in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament on Sunday.
The Bulldogs, after blowing a first-half lead in their loss to Purdue, almost had the same fate repeated on Sunday night against the feisty Musketeers.
Led by Jack Nunge’s game-high 25 points, Xavier went on an 18-4 run midway through the second half after trailing for the majority of the ballgame. Up six with five minutes remaining, it looked as if Sean Miller’s group was about to pull off the upset and hand Gonzaga back-to-back losses for the first time in four years.
Julian Strawther had other thoughts, though. The junior knocked down two crucial 3-pointers in crunch time to give his Zags a six-point lead with less than two minutes left in regulation.
“That’s what players like him do — they make those types of shots,” Xavier head coach Sean Miller said on Strawther. “I thought that both of those threes were arguably the two biggest shots made in the game. You look down and he had 23 points; he was a terrific player tonight.”
Drew Timme and Anton Watson pitched in 16 points apiece as five Bulldogs scored in double figures.
Colby Jones tied his career-high with 22 points to go along with seven assists and seven rebounds for the Musketeers, who dominated inside with 42 points in the paint and shot 61.8% in the second half.
It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to jump out to a double-digit lead courtesy of a 14-2 run after allowing the first basket of the game. The defense anchored the strong start, as the Musketeers had as many turnovers as they did field goals through the midway point of the first half.
Gonzaga’s frontcourt had its hands full against Jack Nunge and Zac Freemantle, who combined for 19 points in the first half. Xavier was adamant about attacking the rim, as half of its shot attempts came in the paint led by its veteran forwards.
As the Musketeers began to close the gap, back-to-back 3-pointers from Rasir Bolton and Strawther helped regain momentum for the Bulldogs. The two connected on an alley-oop in transition to cap off a quick 8-0 run and extend the lead to 13 points.
Sean Miller’s group was ready for a response though once the Bulldogs’ offense began to sputter. Gonzaga committed nine turnovers in the first half, including three in less than a minute to help Xavier cut the lead to just three points.
A 3-pointer from Ben Gregg as time expired ended an almost three-minute scoring drought that nearly relinquished all momentum heading into the locker room.
Watson, after being held scoreless against Purdue, led the Zags with 10 points in the first half while also switching back and forth between guarding Freemantle and Nunge on the defensive end.
Timme, who started 2-for-7 from the field with four turnovers, took matters into his own hands coming out of the locker room to score Gonzaga’s first eight points of the second half.
“He’s a great player; he doesn’t take any plays off,” Nunge said of Timme. “He works hard every time down the floor and he got me a couple of times.”
But even as the two-time All-American found a rhythm, the Musketeers kept coming back.
A 9-2 run capped off by a layup from Nunge gave his squad its first lead since the opening score of the ballgame. The 7-footer rattled off seven straight points in response to Timme’s hot start to the second half.
“We had a spurt in that second half where we were almost un-guardable,” Miller said. “We had probably a six-minute stretch where we got what we wanted.”
As both sides traded blows, two 3-pointers from Strawther were the difference maker down the stretch. The Bulldogs closed out the ballgame at the free throw line, where they went 7-for-9 in the final minute of play.
Overall, Mark Few expressed respect for all of Gonzaga’s opponents throughout the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
“These schools are tough outs,” Few said. “They’re smart, they know how to play.”
The road doesn’t get much easier heading into Friday’s game against No. 7 Baylor (5-1) the fourth top-25 opponent in three weeks. Tipoff from the historic Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is set for 5 p.m. PST. Fans can stream the heavyweight bout on Peacock.
