03/20/26 12:21:00
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03/20 00:19 CDT Third-seeded Gonzaga holds off No. 14 seed Kennesaw State for a
73-64 March Madness win
Third-seeded Gonzaga holds off No. 14 seed Kennesaw State for a 73-64 March
Madness win
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) --- Graham Ike scored 19 points and third-seeded Gonzaga
held off tenacious No. 14 seed Kennesaw State 73-64 in a defensive battle that
ended with some drama Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Davis Fogle added 17 points for the Bulldogs, who will face No. 11 seed Texas
Saturday in the West Region.
"We battled the storms," Ike said. "This team is built for adversity from the
jump, and I'm just super proud of how we handle it."
RJ Johnson and Amir Taylor each had 15 points for Kennesaw State (21-14), which
made its second March Madness appearance after winning the Conference USA
Tournament.
Fogle's dunk gave Gonzaga its first double-digit lead at 57-46 with 7:54 to go,
but the Owls capitalized on a series of late fouls by the Bulldogs that enraged
both the large Gonzaga crowd at the Moda Center and coach Mark Few.
Ike was called for a flagrant foul on Frankquon Sherman, who made both shots to
get Kennesaw State within 67-60 with 3:06 to go.
Mario Saint-Supery headed to the Zags' bench after his fifth foul and Sherman
made free throws to get the Owls within 69-64. Ike answered with a jumper and
Gonzaga held on.
"I'm really happy that we got through this one," Few said. "It wasn't pretty.
But the bottom line is you just win. And we get to move on."
Jalen Warley added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Gonzaga (31-3), which has made
27 straight tournament appearances. The Zags lost in the national title game in
2017 and 2021.
Gonzaga reached the 30-win plateau for the ninth time in program history and
won the West Coast Conference Tournament for the sixth time in seven years. The
Bulldogs will be part of the Pac-12's relaunch next season as a non-football
member.
Gonzaga was a 20 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. But
Kennesaw State led 14-7 after the first nine minutes and maintained the lead
until Warley's layup put Gonzaga in front 19-18 with 5:46 to go in the half.
The game was back-and-forth from there as the Bulldogs failed to put away the
physical Owls.
"We were really soft on the offensive end and we weren't drawing any fouls,"
Few said. "We weren't creating any advantages, we weren't getting the ball to
the rim. It started by just getting some stops and getting out and attacking."
Gonzaga went on a 10-0 run to close out the first half with a 33-27 lead. The
Zags stretched it to 42-31 early in the second half.
The Owls closed within 42-38 on Kaden Rickard's layup. A pair of free throws
from Johnson and Sherman's layup got Kennesaw State within 43-42 with 11:47 to
go. But the Bulldogs responded with Emmanuel Innocenti's 3-pointer and Ike's
dunk.
"Just couldn't get over that hump," Kennesaw State coach Antoine Pettway said.
"That's a really good team and coach Few does a tremendous job. That dude
Graham is a handful, but I thought our guys battled and stuck to the game plan.
We will be back, it was a great taste."
Gonzaga remains without forward Braden Huff because of a knee injury. He has
missed 16 straight games and was not expected to return in the opening rounds.
The Owls reached 20 wins this season for just the second time in school
history, despite losing leading scorer Simeon Cottle at midseason due to a
federal probe into gambling. They finished sixth in the CUSA regular-season
standings before rolling through the conference tourney.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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