SALT LAKE CITY — It wasn't a good night for Gonzaga's All-American forward Rui Hachimura. Nor was a good night for Killian Tillie, the Zags' best player in the previous game.
Thank goodness Brandon Clarke was having a very, very good night as he propelled his team into the Sweet 16 with an 83-71 victory over Baylor at Vivint Arena Saturday night.
The Zags move into the Sweet 16 for the fifth straight year, more than any college team in America, where they'll take on Florida State at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Clarke, a transfer from San Jose State who had to sit out last season, had his best game as a Bulldog, scoring 36 points on 15-of-18 shooting, grabbing eight rebounds, blocking five shots and making two steals. About the only thing he didn't do was mop the floor during timeouts.
"BC was spectacular tonight, but he's been spectacular a lot of times this year," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who then gave credit to sophomore Corey Kispert, whom he called "our player of the game" for his 16-point, seven-rebound performance.
Sorry to disagree, coach, but while Kispert was good, Clarke was the difference-maker in Saturday's game.
Time and again he got loose inside Baylor's zone for 8 and 10-foot jumpers, a lost art in today's college game. He also got free for a number of dunks when his teammates found him trolling near the hoop.
"I felt like I was really locked in and focused tonight," said the 6-foot-8, 210-pounder from Phoenix. "Hats off to my teammates, the shots fell easy tonight."
Clarke didn't bat an eye when a reporter asked him what he had for breakfast, perhaps expecting him to say "Wheaties" or something.
"Cheese eggs, bacon, pancakes and some fruit — pretty much what I have on every road trip," he said as his coach, sitting next to him, laughed.
In the first half everything went right for the Zags, who took control early, just as they had in Thursday night's cakewalk against Fairleigh Dickinson, bolting out to a 21-9 lead.
A missed shot by Zach Norvell deflected into the hands of Kispert, who had an easy putback. Then an attempted lob pass from Geno Crandall, intended for Clarke, instead swished through the hoop, drawing a reaction from the Vivint Arena crowd and smiles from the Gonzaga players, especially Crandall.
After cruising to a 16-point halftime lead, the Bulldogs weren't ready for a Bears team that came out of the locker room inspired, running off 10 straight points to cut the lead to 39-33. The lead got as close as five before the Zags righted the ship and moved the lead back to as high as 15.
The Bears kept coming back, but their 3-point shooting was off most of the night and they could never get closer than nine the rest of the game.
For the game, the Bears shot just 4 for 21 from long range, well off their 16-for-34 performance against Syracuse.
"At the end of the day, we've lived and died by the 3 so much that (4 for 21) really hurt us," said Baylor coach Scott Drew.
While Kispert finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and Josh Perkins added 11, Hachimura only managed six points, his lowest output of the season
Few acknowledged Hachimura didn't play well, saying, "He really hasn't had a bad game for us all year. It happens sometimes and that happens, unfortunately." Tillie, who had 16 points in the first-round win, was in foul trouble much of the night and finished with just two points in 18 minutes.
"That's what makes Gonzaga good," said Drew. "It's like plugging holes in the dam. You can plug three, but that fourth one gets you."
On on this night it was Brandon Clarke that really got the Bears.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2FxrIQI
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