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Dec. 28—INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After being on the opposite end each of the last four years, UCLA turned the tables and dished out a helping of heartache to Gonzaga.
For the Zags, it looked all too familiar to their previous three setbacks, coming up short in a winnable game down the stretch.
No. 14 Gonzaga shook off a rugged first half offensively that included Khalif Battle’s ejection due to a flagrant two foul. For a few minutes in the later stages Saturday it looked like the Zags might sneak out of the Intuit Dome with a hard-earned win.
Instead, they absorbed another disheartening loss, 65-62, to No. 22 UCLA.
“Obviously we feel like we’ve been in a bunch of close games that we felt like we should have won all of them,” GU senior point guard Ryan Nembhard said. “We’ve got to close out these games and learn to win these close games.”
A couple chairs away at the post-game press conference, senior center Graham Ike nodded his head in agreement.
Nembhard, with 16 points and eight assists in 40 minutes against one of the best defenses in the nation, and Ike, who poured in 24 points, were the primary reasons Gonzaga erased an 11-point deficit and led for most of the final 12-plus minutes.
Gonzaga (9-4) caught a break when Sebastian Mack missed two free throws with 1:18 left and the score tied. Nembhard nailed a 10-footer to put GU on top 60-58.
Mack responded with a three-point play with 33.4 seconds left to give UCLA the lead 61-60. Gonzaga’s Dusty Stromer, who got the starting nod in place of Nolan Hickman, misfired on a corner 3-pointer and Skyy Clark’s two free throws bumped the Bruins’ lead to 63-60.
Nembhard countered with a layup and he was fouled. UCLA coach Mick Cronin called a timeout to make Nembhard’s wait even longer. His free throw came up well short and Clark added a pair of free throws to extend UCLA’s lead to 65-62 with 5.5 seconds left.
Nembhard’s 3-pointer from near the half-court line with a couple of seconds still on the clock that was off target.
“I just knew…
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Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2024-12-29 03:02:00
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