Gonzaga holds off North Dakota State

[March 21, 2015]  SEATTLE -- Gonzaga junior Kyle Wiltjer scored a game-high 23 points, while senior teammate Kevin Pangos added 18 as the Bulldogs withstood a valiant second-half surge from No. 15 seed North Dakota State for an 86-76 win in Friday night's NCAA second-round game.

Wiltjer and Pangos combined for 27 second-half points to lead Gonzaga (33-2) to an NCAA tournament victory for the seventh consecutive season. The Bulldogs will face No. 7 seed Iowa on Sunday afternoon.

"Obviously, we need to play better on the defensive end Sunday," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said, "because of all the teams I saw this weekend, Iowa was the most impressive."

North Dakota State (21-13) stayed close well into the second half, thanks in large part to sophomore center Dexter Werner's team-high 22 points. Werner, a beefy 6-foot-6 backup center, scored 17 points over the final 23 1/2 minutes, making 6 of 8 shots he took in the second half.
 

Wiltjer and Pangos hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to help the Bulldogs pull out to an 18-point lead in the opening six minutes of the second half. North Dakota State used a barrage of 3-pointers and an inspired performance from Werner to get back in the game.

Werner scored back-to-back baskets against 6-foot-10 Domantas Sabonis and 7-1 Przemek Karnowski before taking a charge as the Bison pulled within seven points, at 63-56, with eight minutes left.

But Pangos stopped the run with a four-point play after drawing a foul on a made 3-pointer with 5:44 remaining. That took the wind out of North Dakota State's comeback attempt.

North Dakota State made 10 of 21 shots from 3-point range. Senior Lawrence Alexander scored 19 points while making 4 of 9 3-point attempts.

"They took a really good punch from us and still got us," North Dakota State first-year coach David Richman said of the Bulldogs.

Senior guard Gary Bell Jr. had 13 points for Gonzaga.

NOTES: Since 1999, Gonzaga was 8-5 as a double-digit seed in NCAA tournaments. After Friday's game, the Bulldogs have a 12-12 record as a single-digit seed over the same span. ... North Dakota State was playing in back-to-back NCAA tournaments for the first time in program history. Last season, the Bison upset Oklahoma before losing to San Diego State in the Round of 32.

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