LDN - Sports

No. 12 Gonzaga shuts down state rival Washington

[December 11, 2017] SEATTLE -- With each team coming off an opposite result against a highly ranked opponent, Gonzaga gave in-state rival Washington a lesson in upper-echelon resiliency and consistency Sunday.

Johnathan Williams had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Zach Norvell Jr. added 21 points as 12th-ranked Gonzaga bounced back from a loss at Villanova to roll past Washington 97-70 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Huskies' home court.

"I thought it was a great response by our guys," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "It was a tough week of practice for us, and they responded. They came into a setting that was kind of primed to see how we would react to adversity, and I thought our guys just handled it in a spectacular fashion."

The Bulldogs opened a double-digit lead midway through the first half and extended it to 47-33 at the break. Gonzaga's lead ballooned to 82-57 with 8:44 remaining.

While Gonzaga (8-2) was bounced 88-72 by fourth-ranked Villanova on Tuesday, Washington (7-3) was fresh off a stunning 74-65 road upset of No. 2 Kansas on Wednesday.

"We won one game where it was proven if you do these things you can beat anybody that you play," Washington coach Mike Hopkins said. "Tonight, we didn't. It's a simple thing."

Noah Dickerson had 18 points and David Crisp 16 for the Huskies. Dickerson, averaging a team-high 8.7 rebounds, managed just four as Gonzaga finished with a 40-27 advantage on the boards, resulting in 26 second-chance points.

Josh Perkins added 14 points for Gonzaga, Rui Hachimura 12, and Silas Melson and Killian Tillie 11 apiece.

"They had a game plan, they do certain things, and our job was to take them out of it, and we didn't do that on the defensive end," Dickerson said. "On the offensive end, they made it tough for us to score. They played great team defense, hit threes, got stops, and that's all she wrote."

Gonzaga gained control with a 10-0 run midway through the first half, opening a 23-11 lead on Perkins' jam with 10:29 remaining. Washington missed eight consecutive shots during that span, including three 3-point attempts.

The Bulldogs extended the advantage to 37-20 before the Huskies whittled it down to 37-25. Gonzaga responded with an 8-2 run, taking its biggest lead of the half at 46-27 on a three-point play by Norvell with 1:59 left.
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Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Josh Perkins (13) dribbles against Washington Huskies guard David Crisp (1) during the first half at Alaska Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

"When you give a team like that a lead, it's always hard," Hopkins said. "Our whole game plan was to just stay composed, stay together and chip away one possession at a time. ... You've got to give them a lot of credit. They made it hard for us on the defensive end in the first half, and they shot the ball extremely well in the second half."

The Huskies, who have installed the Syracuse 2-3 zone under first-year coach Hopkins -- a long-time Syracuse assistant -- were hampered defensively when Mattisse Thybulle picked up his second foul with 16:33 left in the first half.

Thybulle, who ranks fourth in the NCAA in steals and leads the Huskies in blocks, played just four minutes in the first half. He ended the night with five points and four steals in 19 minutes.

Gonzaga capitalized by shooting 45 percent in the first half. Washington made seven of its final 11 shots before the break to raise its percentage to a respectable 44 percent, but the Huskies also missed 7 of 14 free-throw attempts in the first half.

"The one thing I felt like they did better than us tonight is they out-teamed us," Hopkins said. "And, that's where we've got to get, where it's the team, it's everybody. If this is our game plan, we're executing it, we're disciplined in that approach. We'll get there, but tonight just wasn't our night, and I think Gonzaga had a lot to do with that."

NOTES: Although Washington holds a 29-17 advantage in the series, Gonzaga has won 11 of the past 12. ... After consecutive road games against No. 4 Villanova and Washington, Gonzaga returns home to face North Dakota on Dec. 16 and IUPUI on Dec. 18. ... The Huskies' upset of Kansas on was the only road game in the middle of a nine-game span. After Gonzaga, the Huskies have three more at home before continuing Pac-12 play on the road. ... Washington F Noah Dickerson's two 3-pointers were his first of the season. He had only one attempt in the first nine games. Last season, he was 1 of 9 beyond the arc out of 267 field-goal attempts. ... Gonzaga has won 12 straight true road games, the longest streak in the nation.

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