Gonzaga repels Iowa State rally

No. 11 Gonzaga dominated the first half and overcome significant struggles in the final 20 minutes to beat No. 21 Iowa State 73-71 on Sunday in the AdvoCare Invitational championship game in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Gonzaga nearly blew an 18-point second-half lead.

“I definitely think we got a little tentative in the second half, and you can’t do that, especially when you’re playing such a good team,” said Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga’s top scorer with 18 points. “They’re just not going to go away without a fight.”

Josh Perkins added 12 points and Przemek Karnowski 11 for Gonzaga (6-0).

Iowa State (5-1) got 29 points from Deonte Burton, 21 in the second half.

“My teammates trusted me,” Burton said.

After the Cyclones fell behind by 18 early in the second half, they used fullcourt pressure to key a 15-0 run that cut the deficit to 58-55 with 13 minutes left in the second half. Burton had 11 points during that stretch.

“Everything was clicking for everyone,” Burton said. “It was our defense that really helped us. Our defense made our offense.”

Monte Morris’ jumper with 4 minutes remaining got Iowa State within 70-69.

But Burton missed a 3pointer with Iowa State down 72-71 with 17 seconds remaining. The game ended when Morris’ shot that came after the buzzer rimmed out anyway. Hoosiers back on track: OG Anunoby scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Robert Johnson added 14 points and No. 3 Indiana routed Mississippi Valley State 85-52 in Bloomington, Ind.

Thomas Bryant had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hoosiers (4-1), who were coming off an overtime loss to Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne but had no problem handling the winless Delta Devils (0-8).

The Hoosiers led by as many as 17 points in the first half, and their largest lead of the game was 35. Twenty of Indiana’s baskets came by way of an assist, with Josh Newkirk and Curtis Jones combining for 11. The Hoosiers outscored the Delta Devils 34-20 in the paint and 19-8 in second-chance points.