No. 1 Gonzaga beats rival Saint Mary’s
MORAGA, California, Jan 17, (AP): Corey Kispert had 17 points and five rebounds and No. 1 Gonzaga overcame a slow start with a surge to end the first half, pulling away late to beat rival Saint Mary’s 73-59 for its 18th straight victory spanning the past two seasons.
A 4.5-magnitude earthquake in the South Bay shook the gym early in the second half. Play continued with no disruption at what typically would be an imposing visiting arena at McKeon Pavilion but had a far different feel devoid of fans.
Joel Ayayi scored 16 points for the Bulldogs (14-0, 5-0 West Coast Conference). They used a 21-5 run over the final 11:17 of the first half to build a 32-25 advantage - and the Gaels made just one of their last 16 shots to close the half.
Saint Mary’s pulled to 56-48 on Dan Fotu’s layup with 9:01 to play before another decisive Gonzaga burst, this time 8-0. The Zags shot 53.8%.
Baylor 68, Texas Tech 60
In Lubbock, Texas, Davion Mitchell had 17 points and Jared Butler finally scored late and Baylor overcame to stay undefeated after its closest game this season.
Butler, the preseason AP AllAmerican coming off a season-high 28 points in the last game, was 0-for-9 shooting with six turnovers before hitting consecutive 3-pointers for the Bears (12-0, 5-0 Big 12) in the final five minutes.
Mac McClung had 24 points for Texas Tech (11-4, 4-3), which was coming off a 79-77 win at No. 4 Texas on Wednesday night. Kevin McCullar had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Raiders.
Texas 82, Kansas St. 67
In Austin, Texas, Kamaka Hepa scored 15 points in a rare appearance as Texas rebounded from its first Big 12 loss of the season by beating Kansas State.
Hepa, who hadn’t started yet this season and had played in only three games, started in place of freshman forward Greg Brown, who was one of three Longhorns (11-2, 5-1) held out for reasons not immediately disclosed. Given his chance, Hepa made five of Texas’ 12 3-pointers in the blowout.
Butler 70, Creighton 66
In Indianapolis, Aaron Thompson scored 17 points and found Bryce Nze for the go-ahead layup with 1:08 left in overtime to complete Butler’s remarkable second-half comeback against Creighton.
Creighton scored the first two baskets in overtime, but Butler took over from there, scoring eight straight points over the final 3:07. Nze, who made it 67-66 with his layup, finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.