NCAA
Gonzaga 85, Oklahoma State 77
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
SAN DIEGO — The seedings for the NCAA West Regional matchup were close.
The game? Not so much.
No. 8-seeded Gonzaga defeated No. 9-seeded Oklahoma State 85-77 on Friday.
Gonzaga (31-4) was led by guard Kevin Pangos’ 26 points, with 12 coming at the free-throw line.
Oklahoma State (21-13) was paced by guard Marcus Smart’s 23 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and six steals.
The Cowboys did not help their cause with some dreadful free-throw shooting. Oklahoma State converted just of 22 of 37 at the line (59 percent).
There were 61 fouls in the game and three Oklahoma State players — forwards Le’Bryan Nash and Leyton Hammonds and center Kamari Murphy — fouled out. Bulldogs guard Kyle Dranginis and forward Sam Dower Jr. were also disqualified with five fouls.
Gonzaga was up nine points at the half and by 12 after guard David Stockton opened the final 20 minutes with a 3-pointer. But Oklahoma State cut that lead to five before a layup by Gary Bell Jr. and a 3-pointer by guard Drew Barham stretched it to 10.
Oklahoma State pulled no closer than six in the next 13 minutes, with Gonzaga forging ahead 69-58 on Dranginis’ two free throws.
The Cowboys did make a late run, but the game was not as close as the final score indicated.
The Bulldogs will play Arizona on Saturday for a trip to the Sweet 16.
Five minutes into the game, Oklahoma State had only one field goal, which led to a 15-4 deficit. Gonzaga had an 11-point lead twice in the first half before Oklahoma State went on a 10-0 run, fueled by seven points by Smart and a tip-in by Murphy.
But Gonzaga stretched its cushion back to seven points thanks to four buckets in the paint. It became a nine-point lead about four minutes before halftime after Dranginis sank a 3-pointer. But Smart, who had a team-high 12 points in the first half, hit a jumper to pull the Cowboys to 34-33.
Then the Bulldogs went on a 9-1 sprint to end the half that included 3-pointers from guards Drew Barham and Pangos.
NOTES: Gonzaga had faced Oklahoma State five times before Friday, winning all five games. … Bulldogs F Sam Dower Jr. was named the West Coast Conference MVP after averaging 18 points and eight rebounds per game. … It was a sweet 16 for Gonzaga before the game as it celebrated its 16th straight NCAA Tournament trip. … Oklahoma State averages 80 points per game and has four players scoring at least 13 per game. … Of the Cowboys’ 12 losses coming into the game, three were when leading scoring guard Marcus Smart was suspended. … Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, Oklahoma State is just the second team to have a seven-game losing streak and receive an at-large bid.
