National Basketball Association
Gonzaga 73, St. John's 66
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, November 28, 2014
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials:
# Pat Driscoll, # Michael Stephens, # Paul Szelc
Attendance:
5548
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 8 Gonzaga 73, St. John's 66: Domantas Sabonis went 6-of-6 from the field for 14 points and also pulled down nine rebounds as the Bulldogs held off the Red Storm to win the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Gary Bell Jr. notched 13 points and seven rebounds while Kevin Pangos chipped in 11 points and nine assists as Gonzaga (6-0) remained perfect on the season despite some stressful moments in the waning minutes. Byron Wesley had 12 points and Przemek Karnowski contributed 10 points and seven boards for the Bulldogs, who overcame 15-of-25 foul shooting and 17 turnovers.
Phil Greene IV (20 points), Rysheed Jordan (18) and D'Angelo Harrison (15) paced the offense for the Red Storm (4-1). Greene, Harrison and Sir'Dominic Pointer combined for the final 18 points for St. John's, which got within three with about a minute left before Jordan had a layup blocked and committed a turnover, and Gonzaga made 4-of-4 from the line to wrap it up.
Gonzaga led 40-37 with just under 16 minutes left when Sabonis' layup and six straight points by Bell ignited an 11-0 run that kept St. John's off the scoreboard for more than five minutes. The Red Storm fought back behind Harrison, Pointer and Greene, who helped the Red Storm get within 69-66 on back-to-back Greene 3-pointers with just over a minute left, but they would not score again.
Sabonis was 3-of-3 from the field for eight points in the first half as Gonzaga led 33-28 at intermission. Jordan scored 13 first-half points to lead the Red Storm, who allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 50 percent in the period and 52.9 percent for the game.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gonzaga G Josh Perkins missed the game - and will be out indefinitely - after getting kicked in the face during Wednesday's semifinal win over Georgia. ... The Bulldogs had won their first five games by an average of 36 points. ... Gonzaga F Kyle Wiltjer, who scored a career-high 32 points against Georgia, was held to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting.
Top Game Performances
St. John's |
|
Gonzaga |
Phil Greene IV 20 |
Scoring |
Domantas Sabonis 14 |
Sir'Dominic Pointer 5 |
Assists |
Kevin Pangos 9 |
Sir'Dominic Pointer 9 |
Rebounds |
Domantas Sabonis 8 |
D'Angelo Harrison 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Kevin Pangos 4 |
Rysheed Jordan 4 |
Steals |
Kevin Pangos 2 |
Chris Obekpa 3 |
Blocks |
Kyle Dranginis 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
St. John's
|
66 |
36.7 |
8-24 |
14-23 |
10 |
33 |
3 |
11 |
14 |
Gonzaga
|
73 |
52.9 |
4-14 |
15-25 |
14 |
36 |
2 |
5 |
17 |