Gonzaga beats Cincy in OT for Maui title
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP)—Thanks to several big plays by 7-footer Robert Sacre,Gonzaga left Maui with a championship at last.
Sacre scored 14 points and the Bulldogs won the Maui Invitational for thefirst time in three tries, beating Cincinnati 61-59 in overtime Wednesday nightat the Lahaina Civic Center.
“Obviously, this is the pinnacle and the creme de la creme of all thepreseason tournaments. This is the kingpin and any other analogy you’d like touse. That’s why it’s so special,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “When you lookup and you see all those teams that have won this thing, and what they’veaccomplished maybe after they won this thing, it makes you feel great for yourguys.”
Nick Cronin, left, head coach … AP – Nov 26, 1:18 am EST ![]()
Gonzaga guard Matt Bouldin, le… AP – Nov 26, 1:14 am EST ![]()
The Gonzaga Bulldogs proudly h… AP – Nov 26, 1:13 am EST ![]()
Gonzaga guard Steven Gray, lef… AP – Nov 26, 1:07 am EST ![]()
Cincinnati players sit on the … AP – Nov 26, 1:02 am EST ![]()
Elias Harris, left center, get… AP – Nov 26, 12:56 am EST ![]()
Cincinnati center Steve Toyloy… AP – Nov 25, 11:26 pm EST ![]()
Cincinnati guard Cashmere Wrig… AP – Nov 25, 11:10 pm EST ![]()
Gonzaga guard Matt Bouldin (15… AP – Nov 25, 11:09 pm EST ![]()
Gonzaga guard Steven Gray, lef… AP – Nov 25, 10:43 pm EST ![]()
Cincinnati forward Yancy Gates… AP – Nov 25, 10:39 pm EST ![]()
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With the Bearcats clinging to a 55-53 lead with 43 seconds left,co-tournament MVP Steven Gray—who shared the honor with senior Matt Bouldin—held the ball as long as the shot clock would allow before feeding Sacre in thepaint for a one-handed floater with 16 seconds left.
Sacre then came up even bigger—and higher—on the defensive end, hustlingback down the court to defend Cincinnati’s final play, run without a timeout.
After playing a little too far up with Lance Stephenson draining the finalseconds at the top of the arc, Sacre eventually dropped back to cover YancyGates, who charged along the right baseline and caught Stephenson’s alley-ooppass with just seconds remaining, attempting to flush it home for thechampionship.
Sacre, though, timed his jump perfectly and swatted the ball out of Gates’hands, sending the game to overtime.
“That was a big-time play,” Few said. “We were telling our guys we neededto bluff help, bluff help, but the message was trying to be sent to theperimeter players and not the post players. So he got a little excited and gotup the lane and he made an incredible athletic play to turn and go make thatblock.”
It was Gonzaga’s first championship on Maui after losing to Connecticut65-63 in the 2005 title game and finishing fourth in 2002.
Few was most impressed with how his team won the three-day tournament.
“We had to dig ourselves out of a hole against Colorado, we played a veryefficient game yesterday against a Wisconsin team then we got in a backyardbrawl tonight and won it that way,” Few said. “So we won it in a lot ofdifferent fashions, so I think that’s a good sign right there.”
The Bulldogs, who also got 12 points from Demetri Goodson, overcame a10-point second-half deficit. Gray and Elias Harris added 13 points apiece forGonzaga (5-1).
“They showed a lot of heart tonight,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said.“They know how to win. Their tradition is established right now. They have guysthat understand how to step it up. They were never going to go away, they weregoing to keep fighting.”
Stephenson led Cincinnati (4-1) with 15 points.
The Bearcats looked weary in overtime, missing several free throws in thefirst 1:45. Cincinnati’s Steve Toyloy made one of two from the foul line beforeGray found Sacre for an emphatic baseline dunk with 2:41 left that put Gonzagain front by two.
Harris made it a three-point game with a free throw but Gates grabbed an airball by Cashmere Wright and slammed it through with 12.6 seconds remaining totrim it to 60-59.
The Bearcats, who led by four at halftime and 10 with 13:20 left in thesecond half, had a final chance to force a second overtime with 9.8 seconds togo after Sacre hit the front end of a pair of free throws. Driving to his rightwith time winding down, Wright put up a floater that caromed off the backboard,hit the rim and fell into the arms of Harris as time expired.
“At the end of the day, this has been a great trip for us,” Cronin said.“Everyone can see that Cincinnati basketball is back on the map. We’re notgoing anywhere.”
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