Gonzaga Heads to Anaheim For Sweet 16 After Win Over Baylor

Written by Adrian Beecher

SALT LAKE CITY, UT- Led by junior forward Brandon Clarke and his 36 points, Gonzaga punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 83-71 win over Baylor Saturday evening at Vivint SmartHome Arena.

Here’s how it all went down.

The Bears won the tipoff and we the first to get a basket in as Jared Butler sank a triple. The Zags answered right back with a layup from Josh Perkins. Baylor was able to keep the slight edge early, holding a 7-5 lead over Gonzaga as we reached the under 16 minute media tiemout.

After that, the Zags got rolling in a big way. Rui Hachimura got to the line and sank both free throws, then Brandon Clarke put in a layup. This was just the start of what would be an 11-0 run, giving Gonzaga a 16-7 lead with 13:03 left in the half.

Baylor’s struggles did not subside, as the Zags high intensity D continued to force turnovers and with 4:32 left to play in the half, things looked to be getting away from Baylor with the Zags taking a 19 point lead.

At the half, Gonzaga had a comfortable 39-23 lead over Baylor. The Bulldogs leading scorer was Brandon Clarke with 16 points. For the Bears, it was Jared Butler leading the charge with 10 points. The Zags ball movement was key to their lead, with 9 assists to only one from the Bears.

Baylor came out hot in the second half with back to back triples with king McClure and Makai Mason sinking ones. This was just the start of a 10-0 run for the Bears, trimming the deficit to just 6, forcing the Zags to call timeout with 18:08 left in the game.

Brandon Clarke slammed home a dunk for the Zags to put an end to the run. The Bears would keep the pressure up and were able to trim the deficit to just 5 with Mark Vital putting in a layup and cashing in on an and one a free throw with 16:34 left in the game.

However, a 6-0 run by the Zags pushed the deficit back to 11 with 14:09 left to play. Shortly there after, Zach Norvell Jr. drained a triple to push the lead to 14. Baylor answered with a triple from Mason, making it 55-44. This was the start of a 6-0 run to trim the deficit back to 8 with 10:58 left.

Despite the Bears no quit mentality, they just weren’t able to get over the hump after getting the deficit down to below 10. Gonzaga would push their lead to 15 with 8:17 left to play.

The Bears would then trim the Zags lead to 8 twice more, but that was as close as they would get. Gonzaga closed this one out with a 83-71 win, punching their ticket to the Sweet 16 with a date with Florida State in Anaheim.