Gonzaga Basketball: Zags down Volunteers in first true road game
Gonzaga basketball came away with an 86-76 victory over Tennessee thanks to a strong collective effort on offense and a great first half defensively.
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In their first true road game of the season, Gonzaga defeated the Tennessee Volunteers, 86-76.
Five Bulldogs reached double digits in scoring, led by Washington transfer Nigel Williams-Goss, who had 20. Przemek Karnowski chipped in 10, and missed a double-double by just one rebound. Silas Melson and Zach Collins contributed a combined 19 points off the bench to earn the Bulldogs their 11th win of the season.
Everything was going Gonzaga’s way for the first 20 minutes. The Volunteers struggled to get quality shots due to Gonzaga’s solid perimeter defense. Karnowski’s presence in the paint also made it difficult for Tennessee to rebound on both ends of the floor.
The Bulldogs would close the first half with an impressive steal and buzzer-beating dunk from Melson to take a 43-29 lead.
Though Tennessee battled back late in the game, they were never able to generate momentum and consistently hit shots. Robert Hubbs III shot just 4-of-10, finishing with 10 points and just one rebound, and Lew Evans was unable to hit a shot until there were under three minutes left in the contest. As a team, the Volunteers shot just 30 percent from the field,
It wasn’t all bad though. Freshman Grant Williams put up 11 points and seven rebounds, while Detrick Mostella came off the bench to light up Gonzaga with 17 points. Mostella shot 6-of-15, including three triples that provided the spark Tennessee needed to get back into the ballgame.
Williams and Mostella brought energy to a team which appeared severely lacking in leadership. Mostella will become increasingly valuable to the Volunteers if he is able to continue to play at a high level through conference play. Having another experienced guard who can be brought into the game for starters Jordan Bowden and Shembari Phillips when the Volunteers are struggling to score will be big for head coach Rick Barnes.
Tennessee drops to 6-5 with the loss, while Gonzaga remains undefeated. The Bulldogs will take on South Dakota at home on Wednesday, before opening up conference play with a home game against Pepperdine on December 29th.
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