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West Virginia Mountaineers 84, Gonzaga Bulldogs 78: Live updates recap, highlights from Battle 4 Atlantis

The Mountaineers come back in the final minutes of regulation to stun the Bulldogs in overtime

Cole Forsman

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Michael Ajayi.
Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Michael Ajayi. / Photo by Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images
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The West Virginia Mountaineers pulled off an 86-78 overtime victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday.

The Zags (5-1) led by five points with under 30 seconds left in regulation before Mountaineers wing Tucker DeVries forced overtime himself. The 6-foot-7 Drake transfer knocked down a 3-pointer and had a steal, plus two free throws, to send the game into an extra period.

Braden Huff led the Bulldogs with 19 points, 14 of which came after halftime, though the offense sputtered in overtime. Gonzaga missed eight of its 10 field goal attempts in overtime, while West Virginia was 3-of-5 from the field and 9-of-10 from the foul line.

With the loss, the Bulldogs play No. 14 Thursday at 11:30 a.m. PST.

FINAL (OT): WEST VIRGINIA 86, GONZAGA 78

Here is the live updates RECAP:

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West Virginia 81, Gonzaga 75 (1:04): A questionable loose ball foul on Ryan Nembhard sent Sincere Harris to the charity stripe to make it a 6-point game.

END OF REGULATION: Gonzaga 71, West Virginia 71: Khalif Battle drove into a crowd of Mountaineers defenders but no foul was called, sending the game into overtime.

2ND HALF:

Gonzaga 71, West Virginia 71 (0:05): Tucker DeVries went 2-for-2, prompting a timeout for the Zags as they regroup.

Gonzaga 71, West Virginia 70 (0:05): Tucker DeVries keeps the game alive with a steal off Nolan Hickman, who then fouled the 6-foot-7 senior on a layup attempt. Two free throws for West Virginia with a chance to tie it. DeVries made the first.

Gonzaga 71, West Virginia 69 (0:18): Ryan Nembhard went 2-for-2, but Javon Small answered with a 3-pointer. All the Zags need to do is inbound and make shots at the foul line.

Gonzaga 69, West Virginia 66 (0:23): Huff has scored the last six points for the Bulldogs as they try to close out the Mountaineers down the stretch. Ryan Nembhard at the line for 1-and-1.

Gonzaga 67, West Virginia 64 (2:50): A very questionable call on Khalif Battle sent Tucker DeVries to the foul line for three shots, as the 6-foot-7 senior got the 6-foot-5 sixth year guard on a pump fake on a 3-pointer. Braden Huff responded for the Bulldogs, scoring back-to-back jump hooks to make it a 3-point game.

West Virginia 62, Gonzaga 61 (3:19): Braden Huff put the Zags out in front momentarily with a layup off a feed from Ryan Nembhard, who's up to 10 assists on the game. Ben Gregg has provided a spark down the stretch with his energy on the boards, as the 6-foot-10 post has scored six of his eight points this half at the charity stripe.

West Virginia 58, Gonzaga 56 (7:22): Javon Small went 1-of-2 at the free throw line following a questionable foul call on Ben Gregg. Moments later Ryan Nembhard found Nolan Hickman coming off a screen for a 3-pointer in the corner. The Bulldogs will need to tighten things up defensively to pull back in front.

West Virginia 50, Gonzaga 49 (11:44): The Mountaineers' 17-2 scoring run was broken up by a tough layup through traffic from Ben Gregg, followed by a dunk by Khalif Battle in transition. Javon Small fueled West Virginia after halftime with 10 quick points.

Gonzaga 43, West Virginia 40 (16:17): Javon Small's 3-pointer in transition makes it a 7-0 scoring run for the Mountaineers, prompting a timeout from coach Few. The Zags had a 10-point lead following a score inside from Graham Ike at the 18:35 mark, though West Virginia had an answer ready. Small is up to 13 points.

HALFTIME: Gonzaga 39, West Virginia 31: The Bulldogs pull ahead for an 8-point lead at the break behind some stellar play from Khalif Battle, who leads all scorers with 14 points on 5-of-7 from the field. Gonzaga struggled to find a rhythm inside the arc but went 6-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half. Amani Hansberry led the Mountaineers with 10 points, while Javon Small helped cut into the deficit with a 6-0 personal run as the half came to a close.

1ST HALF:

Gonzaga 37, West Virginia 28 (1:49): Khalif Battle goes on an 8-0 self-run to give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the afternoon. The Arkansas grad transfer is up to 14 points.

Gonzaga 29, West Virginia 26 (3:56): The Mountaineers began chipping away at their deficit behind some stout play on the defensive end, as they held the Bulldogs without a field goal for nearly five minutes since Ryan Nembhard's layup at the 8:39 mark. Javon Small got going with three straight free throws on a shooting foul by Khalif Battle, followed by a stepback 3-pointer for the 6-foot-3 senior.

Gonzaga 27, West Virginia 20 (7:54): A tough and-one from Khalif Battle capped off a 10-0 scoring run from the Bulldogs, who went ahead by nine points before the Mountaineers responded behind a breakaway dunk from Tucker DeVries. West Virginia is swarming Braden Huff and Graham Ike down low, as well as Gonzaga's guards when they come off screens.

Gonzaga 20, West Virginia 16 (11:31): An incredible defensive effort from Ben Gregg, stuffing Amani Hansberry at the rim, led to a layup for Nolan Hickman on the other end, followed by a 3-pointer from the senior guard moments later. Hickman leads the Zags with eight points early on.

Gonzaga 9, West Virginia 8 (15:40): The Bulldogs connected on three of their first five attempts from downtown to jumpstart the offense, starting with Khalif Battle in the corner on a tip pass from Michael Ajayi. Media timeout was called after Sincere Harris landed hard on his backside trying to break up an alley oop attempt.

PREGAME:

The winner of Gonzaga-West Virginia will play Louisville on Thursday at 9 a.m. PST. The Cardinals took down the Hoosiers, 89-61, in their quarterfinal matchup after knocking down 10 3-pointers and forcing 23 turnovers.

West Virginia 45, Gonzaga 43 (14:39): The Mountaineers ride a 12-0 scoring run to gain their first lead since the 13:11 mark in the first half. Graham Ike and Ben Gregg couldn't put down close shots around the rim, as the Bulldogs missed five of their first seven attempts coming out of the locker room.

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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