What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after loss vs. Kentucky

Bulldogs squandered an 18-point lead to the Wildcats in an overtime thriller from Seattle

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

The No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs fell to the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats in overtime, 90-89, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Saturday.

The Zags (7-2) went ahead by as many as 18 points and never trailed in regulation after taking a 9-8 advantage at the 16:54 mark in the first half, though the Wildcats (8-1) didn't rattle easily. A 16-2 scoring run from Kentucky in the second half flipped the swing of momentum, as Gonzaga failed to knock down open looks around the rim and from deep, while its opposition suddenly couldn't be stopped down low.

Here's what Bulldogs head coach Mark Few had to say after the loss.

On what changed between the first and second halves for Gonzaga:

Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) shoots the ball against Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13). / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

"I mean just all of a sudden, lid was on the hoop. We had a lot of really, really good looks. We've made the first half ones we've made all year, even the free throws, missed a bunch of front ends. And then we gave them life, and they did a great job. And I think our offense affected our defense a little bit. We lost a little bit of our intensity and started kind of deviating from the plan. But it was a great basketball game. Listen, man, both teams did great effort for guys making the right plays on both sides of the ball. It was just a hell of a basketball game."

On what he saw from Kentucky's defense:

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Khalif Battle (99), center, drives against Kentucky Wildcats guard Jaxson Robinson (2) and guard Koby Brea (4). / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

"I mean again we were just getting really good looks. They probably weren't maybe in the same rhythm or context of what we had in the first half, but we had post ups, we had wide open 3s. They were 0-for-9 from 3 in the second half, pretty much all of them teed up wide open so, might've affected us a little bit. The guys knew what they were doing."

On the impact rebounding had on the final outcome (Kentucky outrebounded Gonzaga, 21-13, in second half):

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Dusty Stromer (4) passes the ball against Kentucky Wildcats center Amari Williams (22). / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

"We did a nice job in the first half, and then again, because we were caught in rotations and not kind of taking care of our business on the defensive end, and you got guys in tough places, and we kind of started making up a couple of rules where we just randomly go, double the guy, and it would just open up the glass. Biggest thing is we dried up offensively there in the first nine minutes, I think of the half, I think we had nine points, which is very unlike us."

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