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No. 3 Zags hold off upset-minded Illini

Frazier helps Illinois get within two late before falling 84-78

Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins dribbles aganst llinois’ Andres Feliz during the first half of the Bulldogs’ 84-78 victory over the Illini on Monday. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

LAHAINA — Just as the final game of the night at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational appeared to be a slow walk to victory for third-ranked Gonzaga, things suddenly turned interesting.

The Bulldogs held on for an 84-78 win over a gritty Illinois team, but it was hardly as easy as it appeared it would be for most of the game at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Gonzaga (4-0) will play Arizona in the semifinals tonight, while Illinois (1-2) wakes up early to play in the brunch bracket against Iowa State.

“I learned we’ve got to clean up some things at the end of games,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We spend a lot of time in practice doing situational stuff, but when you’re under the bright lights and when you’re playing a team that is built to bring a lot of adversity — that’s what Illinois did a phenomenal job of.

“We were able to find a way to win and that’s really all that matters in a tournament like this.”

Trent Frazier of Illinois drives for a first-half basket.

Trent Frazier scored 27 of his 29 points in the second half to bring the Illini within two on a couple of occasions down the stretch, but they could never get the lead. He shot 1-for-6 in the first half and 7-for-13 in the second half.

“I would say, me last year, that wouldn’t have happened,” Frazier said. “I was letting those shots get to me, but the coaching staff and my teammates helped me get through that.”

Back-to-back 3s by Frazier with 6:30 to go pulled the Illini within 69-65. A pair of free throws by Alan Griffin made it 69-67 with 5:47 to go.

Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert sank a 3 off a nifty pass from Zach Norvell Jr. to push the lead back to 74-69. Rui Hachimura made one of two free throws and then a 3-pointer with 2:17 left to make it a nine-point lead.

One last time, the Illini responded, pulling within 80-78 with 1:01 to go on a dramatic four-point play by Frazier.

Gonzaga then committed a shot-clock violation on the other end, giving the ball back to the Illini with 30.5 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Frazier’s trey attempt came up way short with 16 seconds left, Gonzaga’s Jeremy Jones sank a pair of free throws, Frazier’s 3 was blocked on the other end, and Hachimura slammed home the final points with 1.1 seconds left on the clock.

The Zags took a 39-32 lead into the locker rooms when Jeremy Jones sank a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the first half.

In one spectacular sequence for the Bulldogs, Brandon Clarke blocked a layup attempt by Andres Feliz, Hachimura grabbed the loose ball and fired a pass upcourt to Norvell, who flew to the hoop for a layup on the other end that made it 62-49 with 12:12 to play.

Hachimura finished with 23 points to lead Gonzaga. Norvell had 15 and Jones added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

GONZAGA (4-0)

Hachimura 7-14 7-9 23, Kispert 2-6 2-2 7, Clarke 4-4 2-6 10, Perkins 3-5 3-4 10, Norvell 5-11 3-5 15, Petrusev 1-4 3-5 5, J.Jones 5-5 3-4 14, Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Crandall 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-51 23-35 84.

ILLINOIS (1-2)

Bezhanishvili 8-17 1-3 17, Nichols 1-4 0-0 2, Frazier 8-19 7-7 29, Dosunmu 2-7 1-2 6, Jordan 2-9 2-3 8, De La Rosa 2-4 0-0 4, Griffin 2-2 2-2 7, Feliz 1-5 0-0 2, T.Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Cayce 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 27-70 14-19 78.

Halftime–Gonzaga 39-32. 3-Point Goals–Gonzaga 7-19 (Hachimura 2-3, Norvell 2-6, J.Jones 1-1, Perkins 1-2, Kispert 1-5, Petrusev 0-1, Crandall 0-1), Illinois 10-31 (Frazier 6-13, Jordan 2-6, Griffin 1-1, Dosunmu 1-3, Feliz 0-1, Williams 0-1, Nichols 0-2, Bezhanishvili 0-4). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Gonzaga 41 (J.Jones 11), Illinois 31 (Jordan 10). Assists–Gonzaga 16 (Perkins 9), Illinois 10 (Dosunmu, Jordan 3). Total Fouls–Gonzaga 22, Illinois 27.

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