‘They got no quit in them’: Duke falls to Gonzaga on Maui
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke (15) and forward Jeremy Jones (22) celebrate after Gonzaga defeated Duke 89-87 to win the Maui Invitational in an NCAA college basketball game today in Lahaina, Hawaii.
LAHAINA >> Top-ranked Duke lost for the first time in six appearances in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, as No. 3 Gonzaga stunned the Blue Devils 89-87 today at Lahaina Civic Center.
The Bulldogs (6-0) of the West Coast Conference surged out to an early lead, built it up to 16, then held on tight as the Blue Devils (5-1) and their star freshmen surged back to tie it up on a basket by Zion Williamson with 1:41 remaining.
>> See our photo gallery of the game here.
Rui Hachimura hit the go-ahead layup with 1:15 left. Gonzaga survived four missed free throws by its players and two errant drives by Duke’s R.J. Barrett in the final 32 seconds.
“What a basketball game,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Duke is everything that we thought they were and probably even a little bit more. They got no quit in them. Those are really, really talented, high character, tough dudes to stop and they made a heck of a run. But what I was most proud of is we ended up winning this game on the defensive end those last two stops.”
Here was the final #MauiHoops sequence. R.J. Barrett denied. pic.twitter.com/Kc9902ioTa
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Hachimura was named tournament MVP after leading the Zags with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Guard Zach Norvell Jr. added 18 points and forward Brandon Clarke had 17 on 7-for-10 shooting, along with six blocks — including one on Barrett in the final seconds.
Barrett had 23 points for Duke while Williamson had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Point guard Tre Jones scored 17.
Duke, a five-time Maui champion, fell to 17-1 here all-time. Gonzaga won its second Maui title (2009).
It was a packed house in the 2,400-seat venue, close to evenly split between Duke and Gonzaga fans. It was the first of four all-time meetings that GU beat Mike Krzyzewski’s ACC powerhouse.
“(Few) has done a marvelous job with his program,” Krzyzewski said. “And it’s an honor to play against him and their fan base and it was a great game for college basketball today. The fan base is there, the effort, and two outstanding programs. That was really good basketball today.”
It matched the highest combined ranking in the final in Maui history; in 1997, No. 3 Duke upset No. 1 Arizona.
