Kentucky Defeats Gonzaga in Top 10 Matchup
SEATTLE – December 8, 2024
No. 4 Kentucky trailed by as many as 18 points, but the Cats rallied in the second half, beating No. 7 Gonzaga 90-89 in overtime on Saturday in Seattle.
Playing without starting point guard Lamont Butler, who missed the game due to injury, the Cats were resilient all night long, especially in the second half and in overtime. Andrew Carr led the Cats with 19 points, while Jaxson Robinson added 18. Otega Oweh had 13 points, while Amari Williams had 12. Brandon Garrison came off the bench to score 10 points and grab nine rebounds.
Gonzaga scored first, but UK answered with a Kerr Kriisa three. After a Gonzaga three, Robinson hit a three and the Cats led 6-5. After the Bulldogs took a 7-6 lead, a Williams dunk gave UK an 8-7 advantage.
The Zags would score the next six points to build a five-point lead. A pair of Oweh free throws cut the UK deficit to three, 13-10. After Gonzaga scored four in a row, UK got a layup from Garrison to make it 17-12.
Again, Gonzaga would stretch the lead by scoring the next four points before a Carr bucket made it 21-14. After a three from the Bulldogs, Carr hit a spinning shot in the lane to make it 24-16. An Oweh layup got UK within six, 24-18, but Gonzaga scored the next six to build a 30-18 lead and force a Kentucky timeout.
Ansley Almonor would hit a three to make it 30-21. After a Gonzaga three, Garrison knocked down a triple of his own, getting the Cats within 33-24. A Garrison basket and free throw made it 35-27. After two more Bulldogs’ free throws, UK got a three from Kriisa to cut the deficit to 37-30.
An 11-2 Gonzaga run made it 48-32 before Carr hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left in the half. The Bulldogs would lead 50-34 at the half.
Gonzaga scored the first basket of the second half before Robinson hit a three to cut the deficit to 52-37. The teams would trade baskets, but Gonzaga would stretch the lead to 56-39 before the Cats went on a run. Oweh converted a layup, Carr got a basket in the lane and a subsequent free throw, and Williams threw down a dunk to make it 56-46 and force a Gonzaga timeout. The run continued after the break with a Carr basket and a pair of Oweh free throws that made it 56-50.
Robinson then hit a fadeaway jumper to get the Cats within four, 56-52. It was the capper on a 13-0 run that got the Cats back in the game. After a Gonzaga basket, Koby Brea hit a three and the Cats were within three, 58-55, with 12:16 to play.
Gonzaga would get a pair of free throws before a Garrison layup made it 60-57. A Gonzaga three-point play made it 63-57, but a Carr layup got the Cats within four, 63-59. After the Bulldogs grabbed a six-point lead again, Carr scored to make it 65-61 with 7:39 remaining.
After Gonzaga got one free throw, Oweh tipped in his own miss to make it 65-63. A pair of Bulldogs free throws extended the lead to 67-63 with 6:06 to play. Almonor hit a pair of free throws to get the Cats within two, 67-65.
Gonzaga would get a bucket to make it 69-65 before Robinson converted a layup to cut the deficit to 69-67. But a Gonzaga layup and free throw made it 72-67 with 4:55 to play.
Williams would get a dunk to get UK within three, 72-69. After a Gonzaga bucket, Robinson hit a long two to make it 74-71. A Bulldogs’ basket made it 76-71 before Williams made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to three, 76-73. After the Cats got a defensive stop, Robinson made a pair of free throws to get the Cats within one, 76-75, with 2:19 remaining.
The teams would trade baskets, including another Robinson bucket, to make it 78-77 with 1:31 to play. After Gonzaga made one of two at the line, Carr hit a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 79-79. It was the first tie of the game and it came with 1:01 to play.
The Cats got a defensive stop, then had the final possession, but Brea missed at the buzzer and the game headed to overtime.
In extra time, Kentucky got a block from Williams, then a dunk from Oweh to lead 81-79. After another defensive stop, UK got a dunk from Williams to lead 83-79, forcing a Gonzaga timeout. UK got another defensive stop before Williams hit a baby hook in the lane to make it 85-79 with 3:24 remaining.
After yet another defensive stop, Oweh made one of two at the line to make it 86-79. Gonzaga would get a three to make it 86-82. A Gonzaga three made it 86-5 with 1:50 to play.
Carr would get a putback basket with 1:11 to play to put the Cats up by three, 88-85. Gonzaga would get one free throw with 43 seconds left to make it 88-86.
Kentucky would get a Robinson jumper with 14 seconds to go, making it 90-86. However, Gonzaga got a three with five seconds left to make it 90-89.
Carr was fouled with 4.3 seconds to play. He missed both free throws, but Gonzaga was unable to get a shot away and the Cats pulled off the win.
Kentucky returns to action on Wednesday, hosting Colgate at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN2.
