By Kevin Hudson | Senior Sports Reporter
PORTLAND – The No. 13-seed Akron Zips got their money’s worth in their first trip to the NCAA tournament in 23 years, putting an early scare in the No. 4 Bulldogs before fading down the stretch to fall 77-64 at the Rose Garden.
“They came into this thing on fire,” said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. “It feels great to win and move on. That’s what this tournament is all about.”
In the first half it was all Akron, as the Zips threatened to pull off the Rose City sub-regional’s first upset of the weekend by shooting 5-of-10 from three-point range while notching 10 assists to just two turnovers for a 38-35 halftime lead.
Akron’s lone senior, center Nate Linhart, led all scorers in the half with 13 points on 5-of-6 from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from long range.
“He came out hitting his shot in the first half and we didn’t close out on him good enough,” said Gonzaga guard Micah Downs of Linhart. “We knew from the scouting report that he could hit the three and I guess we didn’t take the scouting report serious enough.”
Gonzaga, conversely, played a sloppy first half, marred by six turnovers and a 33.3 percent effort from downtown. They were led by senior forward Josh Heytvelt’s eight points and four rebounds as they out-rebounded the Zips 18-11.
In the second half the Zips long-range game dropped off as the Bulldog defense intensified and the mounting rebounding disparity finally did them in as they finished the game at 10-of-25 (40.0 percent) from downtown and were out-rebounded 31-22.
“We did a lot better job defensively (in the second half),” said Bulldog junior guard Matt Bouldin, who finished with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. “That led to a lot of easy buckets for us.”
Akron is left with the sting of an opportunity lost but, with seven freshmen and just one graduating senior, the future is bright for the Zips.
“We were right there. We played with a lot of heart and passion,” said Akron coach Keith Dambrot. “When you get a team on their heels like that you can’t let them off the hook.”
Gonzaga moves on to face the winner of Friday’s nightcap between No. 12 Western Kentucky and No. 5 Illinois in Saturday’s second round.
“It doesn’t matter,” Few said of their next opponent. “Each of these teams is capable of making a great run.”
