Gonzaga defeats South Carolina 77-73; will play in title game for first time

No. 1 seed Gonzaga held off No. 7 seed South Carolina in a 77-73 win in the first game of 2017 NCAA Final Four semifinals on Saturday.

With the win, the Bulldogs move on to their first championship game in the program’s history.

But it wasn’t easy.

Gonzaga had built a comfortable 65-51 lead midway through the second half.

That’s when South Carolina began pressing, using a smothering defense to ignite its slumbering offense. The Gamecocks reeled off 14 unanswered points and tied the game 65-65 on a P.J. Dozier layup with 7:40 remaining.

South Carolina took the lead, 67-65 on a pair of made free throws from Rakym Felder.

But Zach Collins responded by converting a three-point jump shot and Gonzaga never trailed again.

Nigel Williams-Goss led all scorers with 23 points for Gonzaga. Przemek Karnowski, who played eve after taking a sharp poke to his right eye, added 13 points. Collins had 14 points and led the Bulldogs with six blocks and 13 rebounds (in 23 minutes).

Justin McKie led South Carolina in the first half with eight points and Chris Silva added seven points and four rebounds.

Sindarious Thornwell, came into the Final Four as South Carolina’s leading scorer, averaging 21.6 points per game.