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Courtesy: Associated Press
Zags Put Boom On Sooners; Advance To Old Spice Title Game
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - Gonzaga put together a dominating performance in its latest win.
Elias Harris scored 18 points and the No. 17 Zags beat Oklahoma 72-47 in a semifinal matchup Friday night at the Old Spice Classic.
Kelly Olynyk, Gary Bell Jr., Kevin Pangos and Przemek Karnowski each had eight points for Gonzaga (5-0). The Zags outrebounded Oklahoma 51-24.
``That was a really, really good win for us,'' Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. ``We played really good. Got back to playing our style. We attacked on the offense end all night, and did another great job playing defense.''
Oklahoma (3-1) got 13 from Romero Osby. Isaiah Cousins had 10 points.
``Gonzaga did a terrific job in dictating pretty much in every way,'' Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. ``Anytime you get whipped that badly on the boards, you know they were a lot more physical, a lot more aggressive to loose balls. It's a terrific learning opportunity for us, and we've got to get that from it. Otherwise it's a waste of time. So we've got to learn from it.''
Gonzaga will play Davidson, which beat West Virginia 63-60, in Sunday night's championship game. Oklahoma will close out the tourney Sunday against the Mountaineers.
Consecutive long-range jumpers by Bell and Harris, who also had slammed in a rebound, gave Gonzaga a 43-25 lead three minutes into the second half.
Harris had 14 of his points during the second half.
``I think it was just the game coming to me at that point,'' Harris said. ``I played more aggressive. That was really the main key.''
Pangos' 3-pointer extended the Zags' lead to 53-31 with 12 minutes to play.
Olynyk had an in-close basket and David Stockton scored on a layup as Gonzaga built a 59-34 lead midway through the second half.
Gonzaga got points from nine players - led by Bell with five - en route to a 32-22 halftime advantage.
``That's one of the strengths of our team this year is depth,'' Pangos said. ``That's a big thing with our team because we just wear down other teams.''
Stockton's fast-break layup in the final minute gave Gonzaga a 32-21 lead.
Olynyk had a dunk and layup as Gonzaga went ahead 14-5 just over eight minutes into the game.
Oklahoma trailed just 14-8 despite going 2 for 15 from the field during the opening 10 1-2 minutes of play.
Steven Pledger's jumper cut the Sooners' deficit to 18-13 with eight minutes left in the half. Andrew Fitzgerald had a slam that got Oklahoma to 20-17 two minutes later.
Pangos' jumper put Gonzaga up 25-19 four minutes before the intermission.
The Zags, winners of the 2008 Old Spice Classic, have won all five games they have played in the tourney.
