HONOLULU, Hawaii. — A career-high 32 points from Gonzaga's Anton Watson helped lead the Bulldogs to a 69-65 win over the UCLA Bruins in the final game of the Maui Invitational Wednesday night.
The Zags were looking to end its time in Hawaii on a positive note Wednesday night. GU lost its first game in Hawaii against No. 2 Purdue, who ended up winning the Maui Invitational after beating Marquette in the championship game.
GU's loss on Monday put them in the consolation bracket, where they rebounded and beat Syracuse in dominating fashion, setting up a final game with UCLA.
In a rematch of last season's thrilling Sweet 16 matchup, the Spokane, Washington, native had 15 points in the first half. At one point, Watson himself was outscoring the entire UCLA team.
One of Watson's big highlights in the first half was an early dunk off a Graham Ike assist.
After leading by 13, UCLA cut GU's lead down to single digits at one point, but the Zags were able to keep a two-possession lead heading into halftime.
There were 40 free throws taken in the first half. The Zags shot just under 53% from the stripe compared to UCLA's just under 74% free throw shooting.
The Bruins kept firing in the second half, taking their first lead since its 3-2 lead in the early minutes of the game. Buckets from Watson and Ryan Nembhard, however, would spring a small run to help the Zags regain the lead.
The Zags went on a 13-1 run that would help them add to their lead, but the Bruins would not go away.
After some more back and forth between the two teams, and despite three double-digit scorers from UCLA and some big buckets late, more key buckets from Watson and clutch defense would push the Zags to victory.
Watson finished the night with 32 points, a career-high, and seven rebounds. Nembhard was the next leading scorer with 12 points, followed by Nolan Hickman with 11 points.
Gonzaga will travel back to Spokane to get some rest before returning to action at the McCarthey Athletic Center against CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday, November 28. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.
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