CORONADO, Calif. — drew time He compared it to the feeling of playing basketball in a park as a kid, only this time it was on the flight deck of one of the world’s most powerful warships.
Timme wore No. 2 Gonzaga in a spirited comeback from a 12-point deficit, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Bulldogs beat state of michigan 64-63 Friday night on the USS Abraham Lincoln at Naval Air Station North Island.
“It’s definitely something different. It’s something you don’t experience every day,” Timme said. “I think growing up playing in the park is something that helped us. And look, they had to play in that too. … It wasn’t the prettiest game to watch, but it was just sticking our nose in the dirt and going forward and not stopping and I thought it was a real test of our courage and heart and I think we did a good job of answering the bell. today.”
Timme twice gave the Zags the lead in the final 2:27. His inside shot made it 63-61 before Malik Hall he responded with a hook to tie it. The Zags scored just one more point, when Timme made the second of two free throws with 1:51 left.
by Gonzaga Julian Strawther was called for traveling with 31 seconds remaining and the state of Michigan Jaden Akins he missed a desperate triple just before the buzzer.
“Gonzaga is who Gonzaga is because they’re really good,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “But they have a player to go to. Down the stretch, that guy, he just got up. That’s what he’s supposed to do.
“I want to feel great about the environment, our fans, the veterans, the way our team played, but how do you feel good when you lose a game when you led for 30 minutes? It’s hard to do.”
Timme had tied the game at 55 with a 3-point play and Bolton tied it again at 59 with a big 3-pointer.
Strawther had 13 points and nine rebounds, and nolan hickmann He scored 10 for Gonzaga (2-0).
Michigan State Big Man Mady Sissok he scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half, but he committed his third foul early in the second half and didn’t have much of an impact the rest of the way.
The Spartans (1-1) led 45-33 three minutes into the second half before Timme and the Zags went on an 11-0 run to get to 45-44. Timme spun a layup, was fouled and made the free throw, then fed Rasir Bolton for a baseline jumper to close within three points. Efton Reid III‘s dunk put the Zags up 45-44.
tyson walker he made a layup with 12:10 remaining to snap MSU’s five-minute scoring drought.
Timme’s 3-point play tied it at 55-55 and then Bolton hit a 3-point shot to tie it 59-59 with 3:54 remaining.
As impressive as he was overall, Timme made just 4 of 10 free throws and could have given the Zags a cushion late in the game.
The game was played 11 years after North Carolina beat Michigan State on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson at North Island NAS, with then-President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle looking on from the court.
The teams wore camouflage uniforms with USA on the back. Just before the second half began, the crowd rose for the sunset flag retreat. The 3,000-strong crowd was made up primarily of carrier sailors and fans of both teams.
Michigan State led 38-31 at halftime in large part thanks to the powerful inside game of the 6-foot-9 Sissoko. Sissoko made three dunks in the final 5 minutes of the half, including on an alley-oop pass from A. J. Hoggard. His final two dunks helped the Spartans take control. Michigan State had back-to-back steals, causing Izzo to pump his fist emphatically.
Neither team was afraid to hit 3s and each team took a shot from behind the arc in the first two minutes. The wind seemed to affect only a 3-point shot as the six-tier conning tower and scoreboard blocked most of the wind from the Pacific Ocean.