NASSAU, Bahamas — Javon Small scored five of his 31 points in overtime and Tucker DeVries added key free throws late in regulation and finished with 16 points as West Virginia beat No. 3 Gonzaga 86-78 in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday.
Small’s layup with under 2 minutes left in OT gave West Virginia a 79-75 lead. After a Gonzaga miss, Sencire Harris hit two free throws to make it a six-point lead. With 27.1 seconds left, Harris made a steal and scored on a dunk for an eight-point lead, putting the game out of reach.
Amani Hansberry scored a career-high 19 points and Toby Okani added 10 for West Virginia (3-2).
Braden Huff scored 19 points and Khalif Battle 16 for Gonzaga (5-1).
Gonzaga showed its depth, outscoring the West Virginia bench 30-2.
West Virginia’s only loss was by 24 points at Pitt, but the rebuild under Darian DeVries is showing promise.
Gonzaga turned it over at midcourt late in regulation when Tucker DeVries poked it away from Nolan Hickman and raced the other way before getting fouled. DeVries made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to tie it at 71-all. Battle inbounded the ball and got it back, but lost control on a drive as time expired.
The shorter Mountaineers outrebounded Gonzaga 42-36 and shot 50% in the second half, battling the Zags to a draw in the paint. Nembhard had 12 assists and just one turnover in 43 minutes, but was 1 of 10 from the field.
West Virginia will play Louisville on Thursday in the winner’s bracket. Gonzaga faces No. 14 Indiana on the consolation side.
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