Zags can’t hang on, lose to Texas in the NCAA tournament

PORTLAND, Ore. – Gonzaga’s quest for its first NCAA championship ended again this year in the round of 32.

The three-seed Zags were upset Saturday by 11-seed Texas, who had to win a play-in game to get into the tournament.

Gonzaga and Texas traded leads for most of the second half, but Texas outlasted the Zags to win 74-68.

“We just couldn’t get one on that last possession,” head coach Mark Few said. “That was about really what it came down to, just our lack of being able to get stops down the stretch a lot of credit to Texas. Our defense has been great all year, and they stung us pretty good.”

Graham Ike led all scorers with 25 points and played in his final game as a Bulldog.

“Just super proud of this team for for the adversity that we pushed through, we’re built for adversity, no doubt about it,” Ike said. “That built us to be better men in life, it’s not just this game, but this season built us to be better men in life, and I’m proud of this squad.”

This was Gonzaga’s 27th straight NCAA tournament appearance.

“No matter how many years you’ve done, it is just shocking to have to walk in the locker room and address these guys,” Few said. “They honestly care about each other and love each other and will do anything to to get one more possession together and to stand up there, address them and try to have it make sense is hard.”