Zags zig past Hawkeyes

SEATTLE - In the end, there too little zig and too much ‘Zag.

The Hawkeyes' season came to an conclusion Sunday night at the hands of an offensive machine in Gonzaga. The Bulldogs blazed past the Hawkeyes 87-68 in an NCAA tournament third-round game last night at KeyArena.

The Hawkeyes, which won their first NCAA tournament game in 14 years on Friday, finished their season at 22-12. Gonzaga (34-2) will play UCLA (22-13) in a South Regional semifinal Friday in Houston.

Gonzaga shot 61.5 percent from the floor and nailed 10 of 16 3-pointers. Iowa shot 46.7 but couldn't keep up.

'We obviously got down in a hole, and you don't want to do that,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said. 'They started getting comfortable shooting the ball, and that was unfortunate.”

A match-up of two up-tempo offensive squads quickly dissipated under a barrage of high efficiency. The Bulldogs nearly put the game away in the first half. The Bulldogs scored on 20 of 33 possessions and led 46-29 at halftime. The teams traded points for the game's first seven minutes. Iowa's Gabe Olaseni scored inside twice and brought Iowa within 18-15 with 12:49 left. Then, Gonzaga gashed the Hawkeyes.

Freshman forward Domantas Sabonis dunked on Olaseni to give Gonzaga a 20-15 edge. After Iowa guard Peter Jok threw a pass out of bounds, Gonzaga point guard Kevin Pangos drilled a 3-pointer. Jok was stripped by Kyle Dranginis on his next possession, and Dranginis hit a runner to push Gonzaga up 10. Sabonis scored on consecutive possessions - wrapped around an Aaron White basket - to give Gonzaga a 29-17 lead and prompting Iowa to call timeout.

A Jarrod Uthoff jumper on Iowa's next possession only stalled the momentum. Gonzaga followed with Przemek Karnowski inside and then Kyle Wiltjer draining a 3-pointer to boost the advantage to 34-19.

Gonzaga's first-half execution was letha. The Bulldogs scored 17 points on seven Iowa turnovers and shot 62.1 percent (18 of 29). Gonzaga drilled 7 of 10 3-pointers, and Wiltjer hit all three attempts. Gonzaga had 13 assists on 18 field goals, and the give-and-go was tough to stop. Wiltjer was perfect from the field (5 of 5) for 13 points.

'Honestly, we lost the game in the first 10 to 15 minutes with our lack of defense,” White said. 'It's just hard to win when you give up 85-plus.”

Iowa shot 44.8 percent but had to work for shots. Uthoff provided the high point for Iowa when he drove the lane and dunked over the 7-foot-1 Karnowski with 14:51 left in the half.

The Hawkeyes rallied early in the second half, scoring on their first three possessions and four of five. But after locking up the Bulldogs on five straight trips - including four turnovers - Pangos provided a kill shot with a 3-pointer to give Gonzaga a 51-37 lead.

Iowa rallied throughout much of the second half, and cut its deficit to 11 points multiple times. But the Hawkeyes just couldn't combine enough scoring trips with stops.

In his final game, Iowa senior Aaron White scored 19 points to end his streak of 20-point games at six. He finishes his career ranked second in scoring (1,859 points) and third in rebounds (1,859). His 618 free throws are an Iowa record and rank second in Big Ten history, the most by any league player in 53 years. His 800 free-throw attempts rank fifth in Big Ten competition.

'You're so disappointed at this outcome, how we didn't play (Sunday), but you look back over the four years, and what Coach (McCaffery) has given to me and given to guys on this team is something amazing,” White said. 'I'm just so thankful for the opportunity.”

Uthoff led the Hawkeyes with 20 points. Wiltjer led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting while Sabonis added 18.

Olaseni and fellow center Adam Woodbury both fouled out.

The Hawkeyes won 20 games for the third consecutive season and advanced to the NCAA tournament the last two. White, Olaseni, Josh Oglesby and Kyle Denning played their final games for Iowa.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com