No. 3 Gonzaga and Davidson were curious about what their responses would be in the wake of disappointing performances during the first day of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
After strong follow-up performances, the teams will meet in the tournament’s fifth-place game on Friday night.
Gonzaga (6-1) won its first five games this season by no less than eight points, including double-digit victories over then-No. 8 Baylor and San Diego State. Instead of playing for a multi-team event title, the Bulldogs stumbled in their opener Wednesday by taking an 86-78 overtime loss to West Virginia.
Gonzaga shot a season-worst 40 percent from the field and got outrebounded 42-36 vs. the Mountaineers, marking the team’s first time losing the rebounding margin. With a short turnaround from a disappointing outcome, the Bulldogs bounced back with an impressive 89-73 victory Thursday over No. 14 Indiana.
Gonzaga scored at least 85 points for the fourth time thanks to an offense that shot 48.4 percent from the floor. Perhaps more importantly, the Bulldogs won the rebounding battle 42-27, marking the third time they posted a double-digit advantage in that category.
Khalif Battle led six Gonzaga players in double figures with 16 points to go with five rebounds. Nolan Hickman added 15 points along with Michael Ajayi, who also led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds after finishing with three against West Virginia.
“We all wanted to make a statement,” Ajayi said after Gonzaga scored 23 second-chance points and 57 points by halftime. “We all contributed on the glass; all gave great effort.”
Graham Ike added 14 points, Ben Gregg contributed 13 and Ryan Nembhard collected 11 points and 13 assists for his fifth game with at least 10 assists.
“We responded well from (Wednesday’s loss),” Hickman said. “I even responded well. I had a bad little turnover down the stretch, but that’s just growth like coach (Mark Few) said in the locker room. A few years ago I wouldn’t have been myself in this game.”
Davidson (5-1) will face its second ranked opponent of the event, and it hopes it fares better than a 104-71 loss to No. 24 Arizona in the opening round.
The Wildcats bounced back by starting fast in their 69-58 win over Providence on Thursday. Davidson scored the game’s first nine points, led by as many as 22 and never was seriously threatened.
It was Davidson’s best defensive showing so far as it allowed a season-best 31 percent shooting from the field. The Wildcats forced Providence into missing its first 10 shots one night after getting worn down by Arizona’s physicality.
“We were tough as nails and made them work for every basket,” Davidson coach Matt McKillop said in his postgame radio interview.
Connor Kochera led the Wildcats with 22 points, Bobby Durkin added 20, while Reed Bailey contributed 18 points to go with 11 rebounds and four assists.
“We did so many great things,” McKillop said. “Last night we had so many moments when we were spectacular and the wheels fell off and we were just worn down by their physicality and their speed, but we did not wear down tonight, and I think we wore them down.”