Suddenly, there was life in Gonzaga.
The Bulldogs’ national title game experience was a disaster for the first 25 minutes as they stumbled and stumbled under a relentless, oppressive boiler attack on either end of the floor. But the Zags worked strongly, and after two free throws by Anton Watson and a layoff by Andrew Nemhard, the Bulldogs were suddenly trailed by just one point.
It felt like a big win. Remember, they trailed 9–0 in the opening minutes and spent much of the first half with phrases such as “the biggest shortfall of the season” being spurned by the CBS Announcement crew. Even as much as the game was a struggle, a nine-point shortfall felt like an impromptu obstacle to a Gonzaga offense that was the best in the country.
Gonzaga-Baylor: Live update from the title game, highlights
And with 14:30 left in the game after Niemhard’s bucket, which would have been an epic comeback was plenty of time to mount. He was writing the story himself. Epic Schott won the Final Four game and then had an incredible comeback to the title game. It was all coming together.
Until it was not. In Blink, Beiler repeated his game-opening blitz. In the blink of an eye, the lead was formed again. In a blink, Gonzaga’s perfect weather and national title hopes dashed.
On the next possession after Nemhard’s layoff, Jared Butler found Mark Wytle for an easy bucket under the basket. Back in double digits, 60–49.
The Baylor defense then forced another turnover – this one by Drew Tismi – which led to a fast break and two free throws by Butler. A Gonzaga bucket by Taimy gave the Zags a breather, but then MaCio Teague hit an acrobatic shot in the paint for Timor for Baylor and Vitaly blocked a shot by Corey Kispert.
Adam Flailer drained a 3-pointer before Gondaga got his defense set, not that it mattered much in the title game – and suddenly Boiler’s lead was back to 16 points, 67-51. It was a 9–2 run that covered 1 minute and 36 seconds.
that was it. There were still about 13 minutes left and Gonzaga kept fighting, but it never took the lead again under 13 points.
The Jags had made their push. Beers had taken his stand, and he was the one who was standing and celebrating.
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