College basketball: No. 11 Gonzaga edges No. 21 Iowa State, 73-71

No. 11 Gonzaga dominated the first half and overcame significant struggles in the final 20 minutes to beat No. 21 Iowa State, 73-71, on Sunday in the AdvoCare Invitational championship game at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Gonzaga nearly blew an 18-point second-half lead.

“I definitely think we got a little tentative in the second half and you can’t do that, especially when you’re playing such a good team,” said Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga’s top scorer with 18 points. “They’re just not going to go away without a fight.”

Josh Perkins added 12 points and Przemek Kar-nowski had 11 for Gonzaga (6-0). Iowa State (5-1) got 29 points from Deonte Burton, 21 in the second half.

Though Iowa State fell far behind early in the second half, Monte Morris’ jumper cut the deficit to 70-69 with four minutes left.

Burton missed a three-point attempt with Iowa State down 72-71 with 17 seconds left.

at No. 3 Indiana 85, Mississippi Valley State 52: O.G. Anunoby had 21 points and eight rebounds, Robert Johnson added 14 points and the Hoosiers rolled to an easy victory.

Thomas Bryant had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Hoosiers (4-1). James Blackmon Jr., the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer, missed the game because of a knee injury. Rashaan Surles led the Delta Devils (0-8) with 14 points.

No. 15 St. Mary’s 76, Alabama Birmingham 63: Jock Landale finished with 20 points on nine-for-11 shooting for the Gaels (5-0), who outscored the Blazers 30-16 during a 14-minute stretch in the first half to open their largest lead of the game, 40-23, at Las Vegas.

UAB wouldn’t go away, however, using a 16-7 run to cut the lead to seven with 14 minutes 33 seconds left. But the Gaels used a 13-3 run of their own, ignited by three consecutive three-pointers, to push the lead back to double digits with 9:29 remaining.

Chris Cokley had a season-high 20 points for the Blazers. Deion Lavender also had a season high with 12.

at No. 16 Wisconsin 95, Prairie View A&M 50: Nigel Hayes scored 17 points, his most this season, to lead the Badgers. Hayes was five of five from the field and seven of eight from the free-throw line. Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter each scored 11 points for Wisconsin (5-2). Zachary Hamilton led the Panthers (2-5) with 15 points.

Virginia Tech 66, Nebraska 53: Zach LeDay scored 19 points and added nine rebounds to lead Virginia Tech to a 66-53 victory over Nebraska in the third-place game of the Wooden Legacy on Sunday in Anaheim.

Virginia Tech (5-1) wowed offensively in the second half and made its final six free throws over the last 55 seconds. Nebraska (4-2) didn’t have an answer for the Hokies inside. Guard Tai Webster led the Cornhuskers with 23 points.

Dayton 64, New Mexico 57: Charles Cooke had 12 points, six rebounds five assists and three steals to help the Flyers (4-2) top the Lobos (4-2) in a consolation game at the Wooden Legacy tournament.

SOUTHLAND

Men

Portland 96, Cal State Northridge 78: Darin Johnson scored 16 points for the Matadors (2-5) in the seventh-place game of the Wooden Legacy tournament.

East Tennessee State 72, UC Irvine 66: The Anteaters (3-4) got 21 points from Ioannis Dimakopoulos, but lost to the Buccaneers (5-1) in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Portland State 91, at Pepperdine 85: Chris Reyes scored a career-high 24 points for the Waves (4-3). Calaen Robinson had 22 points and five rebounds for the Vikings (2-3).

Women

at USC 82, Long Beach State 74: Minyon Moore had 23 points and Kristen Simon had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Trojans (5-1). Gigi Hascheff scored 21 for the 49ers (3-3).