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Duke is not invincible.
Gonzaga, # 3, used a combination of hot shooting and intrepid aggression to defeat the first-ranked Blue Devils, 89-87 in the Maui Invitational final on Wednesday, quickly ending an undefeated season under the direction of the fabulous Duke recruits.
Gonzaga on fire early
The Bulldogs were hot early, scoring 64.5% of their goals and 6-10 on 3 first-half markers to allow Duke to get into the ropes early for the first time this season. Their offensive prowess overturned Duke's greatest strength, his transitional offense.
The Blue Devils could not go out and run and scored only four transition points in the first 20 minutes of the game.
A 3-point Trey Jones buzzer drummer coming from a little over half a pitch brought Duke's deficit down to eight points and gave the Blue Devils something to develop for the second half. .
The Bulldogs stay warm to start the second half
But Gonzaga managed to clear his way, scoring the first eight points of the stanza to advance to 55-39 with around 18 minutes to play.
When Zion Williamson hit one of his iconic dunks at the back of the ledge, things seemed to escape Duke.
The Duke goes back
But Duke found his transition legs late and forced Gonzaga to pay for his mistakes while relying on his superior athleticism to equal 87, with 1:45 to go.
Williamson and fellow freshman star R.J. Barrett repeatedly forced him inside while reducing the deficit by 16 points, with Gonzaga getting cold on the other end.
But when the potential player of the Gonzaga NBA lottery managed to take a 89-87 lead with a 1:17 win, there would be no more points.
Gonzaga's defense has been the star on the far right. Hachimura and Josh Clarke combined efforts to miss four consecutive free throws in the final 30 seconds of the match, but caught up with a stifling defense at the post.
Each of them got a block and a defensive rebound in Duke's last two possessions, while the Blue Devils looked inside and failed in their equal opportunity attempts.
Hachimura, a junior, led the way in Gonzaga with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Zach Norvell Jr. scored 18 points and Clarke overcame the problem to score 15 points and seven blocks.
Williamson and Barrett were stars as expected for Duke. Williamson recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds while adding four blocks that highlighted his spectacular athleticism. Barrett, meanwhile, had 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
But Duke's first-year players looked like first-year students for most of the match. Gonzaga controlled the score and the tempo, scoring 53.9% of his goals, including 10 to 19 3.
After being hit in the mouth, Duke seemed disconcerted and scored only 42.5% of his goals for the game by connecting to 5 of 18 markers to 3.
But the Blue Devils showed resilience at the end of the rally, resembling the team that had already faced its five opponents at the end of the second half. They just did not have enough to form a talented and more experienced Gonzaga team that looked like the best team on Wednesday.
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