Dec. 18, 2004
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Adam Morrison scored 24 points to lift No. 22 Gonzaga to an 85-73 victory Saturday night over No. 3 Georgia Tech in the Las Vegas Showdown.
Derek Raivio tied a career high with 21 points on 11-of-18 shooting for Gonzaga (8-1), which earned its biggest victory since beating No. 3 Missouri on Dec. 13, 2003.
Will Bynum scored a career-high 28 points, going 9-of-16 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. But it wasn’t enough for the Yellow Jackets (7-1), who lost for the first time since falling to Connecticut in last season’s NCAA tournament championship game.
Gonzaga led 45-41 at halftime and then held Georgia Tech scoreless for the first 4:46 of the second half. The Bulldogs built their biggest lead to 15 points twice, the last at 68-53 with 10:28 left.
The Yellow Jackets got to 75-70 with 3:28 left, but Gonzaga pulled away late.
Ronny Turiaf had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Gonzaga, and Sean Mallon added 11 points.
B.J. Elder scored 16 points, and Jarrett Jack added 15 for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets’ reserves outscored Gonzaga’s 30-4.
Gonzaga led 14-8 before Georgia Tech went on a 22-9 run to build their largest lead of the game, 30-23 with 8:41 left in the first half. Gonzaga responded with a 9-0 run.
The Bulldogs made 16 of 30 shots in the first half.
