Down 10 With 4:41 Left, LSU Beats No. 14 Gonzaga 81-80 on Donovan Dent's Step-Back Three

Photo: LSU Athletics. Donovan Dent, LSU, official headshot. Card design: The Dyme.

LSU beat No. 14 Gonzaga 81-80 on Saturday in Spokane, Washington, on a 25-foot step-back three by Donovan Dent with one second left, per the ESPN play-by-play. LSU had not led since 49-47 with 14:58 left. Dent finished with 23 points on 9-of-20 shooting and 10 assists, per the ESPN box score. LSU moved to 4-0. Gonzaga fell to 2-1.

The last 4:41

Lee's 25-foot step-back three at 4:41 put Gonzaga up 75-65. ESPN's win probability had the Bulldogs at 96.9 percent after it.

Abdi Bashir Jr. answered with a 26-foot three off a Dent pass at 4:23. Davis Fogle made two free throws at 3:49, and Bashir hit another three, from 25 feet, at 3:21. Fogle's 8-footer at 3:02 made it 79-71. That was Gonzaga's last field goal.

Michael Ruzic hit a 27-foot three off a Dent pass at 2:45. Ruzic blocked an Izan Almansa layup at 1:37, and Dent scored on a drive at the other end for 79-76. Skyy Clark made both free throws at 1:14 to cut it to one. Lee traveled on the next possession.

Dent missed a 10-footer at 0:48. Fogle missed a 15-footer, Gonzaga kept the ball on an Almansa offensive rebound, and Clark fouled Fogle with 12 seconds left. Fogle made the first free throw and missed the second for 80-78. Saliou Niang grabbed the rebound, and Dent hit the step-back at 0:01. Fogle's 39-footer at the horn missed.

By our count from the play-by-play, LSU outscored Gonzaga 16-5 from the Lee three to the end. Twelve of the 16 came on four threes. Gonzaga went 0 of 4 from the field after 3:02 and scored one point, on Fogle's free throw.

How Gonzaga built the lead

LSU led 39-37 at halftime, and Dent had 16 of his 23 before the break, by our count from the play-by-play. Skyy Clark's three off a Dent pass at 14:58 put LSU up 49-47, the Tigers' last lead before the final second. Braden Huff's 7-footer at 8:11 made it 68-55, Gonzaga's largest lead at 13, per ESPN. Gonzaga led for 73 percent of the game and LSU for 16 percent, per ESPN. The lead changed hands 13 times, per ESPN.

Gonzaga won the paint 46-28, fast-break points 18-8 and points off turnovers 16-8. LSU turned it over 13 times to Gonzaga's seven.

Where the one point came from

By our count from the ESPN box, LSU made 12 threes to Gonzaga's five, a 21-point edge. Gonzaga made 28 two-point baskets to LSU's 16, minus-24 for the Tigers. LSU made four more free throws, plus-4. That nets one.

Who else scored

Bashir scored 15 off the bench, all on 5-of-8 shooting from three, and 12 of them came in the second half, by our count from the play-by-play. Ruzic had 12 points and 12 rebounds, seven offensive, in 21 minutes off the bench. Clark scored 14 and made 3 of 8 threes. LSU's bench outscored Gonzaga's 34-17, by our count from the box.

For Gonzaga, Huff had 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 13 rebounds. Fogle had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and went 4 of 7 at the line. Isiah Harwell scored 14. Lee scored nine in 13 minutes and finished with four fouls.

The box score, side by side

Full-game team numbers, per the ESPN box score:

Category	LSU	Gonzaga
Field goals	28-65 (43%)	33-74 (45%)
3-pointers	12-26	5-17
Free throws	13-18	9-14
Rebounds	42	42
Offensive rebounds	16	18
Assists	15	14
Turnovers	13	7
Steals	3	8
Blocks	8	4
Points in the paint	28	46
Points off turnovers	8	16
Fast-break points	8	18

Half scoring, per the ESPN linescores:

Half	LSU	Gonzaga
1st	39	37
2nd	42	43
Final	81	80

Sources:

• ESPN: LSU vs. Gonzaga box score
• ESPN: LSU vs. Gonzaga play-by-play
• ESPN: LSU vs. Gonzaga game page and win probability
• ESPN: AP Top 25 men's basketball poll
• LSU Athletics: official box score and play-by-play, LSU at Gonzaga (PDF)
• LSU Athletics: Tiger Basketball takes down No. 14 Gonzaga 81-80
• Gonzaga Athletics: game center, LSU vs. Gonzaga