Gonzaga defeats Colorado in opening round of 2009 Maui Invitational

Gonzaga beat Colorado in the Maui Invitational on Monday. The Gonzaga vs. Colorado game was in the first round of the 2009 Maui Invitational, and marked a very exciting game that saw Gonzaga come back after being down late. The win means that Gonzaga will now take on the winner of the Arizona vs. Wisconsin game happening tonight on ESPN2. The Gonzaga second round game will take place on Tuesday, November 24th, with tip-off coming at 6:30 P.M. PST. The 2009 Maui Invitational has a number of great teams including Gonzaga, Arizona, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Maryland, and Cincinnati in the groupings.

The game didn't start out well for the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Monday, as they were trailing early, and fell behind by a score of 40 to 29 at halftime. It meant that the Bulldogs were going to have to act fast if they wanted to get back into the game, and they were able to do exactly that. The team seemed really sluggish in the first half, but must have received a nice pep-talk from Coach Few, because they came out much stronger in the second half. First Gonzaga ripped off a big run to take the lead from Colorado, and then they were able to hold them off in the closing moments to win the game 76 to 72. It was quite a swing in momentum for Gonzaga, and should have them ready to go for the second round of the 2009 Maui Invitational on Tuesday.

Leading the way for Gonzaga was guard Steven Gray, who scored 27 points including 11 for 14 from the free throw line. Fellow starter Matt Bouldin also chipped in 21 pints of his own with center Robert Sacre scoring an additional 10. The Gonzaga bench showed itself to not be quite as strong as hoped, as they only put up eight of the 76 total points for the team. On the night, Gonzaga shot 47.8% from the field, and looked good on offense. Where the improvements need to come for Gonzaga is on defense, because allowing Colorado to shoot 53.1% from the field just isn't going to cut it against some of the better teams in both the tournament and their conference.

With the victory, Gonzaga now sits at 3-1 on the season after having lost a nail-biter to Michigan State last week. Advancing to the second round of the 2009 Maui Invitational also means that more poll voters are going to take notice of the team, and that should help them attain a national ranking if they can win a couple of more games. Gonzaga looks like the team to beat in the WCC this year, but they have a tough out-of-conference schedule that includes Washington State University and Wake Forest once the Maui Invitational comes to an end that could really get them the additional national recognition.

Gonzaga 2009-2010 Schedule

2009 Maui Invitational Bracket