After two made free throws by Ryan Nembhard, the Gonzaga men’s basketball team took a 5-point lead over West Virginia with less than 30 seconds left in Wednesday’s Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinal game. It looked like a back-and-forth that had been brewing between the Bulldogs and Mountaineers in the final minutes of the second half would be resolved with a one-stop and more free throws for Mark Few’s team.

Apparently Tucker DeVries had other plans. The 6-foot-2 senior kept the game close the entire time with his individual efforts on both ends of the court, which was never more true than in the final 20 seconds of regulation time. After knocking down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 2 points, Tucker stayed active on defense to recover a loose ball after the Zags failed to gain possession of the ball past half the court could, which led to two foul shots for West Virginia – all forward. DeVries sank both shots at the charity stripe to force overtime.

And just like that, the wind was taken out of Gonzaga’s sails. The Mountaineers went tough, holding the No. 1 offense in the country to just 2 of 10 from the field in overtime. Javon Small kept the wheels turning on offense just enough to lead West Virginia past the No. 3 Zags 86-78 and advance to the semifinal round to play Louisville.

Small scored a game-high 31 points on 9 of 18 from the field, while DeVries did a bit of everything: 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals in 42 minutes of play. Amani Hansberry finished with 19 points and eight rebounds for West Virginia (4-1), which went 17-2 in the second half after the Bulldogs took a 43-33 lead with 18:35 left in regulation had gone.

Braden Huff led Gonzaga (5-1) with 19 points, 14 of which came after halftime, including six straight points to end regulation. Khalif Battle had 16 points on 6 of 12 from the field. Nembhard had 12 assists and recorded four steals, but went 1 of 10 from the field with seven points.

Here are three takeaways from Gonzaga’s first loss of the season.

Bulldogs can’t finish the job

In its pregame press conference Wednesday, few warned about the pressure and athleticism West Virginia applied. The Mountaineers were certainly opportunistic on the defensive end due to their size and length, but even then, the Bulldogs received enough firepower from Battle early on to take the lead in the final 10 minutes of the first half. The 6-foot-5 graduate had 14 points, including a personal 8-0 run to make it a 9-point game less than two minutes before halftime.

Despite holding a commanding lead, Gonzaga struggled to gain a foothold on interior defense until it was too late. To West Virginia’s credit, the Bulldogs shot 19 of 44 (season-low 43.2%) and scored just nine fastbreak points, matching their season low from last week’s win over Long Beach State.

Still, the Bulldogs took a double-digit lead less than two minutes into the second half when Ike scored low to give his team its largest lead of the afternoon. However, the Mountaineers were in the defensive zone the entire time. A few missed shots by the Zags ensured a comeback for DeVries and Co.

Led by Small, West Virginia went on a 17-2 run midway through the second half that turned the game on its head. The Zags looked out of sorts on both ends as Small’s ability to penetrate space and find open teammates forced them to constantly switch and recover on defense. West Virginia shot 14 of 28 from the field in the second half after going 9 of 30 in the first half.

Huff hit three straight shots into the post to help the Bulldogs regain the lead in the final minute. When called upon, Nembhard went to the free-throw line, but the numerous scoring misses and periods without a field goal in the second half ultimately led to Gonzaga being bitten in the butt at the last moment.

Foul calls late in regulation play a factor

It’s true that the Zags had opportunities to knock off the Mountaineers without going to overtime, but at the same time, there were certain fouls in the second half that contributed to their collapse down the stretch.

Perhaps the most questionable call came with just under three minutes left in regulation, when DeVries was awarded three free throws after increasing his shooting prodigiously, resulting in a shooting foul on Battle, who wore a confused, frustrated and disbelieving expression. when he heard the call. DeVries went 2-for-3 and put West Virginia back in the lead.

Later in overtime, Nembhard was whistled for a loose ball foul while the Bulldogs trailed 79-75 with just over a minute left. The senior guard didn’t appear to hinder West Virginia’s Sencire Harris too much on the rebound attempt, although the officials disagreed as the Mountaineers sank both foul shots, making it a 6-point game.

NEXT: INDIANA

Few and Co. have about 24 hours before they face No. 14 Indiana (4-1) in the semifinal round tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. PST).

The Hoosiers are looking to bounce back from an 89-61 loss to the Cardinals in the quarterfinals. Malik Reneau led Indiana with 21 points, while former Zag Oumar Ballo had 11 points and six rebounds.

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