LAHAINA, Hawaii — Junior guard Steven Gray scored 27 points and former ThunderRidge High School star Matt Bouldin added 21, helping Gonzaga defeat Colorado 76-72 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational on Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Bouldin, a senior guard, hit 6-of-11 shots and also contributed five assists for the Bulldogs (3-1), who trailed by 11 points at halftime before launching a 22-9 run to take their first lead of the second half with 4:35 to play. Bouldin scored 16 points in the second half. Gray and Bouldin combined to hit 19-of-22 free throws.
Junior guard Cory Higgins scored 19 points and freshman guard Alec Burks added 11 for the Buffaloes (3-1), who hit 7-of-11 shots from 3-point range in the first half before going 0-for-4 behind the arc in the second half.
COLORADO (3-1)
Relphorde 4-7 1-2 10, Dufault 3-4 0-2 7, Burks 5-6 0-0 11, C. Higgins 7-16 4-5 19, Thorne II 0-1 2-2 2, Tomlinson 1-5 6-7 8, Harris-Tunks 1-1 0-0 2, Crawford 4-8 0-0 10, Hornbuckle 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-49 13-18 72.
GONZAGA (3-1)
Harris 2-5 4-7 8, Sacre 4-10 2-6 10, Goodson 1-3 0-0 2, Bouldin 6-11 8-8 21, Gray 6-12 11-14 27, Arop 1-1 0-0 2, Vilarino 0-0 2-2 2, Gibbs 0-0 0-0 0, Olynyk 2-5 0-0 4, Foster 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 27-37 76.
Halftime — Colorado 40-29. 3-point goals — Colorado 7-15 (Crawford 2-4, Burks 1-1, Hornbuckle 1-1, Dufault 1-1, Relphorde 1-2, C. Higgins 1-4, Thorne II 0-1, Tomlinson 0-1); Gonzaga 5-12 (Gray 4-7, Bouldin 1-3, Harris 0-1, Olynyk 0-1). Fouled out — Crawford. Rebounds — Colorado 24 (Burks 6, C. Higgins 6); Gonzaga 30 (Harris 10). Assists — Colorado 15 (Tomlinson 8), Gonzaga 9 (Bouldin 5). Total fouls —Colorado 27, Gonzaga 17. A — 2,400.
