Nov. 2—LAS VEGAS — Three takeaways at the buzzer from No. 15 Gonzaga's 78-72 win over Purdue in the season opener Monday at T-Mobile Arena.
Lee shines in first GU game
Xaivian Lee made a big impact in his first official game in a Zag uniform. The Zags' starting point guard had an excellent shooting night going before missing a free throw with 10:13 remaining. Until that miss, he was 4 of 4 from the field, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers, and had made all four of his free throws.
Lee, who transferred from Florida after three seasons at Princeton, came through during a couple of key segments of the game to help the Zags win a hard-fought season opener against the Boilermakers.
He didn't score his first points until roughly 5:30 left in the opening half. His 3-pointer gave GU the lead 31-30. He soon added another 3 to erase a brief Purdue lead.
Lee nailed three free throws, a 3-pointer and an assist to fuel an 11-2 run that gave Gonzaga some breathing room with a 51-42 lead with 14:52 remaining.
Lee ended up with 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with four rebounds and three assists.
Huff's return
Braden Huff, sidelined after the Jan. 8th Santa Clara game last year with a dislocated kneecap, didn't have his usual soft touch around the rim in his return.
Huff, often defended by former Glenbard West High (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) teammate Caden Pierce, had several shots pop in and out. He was just 2 of 5 in the opening half. His first bucket in the second half was a tough shot from about 6 feet on the baseline, that pushed GU's lead to 56-48.
Huff also hit a putback, hiking GU's lead to 65-56, with 6:47 remaining.
Pierce didn't do much offensively against Huff, who is three inches taller than the Boilermaker forward. Pierce had seven points and six boards.
Huff, who averaged 17.8 points last season, made 4 of 11 shots and finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Up and down debut for Diop
Newcomer Massamba Diop, a 7-foot-1 transfer from Arizona State, scored Gonzaga's first points of the season on a smooth 3-pointer and added a dunk a few minutes later.
The big man struggled the rest of the half with a pair of turnovers and a pair of fouls. He picked up his third foul 28 seconds into the second half and eventually went to the bench. Purdue 7-4 center Daniel Jacobsen took advantage of Diop's absence with a couple of interior baskets.
Diop was tagged with his fourth foul with 7:59 left, about a minute after subbing back in. Diop's final line: 2 of 3 on field goals, seven points and two boards in just 16 minutes.
Diop, who was in foul trouble in GU's exhibition games against Arkansas and Lewis-Clark State, finished four games with four fouls as a freshman last season. He fouled out once.
Reserve forward Izan Almansa came up big with 11 points and four rebounds in 29 minutes.
