West Virginia shocks No. 3 Gonzaga in Atlantis quarterfinals

The DeVries era at West Virginia is experiencing its first big moment, at the expense of one of the favorites to win the national championship this season.

The Mountaineers defeated No. 3 Gonzaga 86-78 in overtime on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Paradise Island, Bahamas. That improves Darian DeVries’ first-team record to 4-1 and indicates major progress since an 86-62 loss to rival Pitt on Nov. 15.

It also shows the importance of the other DeVries, 6-7 senior wing Tucker, whose stint with the Mountaineers is expected to be much shorter than his father’s. With less than 20 seconds left in regulation, DeVries trailed by five points when he fired a long three-pointer to make it 71-69. After the ensuing inbound pass, he picked up Nolan Hickman cleanly, went the other way, was fouled and made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left. This forced an additional session controlled by the outsider.

DeVries, who was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year while playing for his father at Drake, finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Teammate and Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small left the field with 31 points. West Virginia will face another surprise team, Louisville, which defeated No. 14 Indiana 89-61, in the semifinals.

Braden Huff had 17 off the bench for Mark Few’s team and Khalif Battle scored 16. But Gonzaga (5-1) got just 12 points and 2-for-16 shooting from stars Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike. The Bulldogs had one of the most efficient offenses in the country, but had a lethal 1,026 points per possession and shot 40 percent from the floor. West Virginia was more physical and precise in its execution late in the game.

Gonzaga already has a season-opening win over Baylor on its resume and has big tests ahead that extend beyond the Bahamas – Kentucky on Dec. 7 in Seattle and UConn on Dec. 14 in New York.

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(Photo: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)