Brief: Gonzaga wears down Grand Canyon 82-70 in March Madness

DENVER - Slow-starting Gonzaga finally started playing like a title contender, then wore out Grand Canyon 82-70 behind 28 points and 10 rebounds from Julian Strawther in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Zags senior Drew Timme finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the third-seeded Bulldogs (29-5), who haven't lost a first-round game in the tournament since 2008.

After trailing by as many as seven, Timme's three-point play gave Gonzaga a 48-40 lead early in the second half. Then Gonzaga went on a 16-0 run during which the 14th-seeded Lopes (24-12), champions of the Western Athletic Conference, missed 11 straight shots and fell behind by 22.

Harrison led Grand Canyon with 20 points and Chance McMillian had 16.

Noah Baumann (8 points) made a pair of 3s during a 12-4 stretch that helped the Lopes to their seven-point lead in the first half.

The second half was more of a team effort for Gonzaga, which also got 14 points and 11 rebounds from Anton Watson.

This marked the first time since 2018 they came into the tournament as anything other than a No. 1 seed.