Officials eject Gonzaga's Khalif Battle for controversial flagrant foul vs. UCLA
The Gonzaga Bulldogs lost one of their best players in the first half of their highly anticipated matchup against the UCLA Bruins on Saturday. Khalif Battle was ejected after he leaped in the air trying to block a shot by Eric Dailey, but as he came crashing to the ground, he grabbed Dailey’s neck to brace his fall as he was about to crash to the ground.
Officials decided to upgrade the foul from a Flagrant 1 to a Flagrant 2, which ejected him from the contest. And keep in mind, Battle is one of Gonzaga’s best players. It was a massive loss. This season, he’s been averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
Battle finished with five points and one rebound in 13 minutes, before he was ejected. UCLA won the game 65-62, after Gonzaga shot a half-court heave a little bit early in the final seconds of the game. It was a tightly contested game and both teams battled down the stretch. The Bruins drilled 12 of their 24 three-point attempts, hitting 50% on the night. They also outrebounded Gonzaga 37-32.
UCLA had a number of scorers in double figures, including Eric Dailey (18 points), Skyy Clark (11 points), and Kobe Johnson (12 points). Clark also finished with nine rebounds on the night. Graham Ike led the way for Gonzaga, stuffing the stat sheet with 24 points and eight rebounds. Ryan Nembhard scored 16 points and dished out eight assists, while grabbing four rebounds.
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There were a number of turnovers in the game with Gonzaga having 15 turnovers and the Bruins turning it over 14 times.
UCLA improved to an 11-2 record overall, including 8-0 at home. Next up, they’ll face off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. That one will be played on Saturday, January 4th. Then, they’ll face off against the Michigan Wolverines on January 7th. That one will be played on Peacock. We’ll see how they fare in their first season in the Big Ten Conference for basketball.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs currently sit at 9-4 overall after the loss. Next up, they’ll face Pepperdine on Monday, December 30th.