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Gonzaga players celebrate after the third-ranked Bulldogs defeated No. 1 Duke 89-87 in the championship game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational on Wednesday at Lahaina Civic Center. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos

LAHAINA — Try as they might, the unbeaten king of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational has fallen. The new king looks quite familiar.

No. 3 Gonzaga bounded out to a big lead and then held on for dear life in an 89-87 win over top-ranked Duke in the tournament championship contest, which developed into a game for the ages at the Lahaina Civic Center on Wednesday afternoon.

After holding 16-point leads on four occasions early in the second half, the Zags’ title was not secure until the final horn blew following a block by Brandon Clarke on a layup attempt by RJ Barrett.

“What a basketball game,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Duke is everything that we thought they were and probably even a little bit more. They’ve got no quit in them. Those are really, really talented, high character, tough dudes to stop and they made a heck of a run, but what I was most proud of is we ended up winning this game on the defensive end those last two stops. So obviously we can really build on that.”

Duke, a five-time Maui champion, lost for the first time in 18 games here dating back to 1992. The Blue Devils, who were down 13 with 7:30 to play, battled all the way back to tie the game late.

Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura reacts after learning he has been named the tournament MVP.

“Great game. I thought both teams played their hearts out,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Kind of two different halves. I thought they dictated the flow, the pace, they were very much in control the whole first half. I think their experience, I mean they’re really good, obviously Mark’s teams are well-coached, but they’re experienced, good, they can beat anybody.”

Few is a frequent visitor to Maui with his family and he will enjoy his second title here for the next couple days. The Bulldogs won their previous title here in 2009, when they beat Cincinnati 61-59 in the final.

“Hey, the best thing about when the Zags come to Maui is we get tomorrow off,” Few said. “So, I’m going to enjoy every hour on this island tomorrow with my family and friends and we’ll have a nice Few type of day where we do a little bit of everything and get out and about and have a great time. The players are going to do the same thing and then we have a big Thanksgiving dinner at night and it’s awesome and pretty powerful because obviously we have a lot to be thankful for.”

The Zags methodically built their lead behind the play of tournament MVP Rui Hachimura, who finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Clarke added 17 points, five rebounds and six blocks. Zach Norvell Jr. had 18 points and three steals, and Josh Perkins added nine points and seven assists.

Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke shoots as Duke’s Javin DeLaurier defends in the second half Wednesday.

Hachimura is a junior, Perkins is a fifth-year senior, Clarke is a fourth-year junior and Norvell is a third-year sophomore.

They outlasted the four vaunted freshmen in the Duke starting lineup.

“Yeah, I think we have more experience than those Duke guys,” Hachimura said. “And also I think we practiced those five minutes, like the last five-minute situation, so that’s why … we did a pretty good job.”

With 3:56 left in the first half, Hachimura was shooting 5-for-5, Clarke was 4-for-4 and Norvell was 4-for-5 — the trio had 31 of the Zags’ 42 points at that moment, when they led by 11.

Barrett answered with a 3-pointer and fellow freshman Tre Jones banked home a buzzer-beating 3 to pull the Blue Devils within 47-39 at the break.

The Bulldogs’ Josh Perkins drives in the second half.

The Zags responded with a Clarke dunk and a 3 by Norvell to up the lead to 52-39 less than a minute into the second half. Corey Kispert hit a 3 a minute later to open a 55-39 lead.

The Blue Devils looked to Barrett time after time down the stretch. The Duke crowd erupted when Barrett completed a twisting layup and was fouled with 3:45 to go — he missed the free throw to leave the score 83-82 Gonzaga.

Zion Williamson scored inside off an assist from Barrett to tie the game at 87-87 with 1:41 left. Barrett and Williamson — the top two high school recruits in the class of 2018 — finished with 23 and 22 points, respectively.

Hachimura scored inside off an assist from Clarke to make it 89-87 with 1:15 to play, but the 6-foot-8 forward from Japan later missed a pair of free throws with 10.6 seconds to go. Javin DeLaurier rebounded the last one, worked the ball to Barrett up the court, where Clarke’s final block of the night with 1 second left set off a wild celebration by the Zags and their faithful.

The win is the Bulldogs’ first ever over a team ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, and they weren’t even at full strength — Killian Tillie, one of their top returners, sat out the tournament with an injury.

The Blue Devils’ RJ Barrett dunks as the Zags’ Rui Hachimura defends late in the second half.

“No, it’s a big-time game for any part of the season,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re not, again, we’re not who we’re going to be and they’re not either because they’re missing a really good player. But they’re ahead of us as far as knowing one another and knowing their system and they’re strong. Mark’s teams are smart, they’re strong, they play together.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

Gonzaga, Bulldogs 89 • Duke, Blue Devils 87

DUKE (5-1)

Reddish 3-9 2-2 10, Barrett 9-25 4-8 23, Williamson 8-17 6-6 22, Bolden 2-3 2-2 6, T.Jones 7-14 2-2 17, DeLaurier 1-1 4-6 6, White 1-2 0-0 3, Goldwire 0-0 0-0 0, O’Connell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-72 20-26 87.

GONZAGA (6-0)

Clarke 7-10 2-5 17, Hachimura 7-14 5-9 20, Kispert 3-6 0-0 7, Perkins 3-6 2-2 9, Norvell 6-13 2-2 18, J.Jones 2-3 0-0 5, Petrusev 5-7 0-0 11, Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Crandall 1-6 0-1 2. Totals 34-65 11-19 89.

Halftime–Gonzaga 47-39. 3-Point Goals–Duke 5-13 (Reddish 2-4, White 1-1, T.Jones 1-2, Barrett 1-4, Williamson 0-1, O’Connell 0-1), Gonzaga 10-19 (Norvell 4-7, Clarke 1-1, J.Jones 1-1, Perkins 1-2, Hachimura 1-2, Petrusev 1-2, Kispert 1-3, Crandall 0-1). Fouled Out–White. Rebounds–Duke 39 (Williamson 10), Gonzaga 31 (Hachimura 7). Assists–Duke 9 (T.Jones, Barrett 3), Gonzaga 16 (Perkins 7). Total Fouls–Duke 18, Gonzaga 20. A–2,400 (2,400).

Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team

Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga (MVP); RJ Barrett, Duke; Tre Jones, Duke; Zach Norvell Jr., Gonzaga; Justin Coleman, Arizona; Jared Harper, Auburn

Maui Invitational Champions

2018–Gonzaga

2017–Notre Dame

2016–North Carolina

2015–Kansas

2014–Arizona

2013–Syracuse

2012–Illinois

2011–Duke

2010–Connecticut

2009–Gonzaga

2008–North Carolina

2007–Duke

2006–UCLA

2005–Connecticut

2004–North Carolina

2003–Dayton

2002–Indiana

2001–Duke

2000–Arizona

1999–North Carolina

1998–Syracuse

1997–Duke

1996–Kansas

1995–Villanova

1994–Arizona St.

1993–Kentucky

1992–Duke

1991–Michigan St.

1990–Syracuse

1989–Missouri

1988–Michigan

1987–Iowa

1986–Vanderbilt

1985–Michigan

1984–Providence

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