Gonzaga defeats Southern 64-58 in NCAA tournament game

Southern University's Derick Beltran, right, drives past Gonzaga's Drew Barham in the first half during a second-round game in the NCAA college basketball tournament in Salt Lake City, Thursday, March 21, 2013. (AP Photo/George Frey)

Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed, used a game-closing 8-2 run to defeat No. 16 Southern 64-58 in a first-round NCAA men's tournament game in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Derick Beltran led Southern (23-10) with 21 points.

Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds for Gonzaga (32-2).

Beltran hit a jump shot to tie the score at 56 with 3:46 remaining in the game.

But Gary Bell Jr. came back with a 3-pointer to give Gonzaga a 59-56 lead with 3:19 left. Beltran hit a free throw to cut the score to 59-57 with 2:28 remaining.

Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos hit a 3-pointer to make the score 62-58 with 1:55 left.

Southern led three times in the first half, but trailed 34-31 at halftime.