The Gonzaga Bulldogs achieved their third road win of the season with a 90-62 victory over San Diego Toreros at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. With the victory, Gonzaga reaches a 7-0 record at the WCC, although the night was somewhat spoiled by pre-match news that Oumar Ballo would lose the competition due to a thumb injury.
Five different Zags scored in double figures, with Drew Timme leading with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Julian Strawther came into play with a single three-point basket of the season and doubled the mark with two more in a comfortable 11-point exit for the freshman. Corey Kispert had 19 points and 8 rebounds, and Jalen Suggs added 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, in addition to some highlights. Anton Watson completed with 10 points, while Andrew Nembhard was excellent at pulling the strings with 10 assists.
The first half was very different from what most expected, with San Diego dictating the terms of the engagement during the first 12 minutes of the game and keeping Gonzaga away. Whereas Toreros don’t usually play This one slow, it was impressive to see them controlling the game so effectively. Of course, the Zags have made their lives easier by being a little more careless with the ball than they should be, particularly in light of the fact that the USD is not exactly a defensive juggernaut.
A slow and sloppy start meant that Gonzaga did not take the first advantage until the 8 minute mark of the first half. In addition to Timme, who San Diego chose not to double on the post, Gonzaga had very little chance in the attack until the final minutes of the first half. Ayayi, who is so good at impacting the game in many ways, was almost anonymous and ended the time with zero points, two turns, an assist and two rebounds.
There were some pleasant moments here and there, the biggest highlight being a theft from Suggs and handing over to Kispert who hammered a dunk in the transition, but for the most part it was more painful than sparkling basketball.
Although the first half went as well as San Diego could have hoped, Gonzaga was still ahead 40-29 at halftime and ended with a game played.
The Zags have exercised much greater control over procedures since the start of the second. The defense was a little tighter and the offensive moment much more purposeful, especially outside the ball.
Kispert came back to life offensively, perhaps spurred on by a questionable charge – the kind that has plagued college basketball for years. Suggs then grabbed the baton, setting up a rare 4-point play and stealing a prominent coil and buried it in consecutive possessions.
The result was sealed at that point, although the Toreros should not have received the memo, as they continued to play hard and prevented Mark Few from emptying his bank before the media’s final timeout. Despite some defensive lapses at the end of the game, Gonzaga was never threatened and left San Diego with his perfect record intact.