The Gonzaga Bulldogs claimed their third victory of the season with a 90-62 victory over the San Diego Toreros in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. With the win, Gonzaga moves to a 7-0 record in WCC play, although the evening was somewhat marred by the news before the match that Oumar Ballo would miss the match with a thumb injury.
Five different Zags scored in double figures, with Drew Timme leading the way with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Julian Strawther entered the game with a single three-pointer on the season, doubling the point by two more in a comfortable 11-point outing for the freshman. Corey Kispert had 19 points and 8 rebounds, and Jalen Suggs added 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals along with a handful of highs. Anton Watson rounded it off with 10 points, while Andrew Nembhard pulled the strings excellently with 10 assistants.
The first half played very differently than most expected, with San Diego determining the terms of engagement for the first 12 minutes of the game and successfully keeping Gonzaga at bay. Consideration of the Toreros usually does not play that slowly, it was impressive to see how they control the game so effectively. Of course, the Zags made their lives easier by being a little more indifferent to the ball than they should have been, especially given that USD is not exactly a defensive juggernaut.
A slow and sloppy start meant Gonzaga did not take his first lead until the 8-minute mark in the first half. Except for Timme, who prefers San Diego not to double in the posts, Gonzaga had very little offense until the final minutes of the first half. Ayayi, who can influence the game so well in several ways, was almost anonymous and finished the half with zero points, two turnovers, one assist and two rebounds.
There were a few nice moments here and there, the biggest highlight being a Suggs steal and download to Kispert that hit a dunk in transition at home, but mostly it was more looting than dazzling basketball.
While the first half went as well as San Diego could probably hope for, Gonzaga was still 40-29 ahead at halftime and was finished playing a close game.
The Zags have exercised much greater control over proceedings from the start of the second time. The defense was a little tighter and the offensive moment was much more purposeful, especially from the ball.
Kispert came to life aggressively, perhaps spurred on by a dubious charge – the kind that has plagued university basketball for years. Suggs then grabbed the baton and put together a rare 4-point game and stole and dipped it on consecutive possessions.
The result was sealed at that point, although the Toreros certainly did not get the memo because they kept playing and prevented Mark Few from emptying his bench before the last media exit. Despite some defensive setbacks late in the game, Gonzaga was never threatened and left San Diego with his perfect record intact.