Gonzaga's Drew Timme has career night in win over Pacific: 3 takeaways

Timme showed why he's one of the best players in college basketball with a 38-point explosion

It might not have been the bounce-back performance Gonzaga wanted after an upset loss, but the sixth-ranked Zags (17-4, 6-1 WCC) ground out a 99-90 win over Pacific (10-12, 3-4) in Stockton, California on Saturday.

• GONZAGA-PACIFIC PHOTO GALLERY

Here are three takeaways from Gonzaga’s victory:

WHEN DREW TIMME GETS GOING, GONZAGA’S OPPONENTS ARE IN TROUBLE

As Gonzaga approaches the midway point of West Coast Conference play, a theme has begun to emerge: When opposing defenses can limit Drew Timme, Gonzaga’s scoring production quickly dries up.

It’s played out a number of times this season, most recently in the Zags’ 68-67 loss to LMU on Thursday. Timme finished with 17 that night, but had only scored three until the midway point of the second half.

It didn’t take the All-American forward as long to find a rhythm against Pacific, as he led the Zags with 14 points in the first half. He added 24 more points in the second half and ended with a career-high 38.

“Just got to do what it takes to win,” Timme said to the Spokesman-Review. “Obviously I didn’t have the game I saw fit the other night and it’s all about how you bounce back and respond to adversity. It’s something we’re going to face all year, this league’s really good. We’ve been saying that the whole time and you literally can drop one to anyone if you’re not on your A game.”

Timme seemed able to score at will, making 17-of-23 shot attempts from the field.

“You could see it in the defender’s face and the opposing team that there’s nothing you can do to stop him,” said forward Anton Watson. “And that’s what we need from Drew in crunch time and in close games.”

ZAGS WIN REBOUNDING BATTLE

After being outrebounded 38-29 by LMU on Thursday, the Zags had a much stronger presence on the glass against the Tigers.

Gonzaga grabbed 37 rebounds on Saturday, dwarfing the 24 collected by Pacific.

Nobody did more work on the glass than Watson, who corralled 13 rebounds, of which six came on the offensive end.

“They played with a small lineup and their five is not really a traditional five,... so I knew we were going to be on the offensive boards all night,” Watson said.

The Zags’ rebounding dominance led to 14 second-chance points, including a putback slam from Watson to give the Zags an 82-77 lead with six minutes, four seconds remaining in the game.

Gonzaga went on to grab 10 of the next 12 rebounds before the final buzzer sounded.

Watson finished with his third double-double of the season, as he also added 16 points in 36 minutes.

GONZAGA’S DEFENSE HAS ROOM TO IMPROVE

Gonzaga’s defense is 89th in the nation by KenPom, trailing far behind its No. 4 offense.

That was clear against Pacific, as Gonzaga scored 99 points but gave up 90 to an unranked team.

“We definitely won with our offense tonight, it wasn’t our defense that won that game,” said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few.

The Zags did show flashes of defensive cohesion, especially in the second half, when they held the Tigers scoreless for roughly the first four minutes.

“We were locked, energized and it really helped us get that lead and then separation, which we needed,” Timme said. “Just trying to build on that and keep making it longer and longer.”