Anton Watson carries Gonzaga past UCLA in Maui Invitational

Watson's career night helped the Zags squeak out another win over the Bruins

Gonzaga men's basketball fans feel thankful Anton Watson returned for his fifth year of college basketball.

The Spokane native capped off the Maui Invitational with one of the most impressive performances of the three-day event, as he was nearly perfect for No. 11 Gonzaga against familiar-foe UCLA on Wednesday. Watson went for a career-high 32 points on 14-for-15 shooting from the floor, despite playing through early foul trouble. That was essentially the case for all his teammates, as each player in Mark Few's eight-man rotation finished with three or more personal fouls.

Watson powered the Zags to a 69-65 win over the Bruins (4-2) to claim two of their three outings at the Stan Sheriff Center before they make the trip back to Spokane. Freshman guard Sebastian Mack concluded his hot run at the Maui Invitational, as he finished with 16 points. Lazar Stefanovic finished with 16 as well, but UCLA wasn't the same with 6-foot-10 post Adem Bona on the bench due to foul trouble. The Bruins' leading scorer played 22 minutes after picking up four personal fouls.

Here are three takeaways from Wednesday's win.

ANTON, MY DEAR WATSON

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For years, Watson watched his friend Drew Timme torch UCLA on the game's biggest of stages, with the final masterclass of his career being a 36-point outing against the Bruins last March in the NCAA Tournament. Alas, the mustachioed Texan doesn't suit up at Gonzaga anymore, which meant a passing of the torch moment with Watson.

Like Timme in that Sweet 16 game, Watson was the lifeblood of the offense from the opening tip. He had 10 of the Bulldogs' first 15 points and he couldn't miss, as he started 7-of-7 from the field with a 3-pointer, his second of the season. But fans knew it was going to be his night well before that point — he threw down a vicious one-had jam on Bona within the first two minutes of the game before letting out an emotional roar to the Gonzaga fans among the Stan Sheriff Center crowd. 

Watson wasn't just feasting off his teammates, though, as he appeared more aggressive than he ever had in a Bulldogs uniform. One possession early in the first half saw him drive into his defender, deliver a convincing pump-fake, spin around and connect on a fadeaway bankshot. From post-hooks to triples, Watson couldn't do anything wrong offensively.

Watson brought the offense back to life when it needed it most down the stretch. He scored 17 of Gonzaga's 31 second-half points, including 10 consecutive after UCLA had made it a 5-point game following a strong burst coming out of the locker room. Watson responded on both ends of the floor, with his biggest defensive stand drawing Bona's fourth foul on an offensive charge midway through the second half. He had to the carry the load offensively, as the rest of Gonzaga combined to shoot 9-of-38 from the field.

For all the attention Graham Ike, Nolan Hickman and Ryan Nembhard received in Hawai'i, Watson's night evidenced Gonzaga's multitude of scoring options moving forward.

STIFLING DEFENSE

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Aside from the frequent visits to the free-throw line, the Bruins offense struggled to be consistent against the Bulldogs' much-improved defense from last season.

Ranked 13th in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, Gonzaga played like a top-15 defense over the three-day stretch. Granted Syracuse (133rd in offensive efficiency) and UCLA (66th in offensive efficiency) weren't up to the rest of the field's level in that regard, but even against the Boilermakers' third-ranked offense, the Bulldogs only allowed 1.000 points per possession. Much of that has to do with the offense's ability to control the pace, which has not been up to the speedy standard — Gonzaga is No. 142 in the nation in adjusted tempo — but the patient and efficient approach has given more time to set up on the other end defensively. 

The Bruins couldn't establish a rhythm early amid multiple scoring droughts due to stifling interior defense. Gonzaga's frontcourt contested everything it could near the rim, as UCLA' went 10-for-18 on layup attempts. Ben Gregg had two of the team's four blocks for the night, including one that translated to a 3-pointer in transition from Nolan Hickman.

There's little concern the offensive production will come from the Bulldogs, but if they can be consistently as efficient on the defensive side, they'll be able to compete against a lot of the top teams in the country. 

AREAS TO CLEAN UP

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The three-day tournament was an opportunity for the Bulldogs to learn about what kind of team they'll be in March. It was the first legitimate test for all the newcomers to try and come together amid a tough stretch of games with little turnaround time in between to regroup. And while there was plenty of good, there are still areas that need to grow.

At the forefront of questions is the team's depth. Few essentially went seven deep with Ben Gregg and Braden Huff as the mainstays off the bench, but there wasn't much help along the perimeter. Luka Krajnovic (3.0 minutes per game) and Jun Seok Yeo (3.5 minutes per game) were used sparingly to give Nembhard, Hickman and Dusty Stromer any breaks (all played 32.0 minutes per game or more).

Stromer in fact played all 40 minutes against the Bruins, finishing with two points and eight rebounds. He missed all five of his field goal attempts but came up big with two clutch free-throws in crunch time. Offensive struggles aside, Stromer proved he can impact the game even when his shot isn't falling. And a full night's workload says a lot about Few's comfort level with the freshman against a big-time opponent.

As for others, it's simply going to take more time to bring certain players along. Some reserves are having to overcome language barriers on top of trying to translate their game to the American college level. It's early enough that with more tune-up games on the schedule, there will be more valuable reps on the way for those individuals to develop and earn more established roles in the rotation.

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