Gonzaga basketball: Drew Timme scores 22 to lead Zags over San Diego

The Zags (24-5, 13-2 WCC) didn't overlook the Toreros ahead of their WCC title bout against No. 15 Saint Mary's on Saturday

No. 12 Gonzaga defeated San Diego, 97-72, on Thursday night behind 22 points and 13 rebounds from Drew Timme.

The Zags (24-5, 13-2 WCC) picked up their 16th consecutive victory against the Toreros (11-18, 4-11 WCC), who have now dropped four in a row and six of their last seven.

Ben Gregg matched his season-high with 18 points off the bench on a night in which Gonzaga led by as many as 35 points in the second half. Julian Strawther finished with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Strawther came in on a roll, averaging 27.3 points per game over his last three games while shooting 58.7% from the field.

Jase Townsend poured in 15 points for San Diego, while Marcellus Earlington added 11 points.

Earlington missed the Toreros last contest against Saint Mary’s.

The Toreros were without graduate senior guard Eric Williams Jr. for the fifth straight game. Williams Jr. entered Thursday as the WCC’s leading rebounder with 9.5 per game. Jaden Delaire, who averaged 9.2 points per game in 12 games, is reportedly out for the remainder of the season after suffering a right foot injury on Feb. 2.

Junior guard Sigu Sisoho Jawara played 15 minutes in his return to the lineup after missing the last game.

Gonzaga’s Efton Reid III missed his second consecutive game due to a back injury.

Gonzaga’s defense powered a 12-0 run early in the first half. After scoring the first six points, the Toreros were held scoreless for nearly six minutes of action that included five turnovers from the Zags’ pressure.

Up 14-8 after an offensive foul, Strawther capitalized on back-to-back turnovers to give Gonzaga a double-digit lead. The junior knocked down a triple before intercepting an errant pass from Townsend, resulting in a layup to put the Zags up 19-8.

With the Toreros closing the gap, Ben Gregg helped extend Gonzaga’s lead with six straight points to make it 37-24 with just under three minutes in the half.

Later, Gregg knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner as the Zags led 44-29. The 6-10 sophomore finished the half with 11 points.

The Zags led 48-31 at the halftime break behind 14 points from Timme.

Coming out of the locker room, Timme and Bolton powered a 10-3 run to give Gonzaga its largest lead of the night. Timme grabbed a defensive rebound to lead a three-on-two fastbreak in which he found a streaking Bolton for a layup, putting the Zags in front 58-34.

Gonzaga, which averaged 17.2 fouls per game entering Thursday, committed five against the Toreros, who didn’t attempt their first free throw until the 2:53 mark in the second half. The Zags went 12-for-20 from the charity stripe.

Gonzaga hosts No. 15 Saint Mary’s on Saturday with the WCC regular season title on the line. ESPN’s College Gameday starts the day off at 7 a.m. from the McCarthey Athletic Center, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.

PHOTO GALLERY

(All photos by Erik Smith and Myk Crawford)

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford