Gonzaga beats San Diego for fourth straight WCC win: 3 takeaways

The Bulldogs beat the Toreros in a Wednesday tilt from Spokane

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (13-4, 4-0 WCC) took down the San Diego Toreros (4-13, 1-3 WCC) in a 93-80 final from the McCarthey Athletic Center on Wednesday night. 

Ben Gregg led the way with 23 points while Khalif Battle added 20 for the Bulldogs (13-4, 3-0 WCC), who were down two players against the Toreros (4-13, 1-3 WCC) due to illness. Graham Ike also stepped up with 15 points and 19 rebounds, while Ryan Nembhard recorded his seventh double-double of the season in an 11-point, 11-assist effort.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Dusty Stromer. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Zags found out before tip-off that Michael Ajayi and Jun Seok Yeo would be unavailable due to illness. They’re not the only ones on the team battling some kind of bug at the moment, either, which could account for some of the miscues on both ends of the floor against the Toreros.

Gonzaga missed five of its first six attempts on offense and allowed San Diego’s perimeter players some open looks from downtown out of the gate. Bendji Pierre knocked down a pair of triples in the first half before Kjay Bradley Jr. started cooking in the second half. The 6-foot-1 guard finished with a team-high 21 points, though Pierre was held to just three points after halftime.

Braden Huff provided a much-needed spark midway through the first half, as the 6-foot-10 redshirt sophomore connected on a few hook shots to bring his team’s field goal average up to 46.7% at halftime. Still, it seemed like any time the Zags stretched their lead to double-digits, the Toreros had just enough juice to prevent things from getting out of hand. Knocking down 11 3-pointers certainly helps, too.

“Hey, mission accomplished," Bulldogs head coach Mark Few said after the game. "We got the 'W,' like I told them in the locker room, but we had stretches where we did some really, really nice things, and we had some stretches that kind of make you scratch your head a little bit. Just kind of one of those games."

GETTING IT DONE AT THE FOUL LINE

Gonzaga Bulldogs senior Graham Ike. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Ike was a little puzzled at his stat line after the game. A 1-for-5 showing from the field in a 19-point performance isn’t all that common for the 6-foot-9 post, though it’s hard to blame him for the lack of shot attempts when the Toreros were constantly being put in a position to foul the All-WCC forward on the low block.

Ike drew nine fouls and went 13-for-15 at the charity stripe, as the Bulldogs tied their season-high with 27 made free throws on 33 attempts. 

“That was just the whole plan was to just post them hard,” Ike said after the game. “We knew they'd be switching ball screens so either way, post them hard, draw in the defense, or whenever I get the ball, just go up with force and attack."

ONTO WASHINGTON STATE

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Wednesday’s win sets up quite the showdown with Washington State on Saturday.

Should the Cougars (13-3, 3-0 WCC) take care of business Thursday at home against Pacific, they’ll be making the trip up from Pullman, Washington, to Spokane with the No. 1 spot in the league standings up for grabs when they take on the Zags.

It’ll also be the first time the schools meet on the hardwood since Jan. 2, 2015. Gonzaga has won the last five and seven of the previous eight head-to-head matchups with its in-state rival. Saturday’s will mark the first as WCC competitors.

In his first year at the helm, head coach David Riley has the Cougars off to their best start since the 2006-07 campaign, when they went 14-2 through 16 games under Tony Bennett. Despite not having its top scorer, Cedric Coward, due to injury, WSU pulled off impressive victories over Boise State and Nevada away from home in nonconference play.

The Cougars added to their resume last Saturday with a 91-82 victory over San Francisco. WSU boasts five wins in the first two quadrants and ranks in the top 70 of the NET, making this a Quad 2 game for Gonzaga. 

It all goes down at the Kennel on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after win vs. San Diego

• 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Gonzaga among three WCC teams in CBS Sports field

• NET Rankings update: Gonzaga back in the Top 5

• WCC basketball power rankings: Gonzaga, Washington State set to duel for No. 1 spot

• Men's college basketball rankings: Gonzaga moves up in AP Top 25 poll

• NCAA to discuss 5th year of eligibility for all sports in 2025

• How to watch every Gonzaga WCC men's basketball game in 2025

• ESPN Bracketology projects San Francisco will win WCC over Gonzaga

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