Gonzaga gets past Santa Clara on senior night: 'This took everything we had'

Bulldogs outlasted the Broncos, 94-81, in Anton Watson's last game in The Kennel

Saturday was a special night for the city of Spokane, as the Gonzaga Bulldogs defended home court in a 94-81 victory over the Santa Clara Broncos while local icon Anton Watson was honored by the program and the fans in his final home game in The Kennel. 

The fifth-year senior admitted he'd given some thought on how the pregame ceremony might go, especially as the only graduating senior on the team, though the task at hand came before all else — and his teammates followed that lead.

Gonzaga (22-6, 12-2 WCC) continued to execute on the offensive end of the floor like it has over the last two weeks. The Zags shot 56.7% from the floor and knocked down eight 3-pointers, the fourth-straight game of shooting 50% or better from the field and having eight or more triples, while dishing out 17 assists on 34 made field goals.

Graham Ike led with 26 points and seven rebounds, his fourth-straight 20-point game, while Nolan Hickman was stellar from deep once again with five 3-pointers to finish with 20 points. Ryan Nembhard added 17 points, six rebounds and six assists.

5-star recruit Isiah Harwell in attendance for Gonzaga-Santa Clara game

The offense didn't miss many beats, and it really couldn't afford to based on Santa Clara's hot start out of the gate.

The Broncos (18-11, 9-5 WCC) were neck-and-neck in the first half after converting 18 of their 33 shot attempts, including six 3-pointers. Johnny O'Neil kept things interesting with 13 points before halftime while Francisco Caffaro and Camaron Tongue provided sparks off the bench.

The second half was a different story, though, as the Bulldogs limited the Broncos' ball movement and forced them to take more contested jumpers and layups. Gonzaga's offense never wavered before taking a 19-point lead late, when Santa Clara nailed a few 3-pointers late to make it interesting down the stretch.

But it wouldn't have an impact on the outcome. The Bulldogs closed the door on the Broncos and will now turn their attention to a pivotal road stretch at San Francisco and Saint Mary's before the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

HONORING A PROGRAM LEGEND

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

One of the program's most unsung heroes who happens to be a Spokane kid had senior night all to himself as the team's only graduating senior. That wasn't the case last season when he shared the pregame ceremony with three other seniors. Still, in typical Watson fashion, Saturday was more about completing the task at hand above anything else.

"I've been kind of thinking about a lot this whole week on how it's gonna go, but I'm just happy we got the dub and everyone was showing love," Watson said. "It's kinda bittersweet. I've been in Spokane forever it feels like. But this is really my home and everyone treats me like it's their home and it's just a whole big family."

Watson banged and battled the Broncos' giants down low to finish with 13 points and five rebounds, including a pair of dunks to energize the already-psyched hometown crowd. The first came after a Ben Gregg steal opened up a 3-on-1 fastbreak, which was finished off with Hickman hitting Watson on the run for a two-hand jam to put the Bulldogs up 19-15. Later in the second half, he put the moves on Jake Ensminger, leaving the Broncos wing in the dust to creep along the baseline for an easy score.

Watson's first bucket of the game was the real cherry on top of the night, though, as his putback layup on Gonzaga's first offensive possession moved him ahead of John Stockton for 26th place on the program's all-time scoring list. It was somewhat of a full-circle moment for both Spokane legends as Stockton was Watson's AAU coach for a time during his high school days.

"[Stockton's] always watching from behind the scenes and if I'm not playing bad or I'm doing something not right, he's sending me a little text to remind me so, that relationship is always going to be there."

DUSTY TO THE RESCUE

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

A week ago, after an 82-73 win over Pacific at home, Mark Few admitted that he didn't know how to get Dusty Stromer more involved on offense. The freshman wing had his moments defensively and on the glass, but it was his third-straight game without a made field goal. Stromer's hustle showed up in the scoring column more in Thursday's win at Portland, and against Santa Clara, he reminded Gonzaga's coaching staff why he was a top-50 recruit coming out of Notre Dame High School in Southern California.

Stromer had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, including two 3-pointers, to go along with four rebounds. He had a pivotal run in the second half while Nembhard sat due to foul trouble, hitting a 3-pointer in the corner less than a minute after checking in followed by a strong rebound on the other end in traffic. A few possessions later, Stromer skied high for an offensive putback to make it 67-55 in favor of the Bulldogs, followed by an impressive defensive stand on Tyrere Bryan to force an airball on a tough turnaround jumper.

"It was a great night. In fact I told the team afterward that that's the guy we recruited," Few said. "That's the guy who started the year for us, making plays like that, and just doing everything. And that's the beauty of Dusty, it's not just 3s it's the flying around getting putbacks, making plays on defense. Just doing everything, he fills the box."

QUAD 1 OPPORTUNITIES

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Gonzaga closes the regular season with crucial road games at San Francisco and Saint Mary's, two Quad 1 opportunities that could have serious NCAA Tournament implications before the WCC Tournament begins.

"These guys have taken care of business to put ourselves back in a position to, you know, go out and perform," Few said. "San Francisco brings a real intensity and a real physicality. They're playing great since Saint Mary's is the only team that has been able to do anything with them. So that's gonna be a huge, huge challenge."

A season sweep of the Dons at the Chase Center would guarantee the Bulldogs a top-two seed in the WCC Tournament, which would mean an automatic spot in the semifinal round. Even if catching Saint Mary's at the top is out of the question by the time Saturday rolls around, a win in Moraga, California, would go a long way toward Gonzaga's NCAA Tournament resume. ESPN's Joe Lunardi has the Bulldogs as the last team in the 68-team field in his latest bracketology update. 

Gonzaga beats Santa Clara in final home game of 2023-24 season (photo gallery)