Gonzaga men's basketball handles USF at home in historic night for Drew Timme

Timme became the program's all-time field goal leader, while Rasir Bolton had another strong second half for the Zags

Cole Forsman | Feb 9, 2023

Gonzaga men's basketball handles USF at home in historic night for Drew Timme /

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SPOKANE - Gonzaga men’s basketball got back in the win column with a 99-81 victory over San Francisco on Thursday in Spokane.

Led by Rasir Bolton’s 23 points and six assists, the No. 16 Zags (20-5, 9-2) bounced back from a 78-70 letdown against No. 15 Saint Mary’s. Drew Timme finished with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting after a 20-point first half.

GONZAGA RETIRES DAN DICKAU'S JERSEY

Timme’s first basket of the night broke a tie with Frank Burgess for the most made field goals in program history with 801. With four rebounds on Thursday, Timme became the sixth Zag to grab 800 career rebounds.

Timme sits 146 points shy of passing Burgess as Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer.

Anton Watson recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds while snatching four steals.

Watson flushed a one-hand dunk over Isiah Hawthorne to give the Zags a 12-2 lead less than four minutes into the game. Later, Malachi Smith zipped a pass to the senior wide-open underneath for a two-hand jam as the Zags' lead swelled to as many as 16 points in the first half.

Gonzaga shot 54% from the floor and dominated inside, outscoring the Dons 48-30 in the paint.

For the Dons (15-12, 4-8), Khalil Shabazz’s 25 points and seven rebounds weren’t enough in the program’s third straight defeat. Tyrell Roberts pitched in 16 points, while Zane Meeks had 14.

San Francisco went 11-for-30 from beyond the arc. The Dons averaged 10 3-pointers made per game entering Thursday night, 11th most in the country.

Gonzaga led 40-26 with 6:08 left in the first half after Timme knocked down a turnaround jumper from the left baseline. Timme is now 10th all-time in scoring in WCC history.

The Zags led 60-40 at halftime following a fastbreak layup from Bolton at the buzzer. Gonzaga shot 59.5% from the floor and scored 30 points in the paint compared to San Francisco’s 10.

Bolton continued to find the bottom of the basket in the second half with 12 second-half points

Shabazz’s fourth 3-pointer of the night made it a 14-point game before a 16-2 scoring run from the Zags extended their lead to 91-63 with 7:01 left in the ballgame.

Gonzaga honored Dan Dickau prior to tipoff, as the former All-American became the fifth player in men’s program history to have his jersey displayed in the McCarthey Athletic Center. Dickau ranks fourth on Gonzaga’s career 3-pointers list, sixth on the career assists chart and 16th in career scoring with 1,125 points. He won WCC Player of the Year in the 2001-02 season when he led the league with 21 points per game.

It was Gonzaga’s 26th straight win head-to-head against San Francisco, which hasn’t won in Spokane since 1989. The Zags are 18-0 all-time against the Dons in the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The Zags host BYU as conference rivals for the final time when the Cougars come to Spokane on Saturday.

PHOTO GALLERY

(All photos by Myk Crawford and Erik Smith)