Gonzaga holds off San Francisco, 88-77

The top of the West Coast Conference leaderboard just got a lot more interesting as the Zags move into possession of second place.

Gonzaga secured a crucial 11-point win last night, holding off San Francisco in the Kennel, 88-77. Despite some tough calls from the refs and some clutch shots from the Dons down the stretch, the Zags held strong, and once the dust settled, five Zags had finished in double figures (Ben Gregg, Braden Huff, Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard, and Michael Ajayi), with three of those five recording double-doubles (Ike and Ajayi for points + rebounds, Nembhard for points + assists).

After a slow start in the first half—failing to make a field goal in the first five minutes—it looked like San Francisco had the upper hand, but Gonzaga came back and knotted things up 38-38 at halftime.

The Zags built a commanding 13-point lead in the second behind dominant performances from Graham Ike and Braden Huff, but the final 10 minutes of regulation were a classic West Coast Conference hurry-up-and-wait whistlefest (there were 42 total fouls called in last night’s game, plus a bizarre double-technical called against Ryan Nembhard and Marcus Williams for… talking to each other). With 3 minutes remaining, the Dons had cut Zags’ lead to just 6. But Gonzaga showed poise and made one more final push and secured a morale-boosting win over the same team that beat Saint Mary’s just one week ago.

After looking like a team preternaturally incapable of finishing close games, the Zags showed grit and toughness against the Dons. Hopefully it’s a trend that continues.

Nembhard Finds His Scoring Touch

The game’s standout performance once again came from Nembhard, who played all 40 minutes for the Zags, finishing with 18 points and 12 assists on 8-of-15 shooting (2-of-4 from three). He tied his season-high in shot attempts and set a new high for made field goals in a game. 18 points from a point guard would be a spectacular performance on its own, but adding 12 assists on top of that is just plain mind-blowing.

Gonzaga also racked up 19 fast break points against San Francisco, and Nembhard’s vision and speed made just about every one of them possible. He’s playing the best basketball of his season, and his unselfishness is elevating the play of everyone around him.

Bigs Dominate

USF had no answer for Gonzaga’s frontcourt, especially in the second half. Ike finished with 18 points and a team-high 13 rebounds, especially impressive after his quiet first half (just 4 points on 2-7 shooting). Huff also added 12 points in only 9 minutes, further cementing his case as one of the most efficient scoring bigs in the country.

Gregg was excellent in the opening minutes of each half, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in only 11 minutes of action, while Michael Ajayi continued his upward trajectory by adding 12 points and 10 rebounds in his 26 minutes. He’s become a rebounding and second-chance points specialist lately, and his energy and athleticism have never been more vital with Gregg’s minutes limited by some recurring back pain.

The Bulldogs also managed to outrebound the Dons 41-28, including 15 offensive boards to San Francisco’s 8. Notably, 9 of those 15 offensive rebounds went to the duo of Gregg and Ajayi.

Defense Continues to Impress

Emmanuel Innocenti’s increased minutes have been a key factor in Gonzaga’s defensive turnaround, and his aggressiveness seems to have spread to the Zags’ other guards as well. The Zags held the Dons to just 43.3% from the field and 9-27 from outside last night while forcing 10 turnovers.

But despite the improvements in team defense, Gonzaga still struggled to contain its opponent’s star player. San Francisco’s Malik Thomas, the WCC’s leading scorer, torched the Zags for 26 points on 7-of-17 shooting and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. While his 26 points weren’t quite a season high, his 4 made three-pointers against the Zags tied his highest mark of the season, and his 10 free throws were the second-most he’s attempted in a conference game. Allowing opposing stars to go off has been a recurring issue for the Zags all season, and hopefully, it’s one they can fix ASAP.

USF’s Marcus Williams, on the other hand, had a much quieter night. Gonzaga held him to just 8 points on 2-of-12 shooting, including just 1-of-7 from three. For a player averaging 15.3 points per game, his modest output last night was a major feather in the cap for Gonzaga’s backcourt defense.

Yet Another Rough Night from Outside

The Zags went 4-of-14 from beyond the arc, good for 28% against the Dons. Over their last four games, they’re a combined 14-of-71 from three, with Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman going just 4-of-31 in that stretch. February has been an ugly, ugly time for Gonzaga’s three-point percentage.

The Zags are #12 in KenPom’s metrics and #14 in the NET rankings. In short, even though they rank 123rd in three-point shooting, they’re still managing to run a Top 15 offense and are second only to Alabama in total points per game (87.2 to Alabama’s 90.5). If the deep ball somehow rematerializes, the Zags will be a legitimate threat for a deep tournament run in March, but if it doesn’t, we could be looking at an earlier exit than many would have anticipated at the beginning of this season.