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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga guards tangle with Pacific’s versatile Jahlil Tripp

Pacific forward Jahlil Tripp (0) in the first half during an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State, Friday, Dec 22, 2017, in Tempe, Ariz. (Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

Jahlil Tripp is Pacific’s sixth-leading scorer but he is one of the more versatile players in the WCC. The sophomore guard nearly averages a double-double (8.7 points, 9.5 rebounds). He’s also good for 4.5 assists, 1.8 assists and a team-high 32.2 minutes.

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Brooklyn native isn’t a big-time scoring threat. Tripp is shooting just 38 percent from the field and he’s made just three 3-pointers, but he’s collected a WCC-leading 48 offensive rebounds, two more than Saint Mary’s Jock Landale.

Tripp, coming off the bench for the first time this season, still played a team-high 31 minutes in a 104-65 loss to Arizona State on Dec. 22.

Gonzaga has several options defending Tripp and a talented Pacific guard line. Point guard Josh Perkins probably will line up against Oregon transfer Kendall Small, another of Pacific’s primary ballhandlers. Zach Norvell Jr. and Silas Melson are most likely to draw Tripp, but one of them will have to guard Roberto Gallinat, who was Tripp’s teammate at South Plains College. Gallinat is Pacific’s leading scorer at 13.7.