We’ll get to basketball, but first of all Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Gonzaga is usually in a holiday tournament so I’ve had spent past Thanksgivings in Anchorage, Orlando, Maui, etc. Our family gets together before or after I travel, so we gathered last Sunday. Thinking about them this morning.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga has information to gather and decisions to make after learning that freshman guard Josh Perkins suffered a broken jaw in last night’s 88-76 win over Georgia. I’ve seen the replay numerous times and it was high-kicking, the equivalent high-sticking in hockey. Hard to believe Kenny Gaines wasn’t assessed a flagrant foul.

My game story here, St. John’s gamer here. It's Zags-Red Storm on Friday for the title.

More below in my day-after post.

--Perkins’ injury will obviously be the part of the St. John’s preview that I’ll put together and post later today. For now, we’ll cover the basics and you’ll probably see some of this material in the advance.

Perkins had what coach Mark Few said was “a really, really long night.” He had his jaw wired and didn’t get back to the team hotel until roughly 6:30 a.m. Few guessed that Perkins could miss six weeks but won’t know for sure until Perkins sees a jaw specialist in Spokane.

Perkins’ absence leaves Gonzaga essentially with just four guards: Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell Jr., Kyle Dranginis and Byron Wesley. Eric McClellan is expected to become eligible Jan. 6, but that’s 10 games away.

Silas Melson’s redshirt status likely will change. “We’ll take a look at Silas now,” Few said. Few earlier this month called the decision to redshirt Melson -- arrived at by Melson and Few -- one of the toughest of his career.

Pangos, an ironman in his first three years, figures to see heavy minutes. He’s the lone true point guard. Bell and Kyle Dranginis can fill in on occasion, but the Zags also lose Pangos’ ability to slide over to the ‘2’ when Perkins entered the game.

--The tone of the Gonzaga-Georgia was set early when Pangos was whistled for a touch foul 33 seconds into the contest. GU was called for 27 fouls, some of the silly variety (Sabonis whistled 30 feet from the hoop navigating an on-ball screen, Karnowski with a reach-in) but many left observers scratching their heads. The Zags averaged 16 fouls in their first four games.

Georgia’s Charles Mann went to the FT line 15 times, many coming after lowering his shoulder on drives, forcing contact with GU defenders. The result was a number of Zags in foul trouble and a game that predictably lacked flow.

Despite the foul issues and Perkins’ injury, the Zags’ lead never dropped below eight points.

“It was tough, it was hard not to let the emotion drop,” Pangos said. “But guys off the bench stepped up and played some great minutes.”

Sabonis was limited to 13 minutes, Karnowski 17.

“Me and Domas fouled out,” Karnowski said, “but Kyle was on fire and we have Angel, long and athletic and can protect the rim. I believe us four can really cause damage inside.”

--Gonzaga relied on Pangos, Kyle Wiltjer and Byron Wesley down the stretch.

Wiltjer scored 32 points. He made 14 of 26 shots and hit from a variety of areas. Pangos, an uncharacteristic 2 of 4 from the FT line entering the game, made all 10 of his attempts. Wesley was scoreless in the first half, but finished with 12 points (10 of 12 FTs), six boards and four assists.

STATS OF NOTE

--Wiltjer’s 32-point night boosted his scoring average from 13 to 16.8.

--Georgia made 46.3 percent of its shots. “It was really tough getting our feet under us and getting stops with any of our (lineups), other than that first 10 minutes,” Few said.

--J.J. Frazier was 4 of 8 on 3s, the rest of his Georgia teammates 0 of 8.

--Pangos has 29 assists and one turnover in 133 minutes.

--GU made at least 50 percent of its shots for the fourth time in five games.

QUOTEBOOK

Karnowski: “This gym is the most famous gym in the NBA and the entire world. It was really cool to play here.”

Few, joking about Pangos’ turnover: “I was hoping he would make it all year (without one).”

Fox on GU: “Offensively they will be better than probably anybody we play. The can score from every position all the time.”

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