NCAA basketball

MOSCOW, Idaho – Tyler Linhardt had to do emergency duty as a post defender against Sacramento State’s Chudi Dioramma for much of Idaho’s game against the Hornets on Saturday.

Over the past few months, Tyler Powell has developed a reputation as a high-energy, imminently positive force for the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team.

Funny, 6,000 folks walked into the McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon, ready to watch a women’s college basketball game. They got it. A physical, wood-chipper sort of one, in fact.

Lisa Fortier almost apologized to the fans for what they witnessed in the first three quarters Saturday afternoon at McCarthey Athletic Center.

The Zag rode their defense and Pacific’s errant shooting to a largely stress-free 78-61 victory in the 44-year-old arena – the same building where some of Few’s finest teams have been in battles deep into the second half. Few holds a 22-0 record against the Tigers.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few has never lost to Pacific, but he’s accustomed to stress being part of the ambience when Zags play inside the Spanos Center. Until Saturday, that is.

Former Washington Husky star and NBA point guard Nate Robinson, who has dealt with renal failure for the past seven years, has a new kidney.

If the West Coast Conference women’s basketball schedule is anything, it appears to be fair.

Technical fouls can be a costly endeavor, particularly for a team like Gonzaga that has found itself in a handful of single-possession games this season, with five of its seven losses decided in regulation by an average margin of 3.6 points and two others decided in overtime.

Thursday’s 73-53 win over Loyola Marymount was a split decision for the mood of Gonzaga followers who witnessed the team’s impressive 5-0 start and the bumpy 12-7 mark over the last 2-plus months.

Junior guard Lamar Washington hasn’t been nearly as consistent and his shooting percentage is much lower than his two Canadian teammates. The stats tells us otherwise, but we'll give the slightest of key matchup nods to the 6-foot-4 Washington, though all three players will be high on Gonzaga’s scouting report.

PULLMAN — With his group on a four-game skid, Washington State coach David Riley wanted to see the Cougars clean several things up this week.

It might have been a sign when Gonzaga went 5 minutes, 29 seconds without scoring midway through the first half. Or when the Bulldogs withstood another extended offensive drought – this one lasting exactly 5 minutes toward the later stages of the first half.

Follow along as the Bulldogs (16-7, 7-3 WCC) host the Lions (14-8, 6-4) at 6 p.m. on KHQ and ESPN+ outside the region.

With 1 minute and 11 seconds left in the first half Thursday, Yvonne Ejim became the all-time leading scorer in Gonzaga women’s basketball history.

All night, Mason Williams had made regular trips from the 3-point arc, through the lane and to the basket for any number of leaners, layups and runners.

MOSCOW, Idaho – The score didn’t tell the story when Portland State held off Idaho 76-69 in Big Sky Conference play Thursday.

There’s probably few, if any, college players in the country with stat lines like Khalif Battle’s over the last five games. In order, Battle has finished with zero points, zero points, 23 points, two points and 24 points – the latter helping Gonzaga pull away from Loyola Marymount 73-53 on Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 73-53 win over Loyola Marymount on Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.