Stories by Theo Lawson for the Spokesman-Review

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

‘We just needed a little bit more toughness.’ Smothering second-half defense allows Gonzaga to overcome deficit against UCLA

UPDATED: Fri., March 24, 2023

Julian Strawther won it on a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left. Gonzaga made it possible with exceptional play on the defensive end for more than 11 minutes in the second half of Thursday’s tense, down-to-the-wire Sweet 16 win over UCLA.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Difference makers: Drew Timme breaks NCAA record, pours in 36 points to led Gonzaga past UCLA

UPDATED: Sat., March 25, 2023

Drew Timme

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

‘It’s not like I was on PBS Kids.’ Gonzaga’s Drew Timme heard from mother after latest TV interview

UPDATED: Wed., March 22, 2023

LAS VEGAS – Drew Timme had a sense of what was coming when he saw the caller ID flash across the phone.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

How Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther overcame stagefright to appreciate spotlight of Sweet 16 in hometown of Las Vegas

UPDATED: Wed., March 22, 2023

LAS VEGAS – Liberty High School. Orleans Arena. T-Mobile Arena. The list of gymnasiums with a 702 area code that have played a role in Julian Strawther’s career is long, and only getting longer.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

‘A positive entity with a big smile.’ Zach Norvell Jr. has experienced game from different lens during return to Gonzaga

UPDATED: Tue., March 21, 2023

It’s become a popular route for Gonzaga players upon checking out of games. They’ll trade words with Mark Few. They’ll go down the line of folding chairs exchanging high-fives and fist bumps with teammates. Finally, they’ll stop at the end of the bench and pull up a seat next to the team’s first-year student assistant.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Drew Timme’s revenge, Julian Strawther hits 1K and three other takeaways from Gonzaga’s opening games at the NCAA Tournament

UPDATED: Mon., March 20, 2023

DENVER – As Drew Timme put it in a postgame interview, Gonzaga spent too much time “bobbing and weaving” as the Bulldogs fell into a 10-point hole in the first half of Sunday’s game against TCU.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Drew Timme adds another stellar game to NCAA resume, scores 28 points to lead Gonzaga past gritty TCU

UPDATED: Sun., March 19, 2023

DENVER – Over the course of 40 minutes in Denver’s high altitude, Drew Timme was the Gonzaga player consistently making the hustle plays, spilling his sweat in the post and expending the energy that was needed to match the physicality and athleticism of TCU.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Key matchup: Gonzaga preparing for ‘big-time player’ in TCU guard Mike Miles Jr.

UPDATED: Sat., March 18, 2023

DENVER – Drew Timme occasionally trains with Mike Miles Jr. in the offseason. Rasir Bolton had two encounters with the TCU guard during his 2020-21 season at Iowa State. Coach Mark Few saw Miles in action two summers ago when he teamed up with Chet Holmgren on Team USA’s U-19 FIBA World Cup team.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga anticipates familiar challenge from Big 12 foe TCU in NCAA Tournament Round of 32 clash

UPDATED: Wed., March 22, 2023

DENVER – Strong. Fast. Physical. Explosive in the backcourt. Athletic in the frontcourt.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga forward Drew Timme’s wide network of college basketball companions includes TCU trio

UPDATED: Sat., March 18, 2023

DENVER – Drew Timme has cultivated a large network of friends, AAU teammates, high school rivals and offseason training partners that stretches across four time zones, all six major conferences and each of the four regions at this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

‘It came up big.’ Gonzaga’s superb rim protection a key to NCAA opening-round win against Grand Canyon

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2023

DENVER – Gonzaga didn’t enter this year’s NCAA Tournament with a defensive eraser of Chet Holmgren’s caliber – or anything close to it, for that matter – but the Bulldogs still got all the rim protection they needed and a little more than that in an opening-round win over Grand Canyon.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga-Grand Canyon notes: Dominick Harris supports girlfriend McKayla Williams, Zag women from locker room after NCAA win

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2023

DENVER – The televisions inside Gonzaga’s locker room gave players two games to choose from while the Bulldogs were cooling off from an 82-70 opening-round NCAA Tournament victory over Grand Canyon.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Difference makers: Julian Strawther’s 28-point eruption helps Gonzaga pull away from Grand Canyon

UPDATED: Sun., March 19, 2023

Julian Strawther

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Grand Canyon overcomes equipment fiasco on first day in Denver

UPDATED: Thu., March 16, 2023

DENVER – Facing a program like Gonzaga, Grand Canyon probably figured it would have to overcome a series of challenges this week if it planned on advancing in the NCAA Tournament.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Spokane-based relatives of Grand Canyon guard Walter Ellis trading in Gonzaga gear this week

UPDATED: Thu., March 16, 2023

DENVER – LaPhonso Ellis is normally on ESPN’s College GameDay live set Saturday mornings, but the college basketball analyst had to make a rare exception on Feb. 26 when the roving television show traveled to Spokane.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga-GCU matchup is a best- and worst-case scenario for former Gonzaga Prep guard Liam Lloyd

UPDATED: Thu., March 16, 2023

DENVER – A few days before it popped up on a television screen during the hourlong CBS Sports Selection Sunday program, Liam Lloyd considered the possibility of a Gonzaga-Grand Canyon NCAA Tournament matchup.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga’s Malachi Smith turned painful March Madness memory into motivation entering 2023 NCAA Tournament

UPDATED: Thu., March 16, 2023

A full year later, Malachi Smith still remembers every detail with impressive precision.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

‘I’m always supporting him, he’s always supporting me.’ From young age Gonzaga’s Nolan Hickman, No. 1 draft pick Paolo Banchero have been in each other’s corner

UPDATED: Tue., March 14, 2023

In 2010, you could have found Nolan Hickman and Paolo Banchero on a blacktop in Seattle hoisting jump shots, discussing the future, plotting out nights like Jan. 7.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme makes AP All-American Second Team for third consecutive year

UPDATED: Tue., March 14, 2023

For the third consecutive year, Gonzaga forward Drew Timme has been named to the Associated Press All-American second team.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga ranked No. 9 in final Associated Press Top 25 poll

UPDATED: Mon., March 13, 2023

For a team that’s been as high as No. 2 and as low as No. 18, Gonzaga’s position in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the 2022-23 campaign is probably fitting.

Sports > Gonzaga basketball

‘We’ve seen it all.’ Gonzaga faced top-seeded Alabama, Zach Edey and everything between during daunting schedule

UPDATED: Sun., March 12, 2023

It took Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg, Jay Wright and Seth Davis approximately 30 minutes Sunday afternoon to run through Gonzaga’s regular-season schedule ... err, reveal the teams competing in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.