Recap and highlights: Brandon Clarke’s record-breaking performance leads No. 4 Gonzaga in rout of San Francisco
Brandon Clarke notched a double-double of 20 points and 16 rebounds in a record-breaking performance as No. 4 Gonzaga thumped San Francisco 92-62 on Thursday in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Midway through the first half, Clarke blocked his second of five shots, breaking the program’s single-season record of 70 blocks, set by Austin Daye in 2008-09. Clarke now has 74 blocks on the season.
Clarke’s 16 rebounds are also the most in McCarthey Athletic Center history.
Rui Hachimura added 17 points for the Bulldogs (22-2 overall, 9-0 WCC), after scoring just four points in the first half. Zach Norvell Jr. (16 points) and Geno Crandall (12) also scored in double figures for GU.
Gonzaga shot 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep, while holding the Dons (17-6, 5-4) to 38.8 percent overall and 31.3 percent from 3-point range.
The Zags outrebounded USF 46-34 and outscored the Dons 44-38 in the paint.
Frankie Ferrari and Charles Minlend led San Francisco with 14 points each.
The Zags will host rival Saint Mary’s on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN2). It will be the first meeting between the teams this season.
Second half
Final – Gonzaga 92, USF 62: After winning a battle at San Francisco last month, Gonzaga breezes by the visitors from the Bay Area in the Kennel.
Historic game from Brandon Clarke, who finishes with 20 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks to break the school’s single-season record.
Next up for GU – this season’s first meeting with rival Saint Mary’s on Saturday (7 p.m. ESPN2)
3:02 – Gonzaga 84, USF 57: Just about bench-clearing time for Gonzaga coach Mark Few as the Zags push their lead to nearly 30 points.
Dominant second half from GU in this one, shooting 51.6 percent from the floor in the half, while holding USF to just 34.5 percent overall.
GU also takes over the advantage in the paint 42-36.
6:22 – Gonzaga 74, USF 50: Rout just might be on for the Zags as the lead stretches past 20 points.
Great game continues for Brandon Clarke, who has 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting, 16 rebounds and five blocks.
USF shooting his dipped to 37.3 percent overall and 30.8 percent from deep.
Rui Hachimura the fourth GU player into double figures with 11 points, while Josh Perkins has nine.
Zags have also battled back to take over the rebounding advantage 38-31.
11:20 – Gonzaga 66, USF 48: Scoring coming from all over the floor for the Zags as Geno Crandall knocks down a pair of free throws to get to 10 points, while Killian Tillie gets his first two baskets of the game.
The junior has to come off the court though limping. Tillie missed the first half of the season with an ankle injury.
Zags shooting 53.5 percent from the floor and an impressive 50 percent from deep.
Brandon Clarke also notches his double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.
14:59 – Gonzaga 55, USF 41: No slowing down to start the second half for the Zags as Brandon Clarke gets his third block and the GU offense scores the first five points.
Clarke now up to 16 points, while Josh Perkins has seven and five assists.
San Francisco fights back with a couple of Frankie Ferrari buckets (11 points), but GU’s Rui Hachimura also is finding his scoring touch with nine points.
First half
Halftime – Gonzaga 43, USF 30: Zach Norvell Jr. with a nice stretch hitting shots on back-to-back possessions to get to 15 points, the first Zag into double figures on the night. He’s hit both of his shots from deep and is 5 of 6 overall.
Uncharacteristically slow half from Rui Hachimura. The big man finishes the first 20 minutes with four points on 1 of 7 shooting, while Brandon Clarke has 11 points and eight rebounds.
Gonzaga shoots 48.3 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from 3-point range in the half, while USF hits 41.2 percent overall and 33.3 percent from deep.
GU and San Francisco each with eight turnovers, while the Dons are outrebounding the Bulldogs 20-19.
Charles Minland pacing USF with 10 points and three fouls, while Nate Renfro adds eight points.
3:46 – Gonzaga 31, USF 25: Geno Crandall finding his offensive touch this game with six points on a pair of 3-pointers. The grad transfer guard is getting more court time than normal this half with Corey Kispert picking up that early second foul.
Zach Norvell Jr, follows Crandall’s lead with a triple of his own to get to five points. Balanced scoring so far for the Zags.
Nate Renfro leading the way for USF with eight points on 4 of 7 shooting.
6:16 – Gonzaga 23, USF 19: Frankie Ferrari up to six points for the Dons, who are shooting 39.1 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from deep.
Gonzaga shooting at 47.4 percent overall and have hit 1 of 3 shots from 3-point range.
Zags with six turnovers, while USF has four. Gonzaga, which has dominated in the paint this season, trails San Francisco 14-12 in scoring down low.
Brandon Clarke up to nine points on a perfect 4 of 4 shooting for the Zags. He’s got his hands full at the moment on defense though as USF 7-footer Jimbo Lull gets back-to-back buckets in the paint.
11:25 – Gonzaga 16, USF 13: Foul trouble sneaks up on GU as well with Corey Kispert picking up his second call. He had a pair of points, rebounds and a nice block before heading to the bench for Killian Tillie.
Zags doing a better job protecting the rim with three early blocks, including two from Brandon Clarke. With his second swat, the redshirt junior breaks the school’s single-season record with his 71st block. The previous mark was 70 in 2008-09 by Austin Daye.
Clarke also getting it done on the offensive side of the court with a team-best seven points and four rebounds. Clarke had 29 points at USF last month
15:39 – Gonzaga 9, USF 9: Bulldogs immediately go inside to Brandon Clarke who gets the strong bucket while getting fouled. The Dons also come out swinging though with a pair of nice up-and-under finishes at the rim.
Fast pace out of the gate for both teams as shots are flying early in the shot clock.
First triple of the night is from USF’s Charles Minland, who has five quick points but also picks up his second foul before the first media break.
San Francisco gave the Zags a nice test for 36-plus minutes last month and it’s looking like it might be another tight contest in the Kennel.
Slow start for GU star Rui Hachimura who is 0 for 3 from the field.
Gonzaga announces starting 5
Game preview
Gonzaga roster
No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class |
11 | G | 6-5 | Fr | |
2 | G | 6-3 | So | |
15 | G | 6-8 | Jr | |
0 | G | 6-3 | Sr | |
4 | G | 6-5 | Fr | |
21 | F | 6-8 | Jr | |
22 | F | 6-7 | Sr | |
24 | F | 6-6 | So | |
10 | G | 6-3 | Fr | |
5 | G | 6-5 | Jr | |
23 | G | 6-5 | So | |
20 | G | 5-10 | Fr | |
13 | G | 6-3 | Sr | |
3 | F | 6-11 | Fr | |
33 | F | 6-10 | Jr |
LEADERS
Player | G | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
Rui Hachimura | 23 | 29.6 | .606 | .730 | .458 | 6.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 20.4 |
Brandon Clarke | 23 | 27.1 | .689 | .660 | .375 | 7.8 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 16.4 |
Zach Norvell Jr. | 23 | 30.4 | .434 | .822 | .381 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 15.8 |
Josh Perkins | 23 | 31.1 | .453 | .870 | .379 | 3.0 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 10.9 |
Corey Kispert | 23 | 27.1 | .442 | .905 | .393 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 9.1 |
Filip Petrusev | 22 | 12.2 | .551 | .836 | .261 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 7.0 |
Killian Tillie | 8 | 18.0 | .450 | .727 | .300 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 6.3 |
Geno Crandall | 14 | 18.4 | .397 | .621 | .269 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 5.1 |
Jeremy Jones | 23 | 14.4 | .667 | .765 | .538 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.5 |
Joel Ayayi | 15 | 6.4 | .600 | .333 | .300 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.3 |
Matthew Lang | 7 | 2.4 | .750 | 1.000 | .500 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
Jack Beach | 12 | 3.1 | .571 | - | .571 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Greg Foster Jr. | 20 | 5.3 | .318 | .500 | .167 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.0 |
Alex Martin | 1 | 1.0 | .000 | - | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
San Francisco roster
No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Class |
12 | G | 6-2 | Fr | |
21 | F | 6-6 | Fr | |
1 | G | 6-2 | So | |
45 | G | 6-3 | Sr | |
2 | G | 6-0 | Sr | |
34 | F | 6-9 | So | |
31 | F | 6-7 | Sr | |
5 | C | 7-0 | Jr | |
10 | F | 6-9 | Sr | |
14 | G | 6-4 | So | |
3 | G | 5-11 | Sr | |
11 | F | 6-9 | Jr | |
25 | G | 6-5 | Jr | |
15 | F | 6-8 | Sr | |
22 | F | 6-9 | Fr | |
0 | G | 6-1 | So |
LEADERS
Player | G | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
Charles Minlend | 22 | 30.2 | .438 | .680 | .311 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 15.2 |
Frankie Ferrari | 22 | 32.6 | .423 | .873 | .378 | 3.2 | 5.7 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 14.1 |
Matt McCarthy | 22 | 18.7 | .642 | .608 | .429 | 6.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 10.2 |
Jordan Ratinho | 22 | 28.6 | .437 | .600 | .386 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 9.3 |
Jimbo Lull | 22 | 18.6 | .587 | .689 | - | 5.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 8.1 |
Nate Renfro | 22 | 25.6 | .440 | .478 | .316 | 5.2 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 7.4 |
Jamaree Bouyea | 22 | 23.5 | .477 | .600 | .292 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 6.2 |
Remu Raitanen | 21 | 10.5 | .500 | .824 | .387 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
Dzmitry Ryuny | 11 | 5.5 | .333 | 1.000 | .348 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
Nathan Krill | 1 | 4.0 | .500 | - | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Trevante Anderson | 12 | 6.5 | .400 | .250 | .462 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.9 |
Taavi Jurkatamm | 18 | 5.8 | .444 | .000 | .000 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
Michael Orlich | 5 | 3.4 | .250 | .000 | .000 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
Dylan Belquist | 1 | 3.0 | .000 | - | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |