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Gonzaga Basketball

‘The rim looks like an ocean.’ Gonzaga’s Malachi Smith splashes career-high seven 3’s against Portland

Different members of Gonzaga’s backcourt stepped into the spotlight to help the Bulldogs win their past three West Coast Conference games.

Malachi Smith gladly took on that role Saturday against Portland.

The senior transfer did it in a different way than Rasir Bolton, Nolan Hickman and Julian Strawther, but Smith still left a sizable imprint on Gonzaga’s 115-75 rout of Portland – a result that gave the Bulldogs their 11th consecutive win and 75th consecutive home victory while improving GU’s conference record to 5-0.

Smith’s perimeter shooting helped the Bulldogs establish a big lead early and the Chattanooga transfer finished with a season-high 27 points while making a career-high seven 3-pointers at McCarthey Athletic Center.

He finished 9 of 13 from the field and also pulled down eight rebounds to go with five assists in 24 minutes.

“He’s got some guys – it’s a crowded backcourt, right? So he’s had some very, very, very good games for us,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of Smith. “Where we’ve really needed him, he’s helped us win. Then other times Rasir has been terrific, other times Nolan’s been terrific, Julian. So, it’s not so much we don’t want to get him in. Sometimes he’s been our best player, prior to this.”

Smith’s seven 3-pointers tied the third most made by a Gonzaga player in a single game. With one more, he would’ve matched nine Bulldogs who’d made at least eight in a game.

“I think just when the first one goes in, it’s always a good feeling,” Smith said. “The first one drops and it’s just like, the rim just looks like the ocean to me. I put a lot of work in my shot, I’ve had games I had a lot of 3s, so the team has faith in me and I have faith and confidence in myself, so just don’t even think about it.”

Gonzaga’s outside shooting was the best it’s been all season as the Bulldogs connected on 17 of 38 from 3-point range. With one more 3-pointer, GU would’ve tied the McCarthey Athletic Center record set in last season’s game against Shantay Legans’ Pilots.

Smith wasn’t a part of that game, but suggested Portland’s defensive strategy was to clog the paint and take away Gonzaga’s looks in the post. The Pilots rolled out a similar scheme last year, conceding 104 points to the Bulldogs in that game.

“I think just running in transition and just finding the open spot,” Smith said. “Their game plan was kind of pack the paint, so we knew kind of going into the game that shooters be ready to shoot. We hit a lot of 3s as a team, so that was kind of the mentality is be ready to shoot when it comes to you.”

Opportunities to shine in Gonzaga’s crowded backcourt can be scarce, but Smith has capitalized more than once this season. In Gonzaga’s only other game against a Division I team from Portland, Smith made five 3-pointers and scored 23 points, helping the Bulldogs pull away from Portland State at the Phil Knight Legacy.

Smith’s made 54% of his 3s this season, connecting on 27 of 50 from beyond the arc. He’s hit at least three 3-pointers in four games .

“Certainly, I think it helps his confidence and I think it’ll open up the floor even more for us going forward,” Few said. “It’s not really out of body. He can really, really shoot. He shot well at Chattanooga.”