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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga shooters making more connections from long distance

Gonzaga
Gonzaga's Davis Fogle (4) floats high above North Florida's defenders on his way to the basket for a dunk in the second half of play in the non-conference matchup between Gonzaga and North Florida Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025 at McCarthey Athletic Center at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. The Gonzaga Bulldogs won 109-58. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

The 3-point line isn’t Gonzaga’s first option offensively and the Zags struggled to find the range from distance in the season’s first four games.

They’ve made considerable progress over the last six games, even factoring in a clunker – 3 of 22 against Michigan. That trend continued Sunday with Gonzaga draining 10 of 18 3s in a 109-58 rout over North Florida at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Freshman point guard Mario Saint-Supery made all four of his 3-point attempts and wing Steele Venters hit 4 of 6. Senior guard Adam Miller buried a trey with 4:27 remaining for GU’s 10th of the game, rewarding fans in attendance with free tacos.

“We’re working a lot on shooting because we’re going to be a very good shooting the ball from 3,” Saint-Supery said. “I made the first one, I started feeling good and I kept shooting.”

The Zags’ 10 triples and 55.6% accuracy rank as the team’s second best this season in each category. It follows a 9-of-18 effort from distance in Friday’s blowout over Kentucky.

The Zags are 50 of 127 on 3s (39.4%) over the last six games, elevating their season percentage to 35.6%. They were at 30.4% after four games.

“I don’t know that our shot selection was ever bad,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “For the most part, we have the right guys shooting them. Those shooters have been shot ready. Early in the year, we were so focused on either moving the ball really quick or throwing it inside, we weren’t always shot ready.

“Mario’s done a nice job with that, hands and feet ready when the ball hits him. Look, Steele had some rough outings early but he has a great stroke. Those things will all end up averaging out and he’ll be a 40% shooter at the end of the year. And ‘Ace’ (Miller), it’s coming off his hand nice, too. If those three are the ones shooting it, we’re in pretty good shape.”

Venters has made four 3s in three of the last five games. He’s 13 of 29 (44.8%) in those five games and 37.8% for the season. He leads the team with 17 made 3-pointers, followed by Miller (16) and Saint-Supery (15). Junior guard Emmanuel Innocenti (10 of 22, 45.5%) is the fourth Zag with double-digit treys.

“Just try to come out and be aggressive,” Venters said. “Mario definitely makes it easier for me and same with B-Huff (Braden Huff) getting open shots. Just have to knock them down.”

Venters was referring to opposing defenses focusing their attention on GU’s interior tandem of Huff and Graham Ike, who sat out Sunday with a sore ankle. The duo’s effectiveness in the lane coupled with solid perimeter shooting creates space to operate inside and outside.

Saint-Supery’s 53.6% leads the team in accuracy behind the arc.