3 takeaways: Tyon Grant-Foster impresses in Gonzaga debut, Braden Huff has eventful night vs. Texas Southern

Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 98-43 rout over Texas Southern in Monday’s season opener at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Grant-Foster’s successful debut

Tyon Grant-Foster, whose eligibility this season was in doubt before a Spokane judge ruled in his favor last Monday at a preliminary injunction hearing, quickly moved into the starting lineup and had a strong debut.

The 6-foot-7 wing missed his first shot, a 3-pointer, and didn’t score before subbing out with 17 minutes, 34 seconds left in the half. He wasn’t on the bench long and came up with a three-point play for his first points as a Zag with 14:43 remaining.

Grant-Foster hit four free throws as GU built a 46-27 halftime lead. He didn’t start the second half – Adam Miller got the nod – but the Grand Canyon transfer scored on a layup and a dunk in his first two-plus minutes back on the court.

Grant-Foster added two more layups, one in transition, to finish with 15 points in 20 minutes. He made 5 of 7 field-goal attempts, all five of his free throws and grabbed five rebounds.

Huff’s eventful night

Braden Huff put up numbers GU fans have become accustomed to seeing from the 6-foot-10 forward.

The junior scored 12 points in his first 18 minutes. The last of those 18 minutes was interesting as Huff dropped in a field goal from close range but was then tagged with a technical foul early in the second half. It wasn’t clear why Huff was called for the technical and he looked more than surprised when the whistle was blown. It went down as Huff’s fourth personal foul and he took a seat on the bench.

Before that, Huff showed off his soft touch in the lane, hitting 5 of 7 shots. One of his misses was a 3-pointer that rattled in-and-out. He might have had the play of the night when he hauled in a defensive rebound, dribbled the length of the floor and used a spin move near the free-throw line to finish with a layup.

Huff returned for another short stint and finished with 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes.

Slow start, fast finish

Gonzaga’s offense, traditionally among the nation’s best, plodded through the first eight-plus minutes. The Zags produced just 13 points on a frosty 4-of-16 shooting, including 2 of 9 on 3-pointers, and three turnovers as Texas Southern trailed by just three points.

GU flipped the switch in a hurry. The Zags had put together a 46-point first half, fueled by 19 bench points and nine-point advantages at the free-throw line and points off turnovers.

Gonzaga made 11 of its last 19 shots and closed the half at 43%. The defense did its part, forcing 10 turnovers that led to 12 points in the opening half.

The Zags put the game away by connecting on 8 of their first 12 shots in the second half. They drained 64.7% of their second-half shots and finished at 53.6%. GU finished with 22 fastbreak points and 18 points off TSU turnovers.