Gonzaga, with Grant-Foster making debut, shows off depth, inside power in exhibition rout

A few minutes after 5 p.m., word of Tyon Grant-Foster being granted a preliminary injunction was relayed to Gonzaga players during warmups prior to Monday’s exhibition game against Western Oregon.

“A ‘dub’ in court,” a staffer told the players, who responded with shouts of celebration. At 5:20, Grant-Foster and head coach Mark Few, who attended Grant-Foster’s hearing, arrived at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

About 20 minutes later, the freshly eligible Grant-Foster joined his teammates in the layup line. Upon entering the game in the first half, Grant-Foster came up with a steal, fed Graham Ike for a dunk that led to a quick Western Oregon timeout and a scream of elation from Grant-Foster as he trotted toward the bench.

The 6-foot-7 Grand Canyon transfer is an experienced, versatile scorer on a roster already deep at the wing and frontcourt positions. Grant-Foster, who averaged nearly 18 points per game in two seasons at Grand Canyon and was the 2024 Western Athletic Conference player of the year, was the 11th Zag to take the floor Monday. By that time, the Zags had built a 20-point lead.

No. 21 Gonzaga showed off its depth and power in the paint, cruising past the undersized Division II Wolves 111-53.

Nine Zags scored in the opening half, which ended with GU comfortably on top 57-23. Thirty of those points came in the paint, led by Braden Huff and Ike, while Western Oregon mustered just two.

“Hopefully we can really utilize that depth,” Few said. “Depth is only good if you can take advantage of it. Obviously there’s only five spots out there.

“Like I told them afterward, if we get everybody playing to their strengths, doing what they do – a great example of that is what a difference ‘E’ (Emmanuel Innocenti) is out there defensively. He can really pressure the ball, move his feet and really kind of activates us on the defensive end. If he brings that and the other guys bring what they’re supposed to bring, we should be all right.”

Innocenti, a sophomore guard who sat out the first exhibition game with a minor rib injury, started and came up with three assists and three steals, two of which he converted into breakaway dunks.

Freshman wing Davis Fogle, solid in the Kraziness in the Kennel scrimmage and GU’s exhibition rout over Northwest, had another productive night with nine first-half points, most created via drives to the rim. He finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Senior guard Adam Miller drilled two 3-pointers and scored 10 points in 14 minutes.

“Practices are competitive every day,” said junior forward Braden Huff, who scored 21 points in 15-plus minutes. “Five-on-five, it’s physical, it’s tough. The stat sheet is going to look different every single night, but we all have each other’s back.”

“When I was practicing, every day it was a different guy,” said Grant-Foster, who had four points in nine minutes. “It’d be B-Huff, Ace (Miller), Steele (Venters), Davis. I feel like that’s the way we’re going to be better and deal with different teams on different days.”

The Zags, just 24 of 42 at the foul line against Northwest, made 25 of 28 against the Wolves with Fogle connecting on all 11 of his attempts.

Western Oregon made four 3-pointers early to stay within shouting distance, but the Zags pounded away inside, racking up 26 unanswered points, to take a 50-14 lead.

The 6-10 Huff, 6-9 Ike and 7-foot Ismaila Diagne encountered little resistance against the Wolves, whose tallest player is listed at 6-8. The interior trio made 21 of 24 field-goal attempts as GU finished with a 74-10 advantage in paint points.

Ike didn’t miss a shot (7 of 7 from the field, 4 of 4 at the line) en route to 18 points and Diagne chipped in 14 points and 10 boards.

The Zags piled up 24 assists, four each by Braeden Smith, Jalen Warley and Mario Saint-Supery.

Grant-Foster took a hard fall in the lane during a second-half stint and limped off the floor. He said later it wasn’t anything serious.

The Zags entertain Texas Southern in the season opener next Monday.