No. 11 Gonzaga shakes off lull, rolls past San Francisco 80-59 | Recap and highlights
SAN FRANCISCO – As Gonzaga veers toward the end of the regular season, Mark Few’s rotation is beginning to create a handful of potential problems for its opponents in the West Coast Conference.
Beyond the obvious one wearing No. 15 and scoring around 20 points per game for the 11th-ranked Zags.
Graham Ike paced Gonzaga once again, but San Francisco also had trouble with about six of his teammates during Wednesday’s rematch at the Chase Center. Balanced scoring and disruptive defense helped the Zags pull away early and maintain a comfortable lead as they cruised to an 80-59 victory over the Dons at the home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
It was a familiar result for Gonzaga against a San Francisco team the Zags have now beat in 35 consecutive games dating back to 2012. Barring a third meeting between the teams at the upcoming West Coast Conference Tournament, Wednesday’s matchup have been the final meeting between the teams before the Zags split for the Pac-12 Conference in 2026-27
Many of the previous games have been close calls that came down to final possessions or game-altering shots, including last month’s meeting in Spokane, when forward Barry Wang missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that allowed Gonzaga to escape with a 68-66 win.
Wednesday’s rematch was also close … for all of 15 minutes.
Trailing early, the Dons mounted an impressive 11-0 run midway through the first half to take a three-point lead on Tyrone Riley IV’s 3-point shot. It didn’t last long. Emmanuel Innocenti followed with a 4-0 personal run, converting a putback layup and fastbreak dunk, and Graham Ike knocked down a pull-up jump shot before Innocenti added another layup to give Gonzaga a three-point edge.
Innocenti, Ike and the Zags rolled from there, leading by as many as 22 points late in the second half.
Ike, who didn’t play in the first meeting against USF due to a right ankle sprain, scored 22 points on 10 of 17 shooting for his eighth consecutive 20-point game. The WCC’s leading scorer, Ike tied Adam Morrison and Derek Raivio for the most consecutive 20-point games at Gonzaga in the last 20 years.
Three other Zags finished in double figures including point guard Mario Saint-Supery, who moved back into the starting lineup for the first time since a Dec. 21 game against Oregon. Saint-Supery had four of the team’s first six points and finished with 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Innocenti was superb on both ends, totaling 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. Jalen Warley, who’s played through a thigh bruise in recent games, was the fourth Zags to reach double digits, scoring 11 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
Gonzaga lost the rebounding battle for the second time against San Francisco, but gained a handful of extra possessions by forcing the Dons into 13 turnovers.
USF was led by Riley IV, who came back from a knee injury to score 16 points on 7 of 15 shooting. Former Gonzaga recruit Mookie Cook added 12 points for the Dons and Legend Smiley had 10.
Gonzaga (26-2, 14-1) returns to Spokane for a two-game home swing against Pacific (17-12, 8-8) and Portland (12-15, 5-9) before traveling back to the Bay Area for the regular-season finale against Saint Mary’s. The Zags and the Tigers will tip off at 6 p.m. (KHQ/ESPN+) on Saturday at McCarthey Athletic Center.
First half
19:31 – GU 0, USF 0: Innocenti gets a steal on the first possession, but misses a 1-on-1 contested layup on the other end. We’re underway at the Chase Center.
18:17 – GU 2, USF 0: Saint-Supery opens the scoring with a jumper off the left wing. The freshman guard from Spain is making his first start in conference play.
14:13 – GU 10, USF 6: Zags take an early lead behind four points apiece from Saint-Supery and Ike. USF’s Riley is called for a foul at the first media timeout.
Four steals and some close Dons misses helping Gonzaga in the early going.
10:49 – GU 14, USF 8: Dons snap a lengthy scoring drought ahead of the U12 media timeout. GU taking advantage of some sloppy USF play, up to six turnovers.
Zags 6 of 14 from the field, Dons 4 of 15.
8:32 – USF 17, GU 14: Riley hits a 3-pointer in transition and Mark Few calls a timeout with the Dons on an 11-0 run. Zags have not scored in over four minutes, missing their last five shots and turning the ball over twice.
Bad stretch for the Zags, who are being outrebounded 17-6 and are 0 of 5 on 3-pointers.
6:00 – GU 22, USF 19: Innocenti revives the Zags’ offense with a quick six-point burst to retake the lead. USF calls timeout.
Ike leads GU with eight points, Innocenti adds six and Saint-Supery has four.
3:48 – GU 29, USF 21: Saint-Supery knocks down the Zags’ first 3-pointer of the game, and Fogle hits a jumper ahead of the U4 media timeout.
Zags have now hit their last seven attempts from the field after going the previous four minutes scoreless.
Halftime
Davis Fogle put an exclamation point on a strong finish to the first half with a breakaway dunk to put Gonzaga ahead of San Francisco 41-29 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
The Zags trailed 17-14 midway through the period, before Emmanual Innocenti shook them out of a four-minute scoring drought. GU made 12 of 14 attempts from there to take a commanding lead.
Graham Ike has been effective as ever, leading with 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field. Mario Saint-Supery and Davis Fogle add seven points apiece.
USF has struggled on offense, making 11 of 30 attempts from the field and committing nine turnovers. The Dons do have a 20-14 rebounding advantage.
Second half
15:07 – GU 53, USF 38: Ike gets a steal and is fouled by Fuchs at the U16 media timeout.
Zags stay hot out of halftime, making 5 of 8 attempts from the field, including five points from Miller, who knocked down GU’s third 3-pointer of the game.
12:04 – GU 62, USF 42: Saint-Supery lobs an ally-oop to Grant-Foster, then Fogle finds Ike inside for an easy basket and the Dons call timeout.
Zags have made 9 of 13 attempts from the field in the second half to build a 20-point lead. Making things look easy at the Chase Center.
6:41 – GU 68, USF 52: Zags cruising at the U8 media timeout, on way to their 35th consecutive win over the Dons.
Another balanced scoring output tonight. Ike leads with 15 points, followed by 12 from Saint-Supery 11 from Warley and 10 from Innocenti.
3:42 – GU 72, USF 56: Ike called for an offensive foul at the U4 media timeout, but the Zags are well on their way to a win over San Francisco. We’ll be back with a full recap at the buzzer.
Starting 5’s
Gonzaga: Mario Saint-Supery, Adam Miller, Emmanuel Innocenti, Jalen Warley, Graham Ike.
First start for Saint-Supery since Dec. 21 vs. #Oregon. Braeden Smith started last 14 games.
San Francisco: Ryan Beasley, Legend Smiley, Tyrone Riley, Barry Wang, David Fuchs.
Pregame
The Gonzaga men’s basketball team is back on the road as they look to secure the West Coast Conference regular-season title.
The No. 11 Bulldogs (25-2, 13-1 WCC) will play the San Francisco Dons (15-13, 7-8) tonight at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
Gonzaga took a half-game lead over Santa Clara with a win over the Broncos on Saturday and leads Saint Mary’s by a game with four to play.
Gonzaga is a 14½-point favorite and has won 34 straight against San Francisco, though four of the last 10 meetings have been decided by single digits, including a two-point win earlier this season in Spokane.
The Dons snapped a three-game losing streak on Sunday with a 92-79 win over San Diego. This season has come as a disappointment for a USF team that has finished third in the WCC in back-to-back seasons.
Follow along with this thread for updates throughout the night.
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