Emmanuel Innocenti slows down Portland’s Joel Foxwell in blowout win | 3 takeaways

Three takeaways from Gonzaga’s 89-48 West Coast Conference victory over Portland on Wednesday in the home finale.

Foxwell quieted

Portland freshman Joel Foxwell, who stung Gonzaga for 27 points and eight assists in an upset win three weeks ago, coolly drilled a 3-pointer on the first Pilots’ first possession.

He soon hit another 3-pointer and less than a minute later was fouled attempting a 3. He made 2 of the 3 free throws before the Zags put the clamps on the Australian native.

Junior wing Emmanuel Innocenti, who came off the bench on Senior Night, spent the majority of his minutes defending Foxwell, who couldn’t replicate his success working off high ball screens in the rematch.

Foxwell, sixth nationally in total assists, had no assists and four turnovers in the first half. The 6-foot-1 point guard ended with 12 points, four rebounds, five turnovers and zero assists in 35 minutes. His previous season low was two assists.

Another new starting five

Senior Night often produces unusual starting lineups and Wednesday was no exception. The Zags had four of their six seniors – Adam Miller, Steele Venters, Graham Ike and Noah Haaland – in the first five along with freshman point guard Mario Saint-Supery.

Senior Jalen Warley sat out to rest a thigh bruise he suffered in the first meeting with Portland on Feb. 4. Tyon-Grant Foster, GU’s sixth senior, came off the bench to score 12 points and grab four rebounds.

Haaland, a 6-foot-9 forward from Rathdrum, Idaho, had a bucket and an assist in five minutes. Venters, who last started on Jan. 4 against LMU and didn’t play in the previous three games, drew a loud ovation with a second-half 3-pointer. Miller, a regular in the starting unit, was scoreless in the first half before finishing with six points and four assists.

Ike had a big first half with 12 points, five rebounds and six steals. He finished with 19 points, including three 3-pointers, eight rebounds and seven steals before checking out with 4:55 left. His streak of 20-point games ended at nine, but his seven steals tied Derek Raivio for the most in the Mark Few era.

GU has had 12 different starting units this season.

Home runs

Gonzaga secured its eighth unbeaten home season and 13th in West Coast Conference play at the McCarthey Athletic Center, which opened in 2004.

The Zags finished with a 9-0 mark in conference and 15-0 overall, but they had a couple of close calls at the Kennel.

GU trailed Seattle U by 13 points with just over 12 minutes remaining before rallying to win 80-72 in overtime. Gonzaga stumbled late before hanging on for a 68-66 victory over San Francisco.

The Zags also had single-digit wins over Saint Mary’s (73-65) and Pacific (71-62).