Gonzaga rewind: Guards Adam Miller, Mario Saint-Supery return to form during opening WCC stretch

Our Gonzaga rewind usually focuses on the team’s most recent game, but it’s probably worth reviewing the week at large for Mark Few’s group, which navigated a couple of close calls to pocket its NCAA-leading 16th win Sunday evening at McCarthey Athletic Center.

While oddsmakers had the Zags going 3-0 against a schedule that began Tuesday at San Diego and resumed Friday at home against Seattle U and Sunday against Loyola Marymount, you might have had a better chance of winning the Powerball than accurately predicting how each of the three games would play out.

To recap, the Zags led by 21 points against the Toreros before wilting down the stretch at Jenny Craig Pavilion, ultimately holding on for a 99-93 win that signified the narrowest margin of victory for a team that owns a 27-point win over Creighton, 35-point win over Kentucky and 39-point win over Maryland.

The roller coaster continued against Seattle U, which led for more than 35 minutes – and by as many as 13 points – before Gonzaga stormed back late in the second and then controlled the overtime period to prevail 80-72.

Some of Gonzaga’s worst habits spilled over into the first half of Sunday’s game against the Lions, who scored 14 of the game’s first 18 points and took a double-digit lead before GU’s defense finally picked it up, holding LMU scoreless for nine minutes as Few’s team pulled away for an 82-47 win.

“Obviously to end it like that is encouraging, but it’s rough,” Few said of the stretch, which also included last Sunday’s win at Pepperdine. “That’s four games in (eight) days, so that’s rough. I would not recommend doing that next year on any of the athletes at any of the schools. So I think that needs to be looked at.

“But everybody else was doing that, so you’ve just got to deal with it. No complaints, but it was rough. So we’re going to take a really deserving day off.”

Adam Miller and Mario Saint-Supery overcame rugged stretches to deliver for Few’s team in two of the three games – Miller against Seattle U and LMU, Saint-Supery against San Diego and LMU. The two backcourt players take center stage in this edition of the Gonzaga rewind.

Nick of time

Down to the final three or four months of his college basketball career, Miller alluded to a change of mindset as Gonzaga prepared for its first stretch of WCC games.

“I think I had some rough games before that, but I’m like, I done came too far with these guys to let that bother me as a whole on the floor,” Miller said. “I think when I get in it’s been easier for me because I know I’ve got guys next to me that I really believe in and are really there for me. It allows me to go out there and try to lead a little bit on defense being a little bit older. Just trying to take control of the game when I get in.”

Miller’s ability to stretch the floor and knock down perimeter shots may be his best asset to this Gonzaga team, but the guard’s defensive contributions outnumbered the offensive ones last week.

In Friday’s overtime win, Miller stood in and took an offensive charge from Seattle U’s Houran Dan with under four minutes to play and Gonzaga trailing by four points. Every play was critical down the stretch against the Redhawks and Miller, had he not been in correct position, may have instead been called for a blocking foul that would’ve sent Dan to the free throw line with a chance to make it a six-point game.

On Sunday, Miller helped kickstart the team’s 15-0 run in the first half, swiping the ball away from LMU’s Rokas Jocius and sending it off the forward’s leg. The ball dribbled out of bounds, allowing Gonzaga to regain possession and trim the deficit to two points seconds later on Tyon Grant-Foster’s alley-oop dunk.

“I think especially these last few games I’ve gotten in and I think we kind of played where we weren’t really taking control of the game,” Miller said. “So I just tried to go in there – there’s things I can’t control. A shot falling, I can’t really control that too much but my defensive effort, loose balls, trying to get a rebound, guarding my man, helping my teammates and talking, I knew I could do that.”

Miller’s offensive game arrived shortly thereafter. The veteran Arizona State transfer was one of four Zags in double figures, scoring 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting and 3 of 5 from the 3-point line. It was his first double-digit game since an 11-point effort Dec. 5 against Kentucky.

“I think sometimes he cares so much and he’s a very diligent worker and really analyzes the scouts and sometimes it’s paralysis by analysis,” Few said of Miller. “So he’s just been kind of cutting loose, especially these last two games he’s made a huge difference. Huge. Obviously then I think making plays on defense, then that kind of got his offense going too. It’s good to see some of his 3’s going down now, too. That’s a huge weapon for us.”

Superb Saint-Supery

Someone else looking to turn the corner after an inconsistent start to conference play was Saint-Supery.

The Spanish point guard was replaced in the starting lineup before the WCC opener and had just nine points over three games against Campbell, Oregon and Pepperdine while simultaneously dealing with the flu. During that stretch, Saint-Supery made 3 of 14 shots from the field and had 11 assists with six turnovers.

Saint-Supery had 14 points and five assists early in the week against San Diego, but followed with a goose egg against Seattle, missing all five shots he took while playing only 15 minutes.

The point guard got back on track Sunday, scoring 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting while delivering five assists with only one turnover.

“He was good, he was good,” Few said. “I thought he was really good, I thought he picked the right spots when to attack and when to distribute. They were really wanting our guards to score in the pick and roll, staying under our bigs, so our guards had to have a plan and execute and step up and make shots. I think he did a really nice job of that.”

Early on, Saint-Supery and his Gonzaga teammates sensed LMU’s bigger, veteran guards were trying to pick on the 6-foot-4 freshman, attacking him in various matchups.

By and large, the Lions were unsuccessful in that endeavor. Starting guards Myron Amey Jr. and Jan Vide finished a combined 3 of 22 from the field and reserve guard AJ Thomas missed all three of his shot attempts.

“I just try to guard my yard and I just try to be solid and try not to get scored on,” Saint-Supery said.

Sick days

Saint-Supery caught the flu before Gonzaga traveled to Oregon for its nonconference finale on Dec. 21. The guard didn’t practice for multiple days leading up to the team’s charter flight to Portland and struggled in the 91-82 victory.

Illness spread throughout the team in the days and weeks that followed, perhaps offering some explanation for the sluggish stretches Gonzaga endured in its recent games.

“I don’t think the flu affected me that much after the Pepperdine game,” Saint-Supery said. “I think I was just not making the shots, I was trying to do things I didn’t have to do and I wasn’t playing the way I have to play. I think I tried to get back to the way I played, to help the team as much as I can.”

KHQ play-by-play announcer Greg Heister said Sunday other Gonzaga players came down with illness, including junior forward Emmanuel Innocenti, who moved to the bench against LMU after starting in seven straight games.

Innocenti, who failed to score in three of the last games, actually provided quality minutes when he finally came off the bench with approximately four minutes left in the first half Sunday. Innocenti finished scored four points on 2 of 4 from the field and had one steal in 11 minutes.