Gonzaga’s reshuffled starting unit performs well in rout over Portland

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Jan. 26—PORTLAND — Gonzaga coach Mark Few weighed a question about a pair of changes in the starting lineup and if he got what he wanted from those adjustments.

“Listen, two totally separate things,” explained Few, shortly after the Zags dismantled Portland 105-62 Saturday at the Chiles Center to snap a two-game West Coast Conference losing streak.

Sophomore forward Braden Huff started in place of senior Graham Ike, who picked up a flagrant foul and technical foul about a minute apart late in last Saturday’s 103-99 home loss to Santa Clara. Ike sat on the bench when the Zags made things interesting with a late rally.

“Graham, we had to do something with the technical,” Few said. “That technical hurt us. He was spectacular with how he handled it. He was so apologetic and just felt horrible about it. He’s as good a person as we’ve had in our program the whole time I’ve been at Gonzaga. He just has to manage his emotions better.”

Ike had started 95 consecutive games, including 55 in his two seasons at Gonzaga. The last time Ike came off the bench was February 2021 when he was a freshman at Wyoming.

Sophomore wing Emmanuel Innocenti got the starting nod partly for defensive reasons. The 6-foot-5 transfer from Tarleton State started 33 games last season as a freshman. His role with the Zags has been primarily as a defensive specialist, often late in halves. He came in averaging 5.5 minutes in 17 appearances and didn’t play against Santa Clara.

Innocenti matched up against Portland’s Max Mackinnon, who was coming off a 43-point night against San Diego. Mackinnon finished with 18 points against several different defenders on 7-of-15 shooting, 2 of 6 behind the 3-point arc and he hit both of his two free throws. Mackinnon was 7 of 9 on 3s and made 18 of 22 free throws against the Toreros.

Senior Khalif Battle had started his first 20 games as a Zag and the final nine last season for Arkansas.

“Hey, we had bad, horrible defense last game,” Few said of the loss to the Broncos, who were…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gonzagas-reshuffled-starting-unit-performs-030200939.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2025-01-27 03:02:00

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