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Mar. 2—SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Dons accomplished something that no other West Coast Conference team has done this season against Gonzaga.
The Dons became the first WCC team to outscore GU in the paint, and rather decidedly at 46-34, in the Zags’ 95-75 victory Saturday at Chase Center. Washington State managed a 46-46 tie in Gonzaga’s 88-75 win in Spokane. GU rolled in the rematch 38-24 in the paint in a blowout win in Pullman five weeks later.
Packing the lane with defenders was the focus of USF’s game plan after Gonzaga, as has been the case in recent series meetings, dominated with a 52-30 edge in paint points and 41-28 advantage on the boards during an 11-point home win Feb. 13.
The Dons sagged off GU 4s Ben Gregg and Michael Ajayi. It worked to a modest degree early as Gregg misfired on his first three 3s, but it failed in the bigger picture. Gregg eventually buried three 3s after getting untracked with some interior baskets.
Even when Gregg wasn’t hitting from the outside, his teammates were, and GU was still productive inside. Graham Ike was 4 of 6 on 2-pointers en route to 15 points and Braden Huff was 4 of 4 while scoring nine. The two posts also made five free throws.
Meanwhile, guards Nolan Hickman, Ryan Nembhard, Khalif Battle and Emmanuel Innocenti chipped in 3s and paint points off the dribble and in transition.
“We looked at our points in the paint the last time and it was pretty heavy so we figured they would cover down,” said Zags coach Mark Few, whose team has seen similar tactics before from USF and other conference opponents. “Their last game they covered down really hard and Oregon State has some nice big players.”
The Zags do, too, along with a strong guard line. That doesn’t leave a ton of appealing options defensively, particularly if Gonzaga is hitting 3s.
“The one thing I know about them when they see the same thing continuously, they have a way of adjusting and taking advantage of it,” San Francisco coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “We made a…
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Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2025-03-03 03:06:00
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