Gonzaga Pounds Pepperdine 96-56 to Open WCC Play
MALIBU, Calif. – When two teams from the same conference match up, the game usually tends to be closer than any talent discrepancy might lead you to believe. But a dominant historical presence reigned supreme as No. 7 Gonzaga (13-1,1-0) steamrolled Pepperdine (5-9, 0-1) 96-65 on Sunday, marking the 50th straight victory for the Bulldogs over the Waves as they inch closer to the NCAA record for most consecutive wins over another program.
“That’s just a crazy stat; I had no idea. My first couple years as a head coach, they ]Pepperdine] were our fiercest rival,” Mark Few said. “Thank God we’ve had a lot of great players and a lot of great teams.”
This version of a great GU team is built on staples of defense, controlling the paint, and scoring in transition, which were the keys for its 40-point rout, with Pepperdine offering little resistance to slow the Zags down. The Waves were never able to settle in and get into a rhythm, even on their home floor, and were caught playing catch-up for the entirety of the contest.
The Waves shot just 34% from the floor (19-of-56) and 26% from three (5-for-19) while not scoring a single point in transition. Pepperdine didn’t even convert its first field goal in the paint until the 2:18 mark in the first half when Javon Cooley made a layup, and were outscored 50-18 overall inside. The Waves run a flex offense, utilizing a variety of patterned screens and cuts to create misdirection and confuse the opposition. At times, the Zags had trouble with their defensive rotations and switching, but ultimately recovered on the sequences, as they collected seven blocks on the night.
Leading the charge in this department was 6-7 guard Tyon Grant-Foster, whose four blocks stand out more than his game-high 18 points. He also shot an efficient 6-for-8 from the field while draining both shots he took from beyond the arc. The final-year wing offers a different aspect to Gonzaga on both ends than the program has had over the years, and he flashed all of his skills in GU’s win.
“He (Grant-Foster) did a really nice job making up for some of our – whenever we had a breakdown, he came over, rotated over and made some really, really nice plays,” Few said. “I thought he did a really nice job on the offensive boards. He didn’t get statted for it, but he must have had 10 tip-outs tonight…he helped us in a variety of ways tonight.”
Grant-Foster was only credited for two rebounds but was an active deterrent defensively, as three of his blocks came on close-proximity shots, and he denied a three-point attempt as well. He says he used the seven-day break in between games to decompress and spend time with his family, as Grant-Foster continues to find ways to put himself in more advantageous situations on the court.
“I feel like I’m getting a lot better when it comes to shooting certain shots,” he said. “Not shooting one-dribble threes or driving at three people, as coach likes to say. He hates that.”
Coming off a 21-point performance in the team’s last game against Oregon, point guard Braeden Smith was re-inserted into the starting lineup for the first time since November 14 against Arizona State. Mario Saint-Supéry has gotten the nod during that span, but after he came down with the flu last week and was limited against the Ducks, Smith carried the momentum he was gaining during his stint coming off the bench.
Few has shown a propensity to play the hot hand this season, already deploying six different starter combinations to this point. And Smith made his head coach good on another adjustment to the starting five.
“I thought he was terrific again tonight. I thought he was terrific with his ball pressure…once again, he’s getting us to play with great pace,” Few said.
The 6-0 redshirt junior posted 15 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in the win. He was involved in the Bulldogs’ first four buckets, as they rattled off a 9-0 run to begin the game. Smith finished a layup on an aggressive drive late in the shot clock for the game’s opening points, then dished out three assists over the next four minutes. Shooting 6-for-8 from the field and draining both of his shots from deep, Smith looks as comfortable as ever with the ball in his hands.
“I’m playing pretty free as of late, put together a good couple games and just trying to continue to play free, play confident. Find my teammates, score when needed,” he said. Starting lineup is cool tonight, whatever I need to do, whatever my role is, I’m ready to do that at this point.”
Aside from the Bulldogs reaching an impressive achievement as a program that goes back decades, forward Graham Ike hit another personal milestone during the rout. Almost seven weeks after reaching 2,000 points at the collegiate level, Ike collected his 1,000th career rebound in the first half, as he tallied his third straight game with a double-double, posting 13 points and 10 rebounds.
True freshman Davis Fogle also checked in relatively early, as the Zags jumped out to a 22-point lead at one point in the first period, and he kept up his standout play even in a slightly more normal game script. Fogle finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 16 minutes, continuing to knock on the door for more impactful playing time.
Gonzaga will look for its 51st straight win over Pepperdine in a little under a month, but before that, the Bulldogs will wrap up a two-game road trip against San Diego on Tuesday, December 30, at 8:30 PM PT.
