‘Not Good Enough’: Mark Few Frustrated as Gonzaga Staves Off San Diego in 99-93 Win
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – After leading by as much as 21 points with seven minutes to go, No. 7 Gonzaga (14-1, 2-0) outlasted a sudden rally from San Diego (6-8, 1-1) down the stretch to avoid an utter collapse on the road and secure a 99-93 win.
On the surface, it was clear what nearly led to a terrible loss for the Zags. They tied their season-high in turnovers with 15. Star forward Graham Ike not only got into foul trouble but also couldn’t keep his composure, picking up a technical foul while on the bench. Plus, the Bulldogs shot a putrid 54.2% from the free-throw line on 24 attempts.
It was far from their best performance of the season. In fact, the six points GU won by was its smallest margin through 15 games. Walking out of Jenny Craig Pavilion with the victory was the main goal, but Gonzaga head coach Mark Few made sure to let his team know that their play to finish the game was not up to the program’s standard.
“That’s not good enough,” Few said. “The goal is to win, obviously, so I congratulated them for that. But the way we handled that last four minutes just isn’t gonna be good enough to A, win this league, or B, advance where we want to advance in the tournament at the end of the year.”
The Bulldogs held strong defensively in the half-court for most of the game, but where they slipped near the end of the contest was when the Toreros would get out on in the fast break. Add in those aforementioned missed free throws, preventable errors like travels and inbounding issues, and suddenly, San Diego had life.
The Toreros initially cut the deficit to eight points, but after a couple of Mario Saint-Supéry triples and back-to-back layups by Jalen Warley – one of them being an and-one – the Zags pushed their lead back up to 16 with 96 seconds to go.
Then an avalanche of costly mistakes occurred.
After six missed free throws, two turnovers, and turnstile-like defense from GU when the Toreros pushed the ball up the court, the game ended with San Diego on a 13-3 run.
“A lot of it was in transition, and then just some really bonehead plays by everybody, just across the board,” Few said. “Then all of a sudden you’ve got a ballgame.”
For much of the game, it appeared that the Zags had firm control of the tempo and dictated what occurred. There were some out-of-control drives by the guards early, but they were outweighed by San Diego’s shot selection, specifically from beyond the arc. The Toreros took numerous threes early in the shot clock, with several being contested and a sizable distance behind the three-point line. When they did get a shot to fall, the Bulldogs answered quickly, whether that be via a high-percentage look from deep or strong, aggressive finishes on drives
The faces of these efficient takes in the paint were their two wings, Warley and Tyon Grant-Foster, who were Gonzaga’s two highest scorers.
Warley posted a double-double, tallying 22 points and 14 rebounds. He also had five assists and three steals while shooting 9-for-14 from the floor. It was his best game as a Bulldog, by far, and he stepped up in an avenue that was emphasized regarding getting to the cup and converting through contact.
With the depth the Zags possess, they figure almost everyone will have their chance to lead the team in scoring at some point this season, and against San Diego, it was Warley’s turn.
“Every dog’s gonna have their night,’ Warley said in an ESPN+ postgame interview. “That’s kind of what we’ve been preaching in the locker room.”
Grant-Foster added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting with five boards. He and Warley share a similar skillset of defensive-minded wings who crash the boards and opt for downhill scoring on the offensive end.
“[Tyon]’s definitely been like an X-factor for us. Especially, bringing that energy off the bench,” Warley said. “We feel like, especially me and him, try to challenge each other to continue go to the glass and continue to be in attack mode. So I’m really proud of him, and I feel like the work’s just continuing to show.”
Aside from the game ending in such close fashion, the team needed others to step up with Ike playing fewer minutes. The graduate student picked up four personal fouls but drew more attention than he and Few would like during the first half, aside from putting the ball in the basket.
Ike got into it with USD’s Vuk Boskovic, beginning with some back-and-forth chatter between the two. Then, Boskovic drew a foul on Ike inside, gave the Zags’ big some choice words, and was handed a technical foul by the officials. The chippiness could’ve ended there, as Few attempted to calm Ike down in between the free-throw frenzy, but it didn’t.
On the other end, Ike, matched up with Boskovic, called for the ball on the block and told his teammates to clear out before extending his arm and earning an offensive foul. Few removed his player from the game but, clearly frustrated, Ike threw a water bottle to the floor on the bench, and liquid splashed onto the court. Referees issued him a technical as well, with Few growing agitated with the ongoing sequence.
Ike didn’t start the second half, only played 23 minutes, and still almost had another double-double, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds. The situation didn’t pick up steam after the game’s intermission, but with him being such a significant component for the Bulldogs, Ike being taken out of a game mentally is something the team simply cannot have.
“It’s just unacceptable. It’s really, really hurting the team,” Few said. “He’s a great player, but that behavior’s just really hurting the team.”
Gonzaga has high expectations, but as San Diego made clear in this game, lapses of focus at any point, in any situation, can cost you. The Bulldogs will head back to Spokane to face Seattle U (12-3, 1-1) on Friday, January 2, at 6 PM PT.
