‘Took a Village’: Gonzaga Beats Santa Clara 94-86 to Reclaim First Place in WCC

Things haven’t been as smooth offensively for the Gonzaga Bulldogs (25-2, 13-1) since Braden Huff went down with a knee injury a month ago. The operation has gone stagnant more frequently, which has led to declining defensive play, fewer of the team’s three-point attempts have been falling, and outside of the Zags’ leading scorer, Graham Ike, there has been a lack of consistent production from everyone else. The overall drop-off has led to much tighter wins, not including a devastating loss to Portland last Thursday.

But in GU’s biggest game of the season on the road against Santa Clara (22-6, 13-2), several members of the supporting cast stepped up to the challenge to overcome the Broncos 94-86, snapping their nine-game winning streak and handing them their first home loss of the season to reclaim first place in the WCC.