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# Sluggish Start Remedied by Bench as Gonzaga Trounces Texas Southern in Season Opener
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/sluggish-start-remedied-bench-gonzaga-bulldogs-trounces-texas-southern/
- Published: 2025-11-04T16:13:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:17:27.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Gonzaga, Zags, Bulldogs, Mark Few, Graham Ike, Jalen Warley, Braden Huff, Mario Saint-Supéry, Tyon Grant-Foster, Adam Miller, Davis Fogle

By the end of the first game of the 2025-26 regular season for Gonzaga men’s basketball (1-0), the Zags more than doubled Texas Southern with a final score of 98-43\. But an underwhelming start offensively for the Bulldogs left the team needing a spark to get in a rhythm, and it came from bench pieces that will be counted on throughout the season. 

Gonzaga appeared to emphasize getting the ball to its final-year forward, Graham Ike, in the early going, and for good reason. Ike has been named to numerous award watch lists in the last several weeks, in addition to being a preseason All-WCC selection for the third consecutive season. But Texas Southern was initially prepped for Ike, limiting him to a 0-for-5 start from the floor, with all shot attempts in close proximity to the basket. 

When an entry pass was made to Ike, he was met with physicality from Tigers’ big Jordan Gorecki before another defender came to double, forcing an errant shot or a pass back out to the perimeter. Ike did eventually get going later on in the game, finishing with a 13-point, 11-rebound double. But as a team, the Zags started off 4-for-16 from the field, leading to TSU keeping pace as late as midway through the first half. The Bulldogs needed to create easier looks on offense, and they broke through by creating turnovers on defense.

Five Zags finished with double figures in scoring, as redshirt junior Braden Huff totaled an efficient 14 points, but the player with the most impact wasn’t in that group. Senior guard Jalen Warley checked in for Gonzaga and provided the intensity needed on both ends to get things clicking on all cylinders. He filled up the stat sheet, finishing with eight points, three assists, and logging four rebounds and steals apiece. Warley was simply a pest as an on-ball defender in his 18 minutes, with his impact being nothing new for his head coach.

“Yeah, that's kind of how Jalen has been doing. He does it in practice. He did it in our exhibitions, you know, he did it in, I think, Kraziness. That's just kind of what he does,” Mark Few said. “It's what he brings. He brings great energy, doesn't take a possession off, and then definitely is somebody that's trying to make a play on that defensive end. Very versatile, too.”

As Ike put it, he “loves when JayWar’s on that court.” 

Warley led all players with a 33 +/- and seems as composed in his role as anyone on the team. In the Zags opener, backup big Ismaila Diagne didn’t check into the game until there were about 10 minutes to go in the contest. This deployment led to more time for Warley to play the four, as his length and athleticism allow him to size up defensively. The same ‘guard-up’ principle can be applied to Tyon Grant-Foster, who got an unexpected start Monday after a miscue with the lineup cards.

In his 37th season as a head coach, Few says a wrong name was written into the starting lineups by one of his assistant coaches, inserting Grant-Foster as a starter instead of the intended Adam Miller. With the situation of Grant-Foster not getting his eligibility sorted out until last week, he still has plenty of catching up to do in the system, so starting him isn’t exactly ideal. But the 25-year-old transfer had 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, knocking down all five of his free throw attempts while grabbing five boards. So he seemed to handle the scenario just fine.

“I found out when everybody found out,” he said. “….So I just felt like I just took what the team gave me and relied on my teammates.”

Powered by the trio of Warley, Grant-Foster, and Innocenti, the Zags limited the Tigers to 25 percent from the field and 3-of-21 shooting on threes. Texas Southern also scored just 16 points in the final 20 minutes, and no TSU player finished with more than eight points. It’s an identity that the Bulldogs will pride themselves on this year, being relentless defensively.

“I think greatness can be done on that end,” Ike said. “That's what we want to hang our hat on, even when we're not scoring the ball, you know, we want to get stops at all times. I think we could just defend at a high level when everybody's locked in, and we usually are. We just want to stay on that.”

Even though he wasn’t supposed to come off the bench, Miller still provided exceptional value as a non-starter. He added 13 points as she shot 5-of-8 from the floor, and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Miller is one of a handful of shooters on this year’s Zags squad, so his ability to shoot consistently from deep will bode well for Gonzaga. Outside of Miller, GU shot just 4-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Three of those misses came from point guard Braeden Smith, who was another starter who had a slow beginning to the game. It opened the door for Mario Saint-Supéry to be called upon from the bench, and he did an admirable job. He wasn’t efficient (2-for-8 from the field) in his 19 minutes, but his aggressiveness helped open things up for the Bulldogs.

“I thought he got in and helped us early… B Smith had his first run, wasn't great. And Mario got in there, he just plays with a good intensity and kind of a zeal, but it kind of is infectious. But I thought he made some really nice reads,” Few said.

After wrapping up with the Spain national team in FIBA Eurobasket at the start of September, Saint-Supéry had less time to acclimate to Gonzaga and a different style of basketball and culture than what he is used to overseas.

“It's different. It's different to Europe,” he said. “I think they’re helping me to adapt to the game as fast as possible. And they make everything easier to me, I'm very grateful for that.”

The player who is hammering the door for more minutes is true freshman Davis Fogle, who subbed in along with Diagne in garbage time. He made an even stronger case against the Tigers, knocking down five of his eight shots, including a three-pointer, while collecting five rebounds. Fogle is currently blocked by the impactful players in the victory, like Warley and Grant-Foster, creating a difficult situation for both coach and player.

“We're trying. He's doing a great job. But, you know, we've had the talk with him. He just has to share the position with a lot of other older guys,” Few said. “So, you know, just kind of the way it's going. We’ll keep getting him minutes and keep developing him, and we're not afraid to throw him into, you know, these games at any time. But it's just hard…not a whole lot of separation at that position right now.

As Few stated, with the way the more experienced wings are playing right now, it’s hard to implement a beneficial way for Fogle to get valuable minutes. In Gonzaga’s next game versus Oklahoma on Saturday, November 8, at Spokane Arena, the rotation should be monitored to see how it shifts, if at all, against tougher competition. Regardless, the Zags’ wing depth is a good problem to have as they can deploy players based on advantageous matchups depending on the opponent.