SAN FRANCISCO, Ca. — The 11th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs took care of business in the Bay on Wednesday, defeating the San Francisco Dons 80-59 to improve to 26-2 on the season and 14-1 in the West Coast Conference.
Graham Ike led the way for Gonzaga with 22 points and 5 rebounds, while the Bulldogs’ defense made the Chase Center feel like anything but home for the Dons. San Francisco turned the ball over 13 times, the Zags turning those into 17 points.
Tyrone Riley IV led USF with 16 points in the losing effort.
The start of the game was sluggish on offense with the Bulldogs and Dons combining for just 24 points in the first ten minutes of the first half. Continuing a recent trend of dominance, Ike scored 13 points in the first half; no one else on either team scoring in double figures before the halftime whistle.
San Francisco struggled against a swarming Gonzaga defense. In the first 20 minutes, the Dons turned it over nine times compared to just two giveaways by the Zags. USF also struggled shooting the ball, hitting on just 36 percent of their looks in the first half and going 1-11 from three-point range.
Gonzaga took an eight point lead early, but San Francisco would rip off an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take their first lead, 18-17, on a three pointer from Riley IV with eight and a half minutes remaining.
The burst from USF seemed to wake up the Zags as they responded after a Mark Few timeout. After pulling down an offensive rebound for a two-point putback, Emmanuel Innocenti would steal an errant pass and finish with a slam dunk to put Gonzaga back in front by one. That was part of a larger 13-2 run by Gonzaga that put them on top by multiple possessions.
The Zags would not trail for the rest of the game.
Freshman Davis Fogle continued a streak of good play, capitalizing the end of the first half with a slam-dunk through contact, converting the three point play to put the Bulldogs up 14, their largest lead of the first half.
In the second half, a collective effort by the Zags stretched the lead to as many as 24, while San Francisco failed to get within single digits. Mario Saint-Supéry, who made his first start in WCC play and first start since December 21st at Oregon, put together a well-rounded game with 14 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. Braden Smith, who was not in the starting lineup for the first time since that game against Oregon, saw the floor for just two minutes total.
Innocenti would finish with 12 points, and Jalen Warley would add 11 for the Zags.
The win secures the Zags a season sweep over San Francisco, and ensures that they will be atop the WCC standings by the end of the weekend. Next up, No. 11 Gonzaga returns home to face Pacific (17-12, 8-8 WCC) on Saturday. The game will be televised on NonStop Local KHQ and can be streamed on SWXLocalSports.com