For awhile in the first half, Gonzaga’s bench was hanging close to the starters in the scoring column and helped the Zags break open a tight game through the first 12 minutes.
Jalen Warley, Mario Saint-Supery, Steele Venters and Adam Miller, who was expected to start but an assistant coach accidentally penciled in Tyon Grant-Foster’s name in the scorebook, provided a major spark in Gonzaga’s season-opening 98-43 victory Monday over Texas Southern.
The reserves tallied GU’s last seven points of the half as the team’s lead grew to 19 at the break. The bench crew accounted for 19 of GU’s 46 first-half points. GU reserves finished with 48 of the team’s 98 points.
“They gave us a huge jump especially after that first media (time out),” senior forward Graham Ike said. “We got off slow. Kudos to everybody for sticking with it, staying locked in on the game plan and just bringing that energy all night.”
A lot of that juice was supplied by non-starters. Miller hit the Zags’ first 3-pointer of the season and added a putback of his own miss to give GU a 13-10 lead. Miller, a transfer guard from Arizona State, finished with 13 points and was the only Zag to make more than one 3-pointer. He buried 3 of 5 from distance.
Jalen Warley’s versatility was on full display. The 6-foot-7 transfer from Virginia stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, four boards, four steals and three assists.
“I love it when he’s on that court,” said Ike, glancing at Warley’s stat line. “He just gives us great energy and effort. As you saw, a team-high in steals (four), huge. Still sharing the rock with three assists and playing hard. Very efficient 3 of 4 from the field, still grabbing boards.
“He affects the game even off the stat sheet as well. He’s an awesome player to play with. He’s huge for us.”
Venters, in his first game action since March, 2023, in his final season at Eastern Washington, chipped in six points.
Freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery added eight points, three assists and two rebounds. Saint-Supery, like Miller and Warley, provided big first-half minutes. He hit one 3-pointer and committed just one turnover in 19 minutes in relief of starting point guard Braeden Smith.
“I thought he got in and helped us early, especially (when) B-Smith’s first run wasn’t great,” head coach Mark Few said. “Mario just plays with a good intensity, kind of a zeal and it’s kind of infectious.
“He made some really nice reads, all the 3s he took looked great coming off his hands and obviously are the ones we want him to take.”
Saint-Supery, a native of Spain who played in one of Europe’s top leagues, said the collegiate game is “different” than what he’s used to, “but they’re helping me adapt to the game as fast as possible and they make everything easier to me.”
Asked if he’s played with a frontcourt tandem like Ike and Braden Huff, the 6-3 guard said, “I haven’t played with two bigs like this. I think it’s so easy to play with them because it’s just play and pass to them and each time it’s an assist. It’s great to play with people like that.”
“Thanks, man,” said Ike, seated next to Saint-Supery at the interview table.