Analysis: No. 1 Gonzaga leans on defense, toughness to pull away from Pacific, 76-58

No. 1 Gonzaga has made fluid offense and easy wins look almost routine this season, but there was nothing simple about Thursday night’s 76-58 road victory over Pacific.

The final margin didn’t accurately portray how the majority of the game unfolded at the Spanos Center in Stockton, California. It did underscore the fact that the Bulldogs can win without their ‘A’ or even ‘B’ game. And they can do it with defense leading the way.

The Zags, outplayed and out-toughed in the opening half, flipped the script in the closing half and dug out a hard-fought victory over an opponent they beat by 46 points just 12 days ago in Spokane.

Gonzaga (18-0, 9-0 West Coast Conference) dominated the final 10 minutes, extending the nation’s longest active winning streak to 22. The Zags have won 51 of their past 52 West Coast Conference road games, but this one was work from start to finish.

“We had to dig deep and find some toughness because we didn’t have it in first half,” GU head coach Mark Few said. “They took the fight to us pretty much the whole first half.

“I thought the whole second half we played good defensively, and with great effort. When we got the right guys in there, we started rebounding the ball better. Give credit to (our) smaller lineup, they fought at the end. Defense definitely carried us until we could find some offense toward the end.”

Pacific (5-5, 2-4) had no intention of watching a rerun in the rematch. The Tigers led at halftime – they trailed by 31 at the break in the first meeting – and were still on top by one with 12:15 remaining. Gonzaga had only trailed in the second half of one other game – West Virginia – on Dec. 2.

The Zags response? Lock-down defense, their best offensive stretch and a decisive run that finally gave them some breathing room.

Corey Kispert had just given Gonzaga the lead, 49-47, with back-to-back 3-pointers. He drew a foul on the first 3-pointer and still somehow found a way to bury an off-balance 23-footer.

Pacific appeared to tie it up on Jordan Bell’s driving layup, but Bell was whistled for a charging foul and seconds later head coach Damon Stoudamire was hit with a technical foul protesting the call. Bell took a seat on the bench with his fourth foul and Kispert made both free throws.

The Tigers cut it to 51-50, but the Zags took off with a 19-4 burst. Drew Timme, who scored 21 points and drew the charging foul on Bell, scored inside and Jalen Suggs followed with a layup. Timme added six more points, Aaron Cook had four and Suggs connected on a free throw and a jumper as the Zags opened up a 70-54 lead.

“We went out and attacked them. The first half, we were letting them push us around and not really fighting back,” said Suggs, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. “Coach (Few) came in (at half) and told us, ‘We’re in a dogfight now, we gave them life. Now we have to go out in the second half and execute and win the game.’ ”

Cook was a key contributor on Gonzaga’s smaller lineup. He had another strong effort off the bench, filling in when Kispert picked up his fourth foul just inside the 10-minute mark.

Gonzaga endured its lowest scoring half of the season with 31 first-half points and trailed at the break for the first time since West Virginia (39-34).

GU fell behind 9-3 after another slow start. The Zags pulled in front with eight unanswered points, but it didn’t last. They missed their next four shots and committed three turnovers to fall behind 15-11.

Suggs scored eight points in the next 3:45 to put Gonzaga on top 25-23, but the Tigers battled back to take a 32-31 lead at the half. Pacific won the rebounding battle in the first half and most of the scraps for 50-50 balls.

“It’s really hard when everybody around them and nationally thinks you’re going to breeze through,” Few said. “It’s not reality. You get in league and it’s hard. Teams are going to try different things, and they mucked it up a little bit. We probably didn’t handle that well in the first half.”

The Zags were more physical in the second half at both ends of the floor.

They were smoother on offense, shooting nearly 58 percent. They ended up winning the glass 29-28, and held Pacific to 38 percent from the floor.