Gonzaga responds after sluggish opening half, pulls away from Northern Illinois for 88-67 win

Following a sleepy first half, punctuated when Gonzaga was unable to get a shot off before the shot clock expired on its final possession, the Zags huddled in the locker room.

Gonzaga led by six, but it had frittered away a 12-point lead in the closing minutes. The Zags’ defense lost track of Northern Illinois guard Keshawn Williams and they watched the 30-point underdogs from the Mid-American Conference track down the majority of loose balls.

“It was just like, really, we’re really doing this?” senior forward Drew Timme said of the halftime discussion. “It was just immature and the wrong approach and we’re better than that. It’s like when your parents get mad at you but they’re not mad. They’re disappointed and it just hurts a little more.”

The Zags received the message loud and clear, particularly reserves Ben Gregg, Malachi Smith and Hunter Sallis, who all reached double figures to supplement Timme’s 26-point effort in No. 15 Gonzaga’s 88-67 victory Monday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

It wasn’t the ideal way to go into Saturday’s showdown versus No. 4 Alabama in Birmingham, but the Zags at least put together 20 solid minutes to pull away from the Huskies.

“We have to hold ourselves to a standard no matter who we play,” Timme said. “I thought we responded, but it shouldn’t have gotten to that (point). It’s something we better correct because this performance will not fly against Alabama.”

Timme scored 16 points and added a pair of assists in the first half, but no other Zag had more than five points. The four other starters combined for combined for just seven points. Julian Strawther, who started feeling ill Sunday night, was limited to 17-plus minutes.

The atmosphere was decidedly different than Friday’s win over Washington in front of packed student section. Students filled about half of their allotted seats at tip off at the outset of Finals Week.

Gonzaga (8-3) needed a pick-me-up in terms of energy and production and found it with Gregg, Smith and Sallis.

Gregg posted career highs in points (18) and rebounds (7) in 17 minutes. The sophomore forward hit 6 of 11 shots, 5 of 5 at the foul line and added three steals.

Smith connected on 4 of 6 3-pointers while the rest of the team was just 2 of 14 behind the arc. The senior guard racked up 14 points, six boards and three assists.

Sallis logged a team-high and career-high 30-plus minutes and added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, two rebounds and two assists.

“He made a huge difference,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of Gregg. “The three guys that came off the bench were huge. They really saved us and that’s what we need. We talked earlier before the game about, ‘Hey, you guys coming off the bench, you have to change the dynamic.’ All three did a really good job.”

Gonzaga threatened to break it open several times early in the second half before stitching together a 13-1 burst that generated a 71-50 lead with 8:33 left. Smith nailed a pair of 3-pointers The final three points came from Gregg, who had a dunk attempt blocked from behind but eventually got the ball back and scored inside while being fouled.

The Zags shot 50% from the field in the second half and hit 5 of 11 3-pointers while putting up 52 points.

“It was just one of those games,” Few said. “Northern Illinois competed really well and for a while they were beating us to some 50-50 (balls) and making plays. Fortunately in the second half, we kind of settled down, took great care of the ball and were really efficient on the offensive end.”

Gonzaga had a season-low six turnovers. The Zags’ bench outscored NIU’s 29-2 in the second half and 42-6 overall.

Williams led Northern Illinois (3-7) with 25 points and forward Anthony Crump, who came in averaging 3.4 points, scored a career-high 20.

“I think we were a little immature,” Timme said. “In the big-time games we’ve shown a lot of maturity, whether it was the Baylor game or the Kentucky game. We’ve been progressing and just building on stuff and we kind of took a step back. But look, you can’t be perfect every game.

“We’re young and we’re figuring things out. It’s going to be a rollercoaster – nothing wrong with going down and then going back up.”