Difference makers: Husky big man Franck Kepnang disrupts Gonzaga offense

Nolan Hickman

No shocker that the junior guard delivered one of the best games of the season in his return home to Seattle. Hickman saw his first four shots fall Saturday night, including a pair of 3-pointers, and was the first Gonzaga player in double figures, scoring 15 points in the first half. Hickman had just two more points in the second half to finish with 17 (shooting 7 of 13 from the field and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line). Hickman, who hadn’t played a game in his hometown since his freshman season against Alabama at Climate Pledge Arena, gets two trips to Seattle over six days with the Bulldogs returning on Friday to play Connecticut in the Continental Tire Seattle Tip-Off.

Franck Kepnang

The 6-foot-11 senior and former Oregon center was a high-impact player for the Huskies on both ends. Kepnang was able to score on a variety of dunks, tip-ins and layups and was a nuisance for the Zags on defense, blocking shots and altering others with his length and athleticism in the paint. Four days after a 16-point, 11-rebound effort against Montana State, Kepnang scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line. The Cameroon native swatted a career-high five shots, hauled down seven rebounds and had a steal.

Turning point

The Zags won’t have many offensive stretches this season as rough as the 6-minute scoring drought they endured late in the second half against the Huskies. After Anton Watson’s free throws at the 7:12 mark, the Zags didn’t score again until Graham Ike’s layup with 1 minute left. GU went longer without making a field goal. The Zags took a 63-57 lead when Ike hit a jumper with 8:22 left, but that was GU’s only field goal until Ike’s layup to cut the Zags’ deficit to 74-72.