‘Just learning my role with this new team’: Gonzaga’s Ben Gregg caps strong three-game stretch in the Bahamas
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Ryan Nembhard isn’t the only Zag to set personal bests in Gonzaga’s past two games.
Senior forward Ben Gregg scored a season-high 13 points in Thursday’s rout over Indiana. He went one better Friday, scoring a career-high 24 points in a 90-65 blowout over Davidson in the fifth/sixth-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Gregg averaged six points through the season’s first five games, but games of nine, 13 and 24 in the Bahamas elevated his average to 9.5 points.
“It’s been a pretty rough preseason for me,” said Gregg, whose previous career high was 22 points, set against San Diego in January. “I haven’t been playing like I wanted to, so it’s nice to come out here and perform a little better. Just being more confident, just learning my role with this new team. It took a little longer than I wanted to but I think we’re all starting to get the hang of it now.”
Gregg scored half of Gonzaga’s 48 bench points. Davidson’s subs finished with 27. Gregg, Braden Huff and Dusty Stromer combined to make 19 of 26 field-goal attempts, including 3 of 4 3-pointers.
“That’s huge,” said Ryan Nembhard, who handed out 14 assists, one day after setting a career high with 13 against Indiana. “That’s a big part of our team. We have so much trust in guys coming in off the bench. They come in and do great things for us every time. Benny was huge. He’s just that energy guy. Shots are starting to fall for him.”
Gregg misfired on his first nine 3-point attempts of the season before connecting in the second half against Indiana to give the Zags a 54-33 lead.
“Relief like no other,” Gregg said of seeing his first 3 drop. “Man, I don’t know what’s been going on. I’m going to keep shooting them until it goes in and it finally did.
“It was a big relief. Now I’m hoping they keep on dropping. The dam finally broke.”
Gregg connected on 37.7% of his 3-point attempts each of the previous two seasons.
He started the first two games this year but came off the bench in the last five with Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi in the first five. The 6-foot-10 Gregg has handled both roles, including last season when he started the final 20 games, coinciding with the Zags turning their season around.
Gregg added another 3-pointer against Davidson, but he and the Zags did most of their damage in the lane.
He finished 8 of 10 from the field. He missed one 3-point attempt and one shot inside the arc, but he quickly followed up the latter with a putback basket. He made all seven of his free throws. Gregg added eight rebounds, two steals, two assists and zero turnovers in 23 minutes, 20 seconds on the court.
“Obviously, he’s had two really active, forceful games down here,” head coach Mark Few said.