Gonzaga spoils Washington State’s large home crowd, cruises to 84-63 victory on Palouse

PULLMAN – Perhaps with trepidation about wintry Inland Northwest road conditions, a handful of Washington State and Gonzaga fans with tickets to Wednesday’s rivalry game held off on actually making the trip to Beasley Coliseum.

WSU’s first announced sellout in 15 years fell more than 1,000 fans shy of the building’s listed capacity, and a number of the 10,219 fans occupying seats elected for an early exit – some making that call as early as halftime, once Gonzaga established a 22-point lead.

Gonzaga’s decisive first-half scoring runs zapped WSU’s energy early on, and the heavily-favored Zags maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half of a convincing 84-63 West Coast Conference victory.

“I think our guys looked dead tired a minute-and-a-half into the game, WSU coach David Riley said. “We stopped posting up, we stopped doing a few things and I think there was some adrenaline that wore off.”

Gonzaga powered forward, seemingly uncovering new sources of energy and inspiration with every possession.

Mark Few’s bench was responsible for many of the early jolts.

Braden Huff subbed in with 13 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the first half, at a point when the Cougars still held an 11-10 lead. The sophomore forward gave Gonzaga instant offense, converting four straight looks at the basket to score all nine of his team’s points as the Zags built a 20-12 lead.

Dusty Stromer helped another key Gonzaga scoring run just minutes later, knocking down two 3-pointers in a 42-second span to make it 26-19 after WSU trimmed the deficit to two possessions.

Michael Ajayi provided quality bench minutes, scoring 12 points for his fourth straight game in double figures. Ajayi finished 4 of 6 from the field, 4 of 4 from the free throw line and also pulled down five rebounds.

Gonzaga’s reserves were collectively outscoring the starters for a long stretch in the first half and finished with a 30-17 advantage over WSU’s bench.

“It was much-needed man,” Zags guard Nolan Hickman said of the bench production. “Even those numbers they’re putting up. Dusty coming in hitting some big 3’s, that was much-needed just to get us started. B-Huff, incredibly numbers, but he’s been doing that every game so it’s no surprise.”

Hickman paced the Cougars with 23 points, reaching 20 for just the second time in WCC play while making 8 of 14 shots from the field and 4 of 5 from the 3-point line.

Graham Ike supplied 17 points and 13 rebounds for Gonzaga, finishing 5 of 9 from the field and 7 of 7 from the free throw line.

“It was huge, because we knew last time we played them at home they got us on the boards,” Ike said. “It was a big emphasis to clean the boards tonight and I’m just glad we could do that.”

Gonzaga’s defense was strong for an eighth consecutive game, dating back to the team’s 103-99 loss to Santa Clara on Jan. 18.

The Zags  forced a turnover-prone Cougars team into 31 turnovers in two matchups this season, with 15 of those coming on Wednesday. Gonzaga also hit on a few of its other defensive keys in the matchup, limiting leading scorer Nate Calmese to five points on 2 of 13 from the field and 1 of 7 from the 3-point line.

The Cougars shot 40% from the field, but made only 33% of their attempts in the first half while the Zags established a 50-28 lead. Eastern Washington transfer LeJuan Watts led WSU with 19 points and five assists, but the guard was also responsible for six turnovers.

“I think we just got too worried on the actions,” WSU’s LeJuan Watts said of the team’s offensive miscues. “I think I’ve just got to get off the ball and my turnovers really affected the game.”

WSU still owns a 98-54 lead in the all-time rivalry series, but Gonzaga has won nine of the last 10 meetings and seven consecutive. The Zags’ two victories this season have come by a combined margin of 34 points.

Gonzaga (21-7, 12-3) moves on to Saturday’s Senior Night matchup against Saint Mary’s (23-4, 12-1) at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.