Buzzer breakdown: Gonzaga makes another lineup change in 81-50 rout of Portland

Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 81-50 win over Portland on Thursday night at the Arena.

Ajayi out, Gregg in

Mark Few didn’t mince words when asked what he needed to see from Michael Ajayi coming out of a four-game stretch in which the transfer wing committed eight turnovers and scored only six points in 64 total minutes.

“Quit turning the ball over and throwing it in the stands,” Few said on Monday after Ajayi scored two points and turned it over four times against Pepperdine. “Start with that.”

A subsequent change to the starting lineup saw Ben Gregg replace Ajayi on Thursday, making his first start since an 88-80 win over Arizona State in Gonzaga’s home opener.

Gregg was solid all night for the Zags, scoring seven points on 2-of-4 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds and playing lockdown defense on Portland’s top scorer, Austin Rapp, who had six points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field.

As for Ajayi, the senior had another productive outing on the glass, coming down with 15 rebounds, but mostly struggled to impact the game on the offensive end, finishing 1 of 7 from the field with five points.

Three-point turnaround

Three-point shooting was a source of frustration during Gonzaga’s two-game Southern California game, and much of December with the Bulldogs struggling in losses to Connecticut and Kentucky.

After making 9 of 39 shots from behind the arc in games against UCLA and Pepperdine, Gonzaga turned things around on Thursday, finishing 11 of 24 from the 3-point line.

The perimeter shooting was balanced for Gonzaga, with six players making at least one 3. Nolan Hickman led the group with three makes on five attempts, Ryan Nembhard and Dusty Stromer each had two, and Graham Ike and Emmanuel Innocenti both added one.

Solid Arena crowd turns out for Zags’ charity game

Gonzaga’s last game at the Arena drew a sellout crowd, with 12,000 fans turning out to watch a sixth-ranked Bulldogs team play seventh-ranked Baylor on the opening night of the college basketball season.

With Gonzaga down to No. 19 in the AP poll, five-win Portland in town and students still on holiday break, there were predictably a few more empty seats when the Bulldogs returned to the Arena on Thursday.

The official attendance figure was reported at 9,022, falling well short of the number Gonzaga drew in its season opener and falling shy of the total from last year’s Arena Community Cancer Fund Classic against Pepperdine, which drew 12,015 fans.