Gonzaga’s short-handed frontcourt still puts big hurt on San Diego
Graham Ike and Braden Huff playing simultaneously doesn’t happen too often.
Ike making one field goal, 13 free throws and snatching a career-best 19 rebounds hadn’t happened until Wednesday.
“Not the field goal, no,” said Ike, scanning the stat sheet. “The rebounding, yeah.”
Ben Gregg logging 35 minutes, including several spent guarding former Gonzaga teammate Colby Brooks in a game, doesn’t happen often.
Those things happened because GU was dealing with the absence of forwards Michael Ajayi and Jun Seok Yeo, both sidelined with the flu, and a few of their teammates were far from 100% during an up-and-down 93-80 victory over San Diego at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
The 18th-ranked Zags hope it’s just a one-time situation with Saturday’s West Coast Conference showdown against Washington State next on their schedule.
“We’ve got the flu running through us,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Several guys played that weren’t feeling great.”
Asked if the team has been dealing with it for a few weeks, Few said, “Not the actual flu. This one seems to be stronger, knocking some guys down.”
Time will tell if Ajayi and Yeo will be available Saturday, Few added.
The Zags adjusted against the Toreros and their frontcourt continued to dominate, despite being reduced to a three-man rotation instead of four with Ajayi. Seven-foot freshman center Ismaila Diagne participated in warm-ups and suited up Wednesday but didn’t play. He’s been sidelined for about five weeks with a sprained MCL and appears to be close to seeing court time.
Gregg, Ike and Huff combined for 49 points on 15-of-24 shooting, 26 boards, two assists and just two turnovers in roughly 80 minutes.
Ike and Huff typically divide minutes, much like Gregg and Ajayi at the ‘4,’ but they shared the court for stretches against USD.
“It just brings another dynamic, the post scoring and just seeing the game and feel a different way,” said Ike, who entered Wednesday averaging 20 minutes with Huff at 17.9. “We got a lot of reps in the summer so we’re comfortable playing with each other. It’s something we’ve been talking about a little bit.”
Gregg’s 35-minute shift was his longest of the season by six minutes. The 6-10 senior had nine games with at least 30 minutes last season, but only three above 35, including a career-high 38 against Saint Mary’s.
“When I found out (Ajayi and Yeo) were out, I told them to get the defibrillator ready because I haven’t played that much in a while,” Gregg said. “It’s tough not having Mike out there, just the energy he brings on both ends of the floor.”
Gregg made 9 of 12 field-goal attempts, including 3 of 3 on 3-pointers – his first made 3s since going 3 of 7 against Bucknell on Dec. 21. Gregg’s only misses were 2-pointers swatted by the Toreros.
Gregg had made at least 50% of his shots in six of the last seven games and his 23-point night against USD hiked his scoring average to 10.1, one of five Zags averaging double digits.
“Finally hit a 3-pointer,” he said. “That was nice to see a couple go down.”
One shot Gregg wasn’t as happy to see go down was when he was defending former Gonzaga walk-on Brooks, who made his first start of the season for San Diego. Brooks finished with four points and three rebounds in 14 minutes.
“I just told him ‘good shot,’ ” Gregg said. “It wasn’t going to happen again, though. I knew he was going to get to his left hand.
“I love that kid, man. He was just such a positive energy when he was around here. Definitely miss his spirit and energy. I’m glad he’s able to get some valuable minutes and contribute for them.”