SPOKANE — More times than not this season, Gonzaga’s been able to bank on consistent scoring production from forward Graham Ike and quality distribution from point guard Ryan Nembhard.
Lately, GU coach Mark Few has been more concerned about what he’ll get on a night-to-night basis from the six rotation players who haven’t appeared on national watch lists or All-America projections.
Three double-doubles and five double-digit scorers on the final stat sheet may have eased a number of Few’s concerns on Thursday during a pivotal matchup between Gonzaga and the team sitting a half-game above the Zags in the West Coast Conference standings.
For every post move from Ike or assist from Nembhard, there was a key rebound from Michael Ajayi, a quick cut from Ben Gregg or a defensive stand from Emmanuel Innocenti.
Not all of it showed up on the box score, but it ultimately allowed Gonzaga to pull away during one of its more impressive halves of the season and beat San Francisco 88-77 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
“It wasn’t perfect, but like we’ve talked about here, everybody kind of delivered in their own way which was good,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We weren’t quite as Graham or Ryan dependent tonight.”
Speaking of concerns eased, Gonzaga took over sole possession of second place in the WCC standings with Thursday’s result, putting the Bulldogs in a better position to earn a bye to the semifinals of the upcoming conference tournament. GU is still in the race for a share of the regular-season WCC title, two games behind Saint Mary’s with one game against the Gaels remaining next Saturday in Spokane.
Ike and Nembhard orchestrated the show most of the night, accounting for two of Gonzaga’s three double-doubles.
Ike was steady down low, scoring 18 points in a game that saw the Bulldogs pile up 52 points in the paint. The senior had his first double-double since Jan. 8 against San Diego, and fifth of the season, hauling down 13 rebounds.
Five days removed from setting his own single-season school assists record, Nembhard dialed up 12 more against San Francisco and looked for his shot more than usual, chipping in 18 points on 8 of 15 from the field and 2 of 4 from the 3-point line.
Ajayi headlined a deep group of rotation players who contributed to Gonzaga’s 20th victory of the year, scoring 12 points to go with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year.
Ajayi converted a tip-in at the buzzer to close the first half, tying the score at 38-38. Gonzaga never trailed after that, leading by as many as 13 points in its 31st consecutive victory against USF and 36th straight against the Dons in Spokane.
Gonzaga’s advantage down low was reflected in multiple stat sheet columns on a night the Zags finished plus-22 in paint points and plus-13 in total rebounds.
“We were really aggressive on the boards, just trying to find the rebounds and trying to give all of our effort on the glass,” Ajayi said. “I feel like when you try to rebound, it gives us another opportunity to score.”
Gregg, who’d scored 16 combined points in GU’s last four games, had 11 on Thursday for his first double-digit scoring effort since posting 24 in a Jan. 25 victory at Portland.
Braden Huff was the fifth Gonzaga player in double figures, adding 12 points in nine minutes off the bench while shooting 5 of 7 from the field. It was Huff’s third consecutive game scoring in double figures.
Khalif Battle (9), Nolan Hickman (5) and Innocenti (3) combined for another 17 Gonzaga points. Innocenti’s only field goal was a momentum-turning 3-pointer in the first half that trimmed a five-point USF lead to two and Battle delivered six free throws inside the final six minutes, helping GU stem the tide after the Dons made it a two-possession game.
The Zags got at least three points from every player with the exception of sophomore guard Dusty Stromer.
“I thought everyone that got in that game contributed,” Few said. “Even Dusty got in there and that one (3-pointer) kind of popcorned in and out. But he made some really nice plays on both ends of the floor. Huff got in there during that stretch in the second half and really delivered. That’s kind of when we got a little bit of separation.”
USF led for all but 2 minutes, 56 seconds in the first half, holding Gonzaga scoreless all the way up to the first media timeout and stretching the lead out to seven points.
The Dons were paced by WCC scoring leader Malik Thomas, who had 26 points on 7 of 16 from the field, 4 of 8 from the 3-point line and 8 of 10 from the free throw line. Marcus Williams had eight points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Dons, but the guard was limited to 2 of 12 from the field.
“I’m proud of the fight,” USF coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “We’ve just got to clean up some things for the second time we play them.”
Gonzaga (19-7, 10-3) returns to McCarthey Athletic Center for Saturday’s game against Pepperdine (10-16, 4-9). The Waves picked up their fourth WCC victory on Thursday, beating San Diego 88-81 in Malibu.
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