PORTLAND — Gonzaga coach Mark Few weighed a question about a pair of changes in the starting lineup and if he got what he wanted from those adjustments.
“Listen, two totally separate things,” explained Few, shortly after the Zags dismantled Portland 105-62 Saturday at the Chiles Center to snap a two-game West Coast Conference losing streak.
Sophomore forward Braden Huff started in place of senior Graham Ike, who picked up a flagrant foul and technical foul about a minute apart late in last Saturday’s 103-99 home loss to Santa Clara. Ike sat on the bench when the Zags made things interesting with a late rally.
“Graham, we had to do something with the technical,” Few said. “That technical hurt us. He was spectacular with how he handled it. He was so apologetic and just felt horrible about it. He’s as good a person as we’ve had in our program the whole time I’ve been at Gonzaga. He just has to manage his emotions better.”
Ike had started 95 consecutive games, including 55 in his two seasons at Gonzaga. The last time Ike came off the bench was February 2021 when he was a freshman at Wyoming.
Sophomore wing Emmanuel Innocenti got the starting nod partly for defensive reasons. The 6-foot-5 transfer from Tarleton State started 33 games last season as a freshman. His role with the Zags has been primarily as a defensive specialist, often late in halves. He came in averaging 5.5 minutes in 17 appearances and didn’t play against Santa Clara.
Innocenti matched up against Portland’s Max Mackinnon, who was coming off a 43-point night against San Diego. Mackinnon finished with 18 points against several different defenders on 7-of-15 shooting, 2 of 6 behind the 3-point arc and he hit both of his two free throws. Mackinnon was 7 of 9 on 3s and made 18 of 22 free throws against the Toreros.
Senior Khalif Battle had started his first 20 games as a Zag and the final nine last season for Arkansas.
“Hey, we had bad, horrible defense last game,” Few said of the loss to the Broncos, who were led by Tyeree Bryan’s career-high 35 points. “So it was time to give Emmanuel a try. He’s arguably our best defensive player so it was time to give him some looks.”
The results were encouraging for three of the four players involved in the shake-up in the starting five.
Huff scored Gonzaga’s first points on a putback of his own miss. He finished with 12 points and four boards in 19 minutes in his first start. Ike and Battle subbed in at the first media timeout with 15:04 remaining in the first half. Ike worked through a slow start and put up 14 points, four assists, three rebounds and two rebounds in 16 minutes.
The two posts combined for 26 points, similar to their season average (28.6), while playing roughly three fewer minutes in the lopsided victory.
Innocenti made the most of his first GU start. The native of France connected on a pair of 3-pointers and scored a season-best eight points. He added five assists and two boards in 24 minutes. His previous season high for minutes was 14 vs. UMass Lowell. He logged three 40-minute stints last season with Tarleton State.
Battle didn’t score or attempt a shot in 17 minutes. He finished with one rebound, one assist, three fouls and two turnovers. After reaching double figures in six consecutive games, including a season-high 26 points vs. Loyola Marymount, Battle hasn’t scored in the last two games. He’s 1 of 10 on 3-pointers over the last three contests.
“Really positively,” said senior forward Michael Ajayi, asked how the players involved responded to the lineup adjustment. “Shoutout to Emmanuel and ‘B-Huff’ for standing up and executing their jobs. Emmanuel did great. Graham and ‘KB,’ they did really well off the bench, contributed really well.
“No one’s pouting. Everybody wants to get a ‘W,’ so whatever it takes we’ll sacrifice.”
Ajayi was part of a lineup switch in early January when he was replaced as a starter by senior Ben Gregg. Ajayi posted his best offensive stats of the season with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 1 of 1 on 3s, to go with eight rebounds against the Pilots. Gregg equaled his career high with 24 points.
Gonzaga’s defense, torched for 97 points in an overtime loss to Oregon State and 103 by the Broncos, responded with a solid showing. GU limited Portland to 34.5% shooting after permitting 53% or better to three straight foes.
“We drilled (defense) all week,” Gregg said. “We needed to flip the script on the defensive end. Our offense has been going fine for us.”
The Zags collected 10 steals, four by Nolan Hickman, and held a 26-8 edge in points off turnovers. GU swatted six shots, two each by Hickman and Huff, one shy of the team’s season-high set against UMass Lowell.
“Nolan did a good job with that (forcing turnovers),” Few said. “They were trying to post him. Obviously, that was their game plan, but he fought like crazy and made some plays.”
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