With Drew Timme smothered, Julian Strawther takes over: 3 takeaways from Gonzaga's win over Portland
When Drew Timme isn’t scoring at his usual rate, Gonzaga has struggled to find a player who can fill his role as the team’s go-to scorer.
The No. 14 Zags (18-4, 7-1 WCC) could’ve been in that exact predicament on Saturday, but Julian Strawther stepped up and scored a career-high 40 points to lead his team to an 82-67 win over Portland (11-13, 3-6) at the Chiles Center.
Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s performance:
STRAWTHER TAKES OVER
Photo by Troy Wayrynen, USA TODAY Sports
With Timme unable to get going in the post, Strawther punished the Pilots from beyond the arc.
He went 8-for-12 from long range and was the only Zag with multiple 3-point makes.
“The guys just found me in open spots,” Strawther said. “Drew was commanding a whole bunch of bodies, heads and eyes, so I was just there to relieve him.”
Strawther almost single-handedly kept Gonzaga afloat in the first half, scoring 17 of his team’s 35 points before the intermission.
Gonzaga led 56-54 with less than nine minutes remaining in the game before Strawther added 14 more points to help the Zags pull away for their second-straight win.
Strawther reached 40 points on a putback score that extended Gonzaga’s lead to 79-63 in the final two minutes.
He said the moment reminded him of a 50-point game he had in high school.
“All the guys on the bench were yelling at me to make sure I got one more bucket, and I had a similar moment in high school — I was like one basket off 50 and my teammates were all doing the same thing, and it’s just a crazy feeling when those last points go in.”
Strawther is the first player to score 40 points since Kyle Wiltjer had 45 against Pacific in 2016.
DREW TIMME GETS SMOTHERED BY PILOTS
Photo by Troy Wayrynen, USA TODAY Sports
Coming off a 38-point night against Pacific, Timme was relatively quiet on Saturday.
He was limited to eight points on 3-of-7 shooting by the Pilots, who packed the paint and forced the All-American forward to give up the ball.
Portland’s defensive efforts were much more effective than its first meeting with Gonzaga in Spokane, which saw Timme score 21 points and made 7-of-10 from the field.
However, Timme was still able to make an impact this time around, as he finished with a team-high five assists.
ZAGS STRUGGLE TO CONTAIN TWO-MAN WRECKING CREW
Photo by Troy Wayrynen, USA TODAY Sports
If Strawther didn’t show up the way he did, Portland had a real shot to win this game after losing by 40 points to Gonzaga on Jan. 14.
Forward Moses Wood led the Pilots with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including five made 3-pointers.
Wood’s 13-point showing in the first half kept it close, as the Pilots trailed by six points at the break.
Wood had more help in the second half, with guard Juan Gorosito getting hot from 3-point range and finishing with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Still, it wasn’t enough against the Zags, who scored 29 points in the final 10 minutes.
