An emotional night for Gonzaga: 'They've all been wonderful guys to coach'
SPOKANE - It was an emotional night in "The Kennel" as Gonzaga's four seniors took the floor in front of their fans for the final time.
Led by Drew Timme's 17 points, the Bulldogs cruised to a 104-65 win over Chicago State. Timme was honored before the game along with fellow seniors Malachi Smith, Rasir Bolton and Anton Watson. Smith got the starting nod after coming off the bench all season.
FOR THE SENIORS
“They’ve all been wonderful guys to coach,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said of his senior class. “They bought in to our team philosophy and family and they’ve had fun. They’ve been really easy to coach and that’s what I’ll always remember.”
Timme, who lost just one home game in his illustrious collegiate career, was arguably at the center of attention as one of the program’s most decorated players. After winning his second WCC Player of the Year Award on Wednesday, Timme scored 17 points in his final home game and is now 21 points shy of passing Frank Burgess as Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer.
Timme is also sixth in program history with 845 career rebounds, 15 shy of fifth place.
“He’s definitely at the top of the list or close to it,” Few said of Timme’s status as one of the most accomplished Zags ever. “His ability to deliver time and time again when we always needed it ... If he isn’t at the top then, he’s the number below it.”
The Zags got their first offensive spark from Bolton, who knocked down four 3-pointers in the first half. His last triple, a pull-up from well beyond the arc, closed out a 13-point first-half performance to lead all scorers.
Gonzaga’s seniors accounted for 33 of the team’s 42 first-half points.
Bolton finished with 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting from deep, ending a two-game stretch in which the senior didn’t record a triple.
As he’s done throughout his Gonzaga career, Anton Watson provided the clamps on defense. The Spokane native walked off the Kennel floor to a standing ovation midway through the second half, finishing with 10 points, a season-high seven assists and four steals.
Watson was a Swiss army knife for Gonzaga in his final season as a Zag. In addition to guarding the opposition’s best post player, Watson led the WCC shooting 61.8% from the floor.
NEXT STOP: WCC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
With the regular season complete, the Zags turn their attention to the West Coast Conference tournament. After earning a triple bye, they’ve secured a spot into the semifinal round on Monday.
While the Zags could use the rest leading up to Monday, Few acknowledged an advantage of having to play an extra game to relieve postseason nerves.
“It’s just a different feel down there,” Few said of the WCC Tournament. “Some of these teams are playing obviously with a desperation. Ourselves and Saint Mary’s know we’re in [the NCAA Tournament], so they’re playing for their lives. But also, they get that game to get some of the nerves out and then they get a day to rest.”
Should the higher seeds advance in every scenario, Gonzaga would likely face either Santa Clara or San Francisco in the semifinal round, two programs that gave the Zags a scare earlier this season.
In San Francisco, Gonzaga squeaked out a 77-75 win off a putback from Bolton in the game’s final seconds. Two days later, Nolan Hickman came up clutch down the stretch in an 81-76 thriller.
Gonzaga dispatched both the Dons and Broncos by double-digits in their respective visits to the McCarthey Athletic Center. Until Gonzaga’s opponent is certain, though, Few has the team focused on what they can control.
“We just work on ourselves for a while and then we’ll spend a little bit of time on who we think we might play,” Few said.
UP NEXT:
Gonzaga heads to Las Vegas for the WCC Tournament semifinal round on Monday. The first round of the tournament begins Thursday at 6 p.m. when 8-seeded Portland takes on 9-seeded San Diego.
