Drew Timme leads No. 15 Gonzaga to 88-67 win over Northern Illinois
SPOKANE - Drew Timme scored 26 points to lead No. 15 Gonzaga (8-3) to an 88-67 victory over the Northern Illinois Huskies (3-7) on Monday night from the McCarthey Athletic Center, where the Zags have won a record 71 straight games, the most in Division I history.
“We kind of settled down and took great care of the ball and we were really efficient on the offensive end and I thought we were playing some good stretches of defense,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “I think Northern Illinois came in here and competed really, really well.”
Few’s squad led by as many as 14 points over the Huskies, who remained competitive throughout the ballgame behind Keshawn Williams’ 25 points. The junior knocked down timely longballs in the first half to combat Timme, who carried the Zags offensively throughout.
Outside of the two-time All-American, the four other starters combined for 20 points.
Ben Gregg and Malachi Smith combined for 25 second-half points to help Gonzaga pull away, including nine straight amid a 10-2 run to push the advantage to 21 points.
Gregg finished the night with a career-high 18 points, while Smith notched 14 points after a scoreless outing against Washington on Friday.
“My role is to bring the energy whenever I can, and today it was scoring,” Gregg said.
Behind the newcomer and sophomore, Gonzaga’s bench accounted for a season-high 42 points.
“The three guys that came off the bench were huge tonight; Hunter, Ben and Malachi really saved us and that’s what we need,” Few said.
Averaging 14 turnovers heading into the night, the Zags committed six turnovers while scoring 17 points off NIU’s 15 turnovers.
Following another slow start on offense, Gonzaga’s defense helped overcome a 5-for-18 start shooting the ball to build its first double-digit lead midway through the first half. Northern Illinois committed 10 turnovers to 12 made baskets, including three mistakes during a 12-2 run from the home team over a six-minute span.
Timme, who passed Ronny Turiaf for seventh place on Gonzaga’s all-time scoring list, scored 12 of his 16 first-half points after checking back into the game at the nine-minute mark to help maintain the sizable advantage.
Williams and the Huskies didn’t go to the locker room quietly, as NIU’s leading scorer knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to cut into Gonzaga’s lead. Williams finished the first half with 12 points.
“I think we were a little immature today,” Timme said. “We have to do better and we have to hold ourselves to a standard no matter who we play and we didn’t do that in the first half. I thought we responded well, but it shouldn’t have got to that and it’s something that we know is not OK.”
The Zags’ depth was too much, though, as Fews’ reserves scored 29 of the team’s 52 second-half points. NIU was held scoreless for the final four minutes of the ballgame to ensure a blowout victory for the home team.
Gonzaga is back in action on Saturday when they face No. 4 Alabama in Birmingham at 10 a.m. PST.
PHOTO GALLERY: GONZAGA VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
(All photos by Erik Smith and Myk Crawford)
