Gonzaga beats San Francisco with strong second-half performance in 2024 WCC semifinals: 'The guys did a great job adjusting'
LAS VEGAS - The Gonzaga Bulldogs faced a very familiar situation as they headed into the locker room at halftime up by one point over the San Francisco Dons in the West Coast Conference semifinal round Monday.
The third installment between conference heavyweights very much resembled the first two renditions. On Jan. 11 in Spokane, Mark Few's team battled from behind out of the gate before clawing back to make it a 31-30 game at halftime. A month later in the Bay Area, the Dons knocked down tough shots to gain an early advantage only for the Zags to counter with a strong finish to lead 35-34 at the break.
A similar script dictated the first 20 minutes of the third head-to-head meeting at the Orleans Arena, as the Dons led by as many as eight points behind some hot 3-point shooting. They had an answer for Graham Ike down low on the defensive end, limiting the league's leading scorer in conference play to just four points at halftime.
While Marcus Williams and Malik Thomas lit it up from the perimeter, the Zags struggled with Ike held in check. They shot 40.6% from the field in the first half and had multiple stretches without a made field goal. Defensively Gonzaga allowed a lot of looks inside and drives to the rim.
Yet, much like the previous two matchups, the Zags responded in the second half. The offense found its spark in Ben Gregg, the 6-foot-10 junior who awakened the sea of blue and red with four 3-pointers after halftime, as Gonzaga made 10 of its first 11 field goals and built a 19-point lead near the midway point in the second half. Nolan Hickman got to his spots offensively to put up 15 points in the second-half effort.
"The guys did a great job adjusting, especially in that second half," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "[The Dons are] a tough card for us, especially when they space the floor. They were really shooting the 3-ball tonight and doing a lot of different things to get those shots."
Following the strong second-half performance, the Zags will take on Saint Mary's in the WCC championship game on Tuesday.
Here are three takeaways from Gonzaga's win.
BEN GREGG THE SPARKPLUG
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After a rough first half offensively, Gregg channeled his inner Ted Lasso as he prepared for a fresh start coming out of the locker room.
"Me and (strength and conditioning coach) Travis Knight watch this show called Ted Lasso, and a big thing is that we've gotta be a goldfish and have a short memory," Gregg said after the game. "That's what he told me. I was like, 'Yeah, you're right.' Gotta forget about what happened in the first half and come out and keep shooting my shot."
Often a sparkplug with his energy defensively and on the glass, Gregg played a pivotal role in rejuvenating the offensive flow right from the get-go in the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from the 6-foot-10 forward in transition capped a 9-0 scoring run that took the wind out of San Francisco's sail.
Gregg logged 36 minutes against the physical Dons but still had enough juice to fly around for loose balls and dive into the bench area for rebounds. With 17 points and 11 rebounds, he recorded his second double-double of his career in a big night on both ends of the floor to uplift his team when it needed it the most.
"Benny gets us going no matter what he do," Hickman said. "I feel like even on the defensive end, rebounding or whatever it is, he do all the dirty work. So just to get him going with the 3-ball, I love it."
HICKMAN BOUNCES BACK AGAIN
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Time and time again this season, Hickman has shown resiliency in the face of adversity as he continues to expand his game in a new role as a junior alongside Nembhard. Gonzaga's backcourt has hit its stride as of late, with Ryan Nembhard controlling the pace as a top-notch playmaker and Hickman asserting himself as a multi-level scorer who can catch fire from behind the arc at a moment's notice. Together they've been a tough guard for the rest of the WCC, and with Hickman in particular the Zags have benefitted from his focus and maturity in the second half of tightly contested ballgames.
That wasn't always Hickman's calling card. In the past, a rough first half usually dictated how his night was going to go. This season has been different though, with his latest surge being a 15-point second half Thursday to help Gonzaga pull away late after he had just five points in the first 20 minutes.
"I kind of just let the game come to me," Hickman said. "The first half, I really didn't have it going that much. You know I just didn't have it going, that's all that is, second half got a few touches, started to realize you know I could get it going the way I wanted it to."
Hickman's versatility on offense can be evidenced by his stretch of seven consecutive points in the second half. None of the baskets were created the same; he squared up and drilled a triple off a pass from Ike, followed by a turnaround floater in the lane and a sneaky backdoor score off a find from Nembhard. Whatever the Dons allowed him to have, he took it.
SAINT MARY'S, AGAIN
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For the third-straight WCC Tournament, the Zags and Gaels will meet in the championship game with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at stake. Gonzaga came out on top in the previous two matchups and has won eight of the 11 head-to-head meetings in the title game all-time. The 12th matchup came as a surprise to no one based on how each program handled the rest of the WCC up to this point.
Saint Mary's got to the championship game with a 79-65 win over Santa Clara in the semifinal round earlier Monday, as Alex Ducas went 7-for-11 from downtown to finish with a team-high 21 points. Mason Forbes put up a season-high 18 points while Aidan Mahaney hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half to pull away from the Broncos late. Carlos Marshall Jr.'s 26 points weren't enough as the rest of Santa Clara's starting five combined for 17 points.
The 14-point victory set up a third installment of Bulldogs-Gaels after they split the regular season series with wins on each other's home floor. Saint Mary's came out on top 64-62 on Feb. 3 in Spokane before Gonzaga returned the favor with a 70-57 victory in Moraga, California, on March 3. That dominant showing on the Gaels' senior night capped the regular season off with eight straight victories for the Bulldogs.
