Gonzaga stays undefeated at home in ugly win over Pacific

The Gonzaga Bulldogs remain undefeated at home after picking up a win over the Pacific Tigers on Saturday night, 71-62, but it wasn't exactly a game anyone will want to remember.

Horrific shooting from the Zags all night long kept this game close until the very end, with Graham Ike scoring seven of his game-high 20 points in the final five minutes to lead Gonzaga to their 27th win of the season.

Gonzaga's defense kept them in the game in the first half, but they were never able to establish a rhythm offensively - finishing the night shooting 51% on twos, 26% (5-19) from three, and a hideous 18-29 (62%) from the free throw line.

Ultimately, the Zags secured a nine-point victory and are now one win away from claiming at least a share of the WCC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. If Gonzaga defeats Portland on Wednesday in Spokane, they will be the top seed - regardless of what happens next Saturday in Moraga against Saint Mary's.

Below is a look at three key takeaways from Gonzaga's ugly win over Pacific on Saturday:

1. Atrocious shot selection

Gonzaga has a habit of making poor offensive decisions in the first half of games this season, but they took it to another level against Pacific. The Tigers did a good job pushing Graham Ike off the block, but the big man was far too willing to settle for highly contested 16-foot jump shots. He finished an ugly 2-9 from the field in the first 20 minutes, with basically all of those looks coming from 15+ feet away from the rim.

It wasn't just Ike, though. Gonzaga routinely took contested outside shots early in the shot clock, drove into multiple defenders, or settled for long two-point jumpers. The Zags shot an ugly 11-30 (37%) from the field in the first half, and often these looks came when Gonzaga had no one around the rim to go for an offensive board, which led to Pacific out-rebounding Gonzaga 19-14 in the first 20 minutes.

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Mario Saint-Supery (17). | Photo by Myk Crawford

Things improved in the second half - after Ike once again put the team on his back - but the mystifying decisions were still on display. Mario Saint-Supery shot 1-7, mostly attempting lay-ins over three defenders, while Tyon Grant-Foster (4-10) took multiple questionable shots as well.

Teams are going to pack the paint and force Ike to get rid of the basketball, and the rest of the roster will have to play more consistently in order to win games this March.

2. Davis Fogle continues to impress

Gonzaga had very little consistent offense on Saturday, which made the performance of freshman wing Davis Fogle all the more crucial. Fogle finished with 18 points on Saturday night, shooting an excellent 4-5 from the field, 1-1 from 3, and 9-12 from the free throw line. He tacked on two blocks and a steal as well, and ultimately played 28 minutes - third on the team behind Ike and Emmanuel Innocenti.

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Davis Fogle (4). | Photo by Myk Crawford

The 6'7 wing was instrumental in keeping the Zags afloat in a listless first half - especially when Ike was on the bench - and his ability to create his own shot and get to the line bailed Gonzaga out multiple times against a tough, physical Tigers team.

3. Pressure defense was Gonzaga's savior

There really wasn't a whole lot Gonzaga did well on Saturday night, at least not for the full 40 minutes. About the only thing that did look good all game long was the team's on-ball defense, which consistently hounded Pacific's guards and forced turnovers left and right.

The Tigers finished with 15 turnovers, including a whopping five shot clock violations. Pacific loves to take their time offensively, but when they needed to get something up, they found nothing but hands in their face.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Emmanuel Innocenti. | Photo by Erik Smith

Jalen Warley did a great job shadowing Pacific's leading scorer, Elias Ralph, all game long, holding him to 12 points on 4-10 shooting. Emmanuel Innocenti, Tyon Grant-Foster, and Braeden Smith all had strong games defensively as well, and the Zags finished with a 14-4 advantage in points off turnovers - a key stat in their favor in what ended up being a nine-point victory.

Gonzaga will deal with a team that already showed they can slow them down in Portland, which comes to Spokane on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The game will tip at 6:00 PM PT on ESPN+.

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