Gonzaga struggles from deep, dominates inside in 101-70 exhibition win over Warner Pacific
With the clock winding down before halftime, Gonzaga forward Drew Timme leaped above a group of players to corral his own missed layup, and while in midair, finished on his second attempt as the buzzer sounded.
The putback score was the exclamation point on a 16-point first-half showing for Timme, who ended with a game-high 21 points in Gonzaga men's basketball's 101-70 exhibition win over Warner Pacific on Wednesday.
Without a player taller than 6-foot-7, the Knights couldn’t contain the 6-foot-10 Timme, who went 9-for-11 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds.
- MORE GONZAGA-WARNER PACIFIC: PHOTO GALLERY
Malachi Smith had the second-highest scoring output for the Zags, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The transfer guard also added six rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes of play.
Smith appeared more comfortable asserting himself offensively than he did during his four-point performance in No. 2 Gonzaga’s 99-80 loss to No. 11 Tennessee on Friday.
“I think he’s getting better each time out,” said head coach Mark Few. “He’s definitely … a guy who stepped it up from the last game and then he’s been stepping it up in practice.”
Smith admits that he’s still finding a rhythm at Gonzaga, but says it’s only a matter of time before he fully adjusts.
“I knew coming in that it was a different system, but like these guys, they’re being good teammates, being supportive,” Smith said. “I know I'm a good player. It’s going to take time, but if I play the right way, everything will take care of itself.”
The Zags’ only other transfer, Efton Reid III, had 10 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
Smith and Reid III came off the bench after Few elected to start Timme, Anton Watson, Nolan Hickman, Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton in both exhibitions. This contradicts last week’s report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, which suggested that Strawther would be featured in a small-ball power forward role.
A smaller lineup could help Gonzaga knock down more 3-pointers, as the team has hit just 29.1% of their shots from deep these past two games.
“I thought we got so many clean looks tonight that we might have been just shocked at how open we were,” Strawther said after going 3-for-8 on his 3-point attempts against Warner Pacific.
The Knights experienced similar issues as they shot 23.1% from beyond the arc. However, unlike their opponents, the Zags' shooting woes followed them to the free-throw line where they made 52% of their attempts.
“It’s definitely a point of concern, and coach Few just told us, ‘y'all got to get 100 free throws up because something ain’t working,’” Strawther said. “Whatever we’re doing is not working.”
With Gonzaga set to host North Florida in the season opener on Monday, Few emphasized that his team has a lot more progress to make.
“I’d just say we’ve got a long ways to go,” Few said. “Hopefully, we can kind of stay on a growth path with these guys. It’s a very different team than last year and we’re not even close to being where we hope to be, but we’ve got a long ways to go.”
PHOTO GALLERY: GONZAGA VS. WARNER PACIFIC
(All photos by Erik Smith)
