The version of Tyon Grant-Foster Gonzaga needs has fully arrived

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are 3-0 to begin their final season as members of the West Coast Conference, but it sure hasn't been easy.

The Zags stumbled badly in the final seven minutes against San Diego on Tuesday at Jenny Craig Pavilion, and followed that up with a disastrous performance at home against conference newcomer Seattle University, finally pulling it together enough to force overtime - thanks in large part to Seattle's offense going cold late in regulation.

While Braden Huff has remained Gonzaga's primary source of scoring, the biggest x-factor for this team in WCC play has been Tyon Grant-Foster, who is delivering both offensively and defensively for the Zags after inconsistent play in non-conference play.

The 6'7 wing finished Friday's game against the Redhawks with 19 points, five rebounds, and five blocked shots, shooting 7-9 from the field and 4-5 from the free throw line.

Grant-Foster did most of his damage late, scoring eight of his points in the overtime period, which included making a trio of lay-ins before hitting a pair of free throws with 15 seconds remaining, and then securing his fifth blocked shot on a Brayden Maldonado three-point attempt to officially seal the win for Gonzaga.

His ability to get downhill and score was desperately needed for a Zags team that was uncharacteristically missing shots at the rim and fumbling the ball in transition all game long, following similar issues late against San Diego.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Tyon Grant-Foster (7). | Photo by Erik Smith

"He can make some plays and he can go downhill and get some finishes," coach Mark Few said after the game. "He had some really, really strong finishes, which is what we needed. We were getting the ball to certain points and we just weren't finishing very strong."

"Those were all huge buckets," Huff added. "He's one of the best downhill drivers I've played with, so once he gets downhill, and was able to kind of utilize that pump fake; there's not much you can do to stop it. He took over in overtime for us, which was huge."

Grant-Foster has now scored 18, 18, and 19 points in his first three games of conference play, shooting an outstanding 20-26 (76.9%) from the field and 4-5 from three. His scoring isn't the only way he's impacting the game, however, as he posted a season-high five blocks on Sunday and has nine total rejections in three conference games.

All five of his blocks against Seattle came on the perimeter, an incredibly unusual skill set that was invaluable on Friday. Not only did Grant-Foster alter those five possessions, but his presence alone made the Redhawks tentative on the perimeter, and likely contributed to their late-game scoring drought.

"He's just got a real gift for blocking shots out there on the perimeter," Few continued. "It's crazy. I've never had a guy like that [who] can just challenge a shot and and block it. You don't see very many perimeter [guys] block shots, and he does it a lot."

The former WAC Player of the Year is up to 12.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game across 20.8 minutes, and his ability to impact the game both offensively and defensively makes him one of the most valuable players on this Gonzaga roster - and someone who will need to stay consistent for the Zags to win the WCC and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS