Gonzaga Survives Late Scare at San Diego, Escapes with 99-93 Win
SAN DIEGO - For most of Tuesday night, Gonzaga looked like a team in control. Ranked seventh in the nation, the Bulldogs built a 21-point lead on the road against San Diego and seemed poised to cruise to their second straight West Coast Conference win. But what should’ve been a routine victory turned into a white-knuckle finish that left head coach Mark Few with more questions than celebration.
The final score - 99-93 - tells the story of a game that got far too interesting down the stretch. And while Gonzaga moved to 2-0 in WCC play, Few didn’t sugarcoat the postgame message.
“Just, that’s not good enough,” Few told his team. “The goal is to win, so I congratulated them for that. Just the way we handled that last four minutes isn’t going to be good enough to A, win this league or B, advance to where we want to advance.”
He’s not wrong. Gonzaga was a 28.5-point favorite heading into the night. Instead, they were forced to hit clutch free throws in the final seconds just to keep the Toreros from pulling off a stunner.
Early Control, Late Chaos
The Zags held a double-digit lead for most of the game and flexed their usual offensive firepower. But this one came with a few more bumps than they’ve grown accustomed to - especially inside.
Gonzaga’s frontcourt duo of Graham Ike and Braden Huff has been a reliable engine all season, often combining for 40 points in the paint. But foul trouble derailed both players in the first half. Huff picked up his second with under eight minutes to go, and Ike followed shortly after, getting whistled for an offensive foul while tangling with San Diego’s Vuk Boskovic.
Frustration boiled over when Ike slammed a water bottle to the floor, earning a technical foul. The moment caused a brief delay as arena staff cleaned up the spill - and it underscored just how out of rhythm Gonzaga’s frontcourt had become.
But this team is deep, and that depth showed up when it was needed most.
Bench Mob Steps Up
With Ike and Huff sidelined, Gonzaga’s bench delivered in a big way. Tyon Grant-Foster, Mario Saint-Supery, and Jalen Warley all stepped into larger roles and kept the Bulldogs afloat.
One of the game’s signature moments came just before halftime, when Saint-Supery found Grant-Foster for a lob dunk that pushed the lead back to 11 with six seconds left in the half. It was a timely reminder of how explosive this team can be - even when things get messy.
Warley, in particular, was everywhere. The senior wing, who sat out last season after transferring from Virginia, put together his best performance in a Gonzaga uniform. He scored a season-high 22 points, pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds, and added three steals - all while navigating foul trouble of his own.
“You’ve always got to celebrate a win, especially on the road when there’s a lot of great teams in this conference,” Warley said. “We definitely know there’s a lot of things we’ve got to improve on but at the end of the day, you’ve got to celebrate a win any chance you get.”
Grant-Foster continued his strong play off the bench, following up a team-leading performance against Pepperdine with 18 points and five boards on 9-of-14 shooting. Saint-Supery, who had recently moved out of the starting lineup, found his rhythm again with 14 points, five assists, and three triples.
Foul Trouble Fades, Frontcourt Finds Footing
Eventually, Ike and Huff returned to the floor and made their presence felt. Huff extended his streak of double-digit scoring games with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.
Ike, despite the early frustrations, was perfect from the field (5-for-5) and finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. His lone blemish?
A rough 1-of-5 night at the free throw line.
Even with the frontcourt back in action, the Toreros refused to go away.
San Diego cut the lead to eight with just over three minutes to play, then trimmed it to five on an Adrian McIntyre layup with 11 seconds left. That capped off a frantic stretch that saw the Zags give up 93 points - their most since a blowout loss to Michigan earlier this season - and the most San Diego has ever scored in 105 matchups against Gonzaga.
Toreros Bring the Fight
San Diego didn’t look like a team that was supposed to be overmatched. Wake Forest transfer Ty-Laur Johnson poured in 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, marking his fourth 20-point game in the last five outings. McIntyre added 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, doing a little bit of everything to keep the Toreros within striking distance.
This was the closest game between these two since 2018 - and the first time in seven years that San Diego kept it within single digits.
What’s Next
Gonzaga improves to 14-1 overall and 2-0 in the WCC, but they’ll need to tighten things up quickly. The Bulldogs return to action Friday against conference newcomer Seattle U, who just knocked off Washington State in their own WCC debut.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m., with the game airing locally on KHQ and streaming on ESPN+.
For Gonzaga, the win counts - but the warning signs are clear. In a conference that’s getting deeper and more competitive, the margin for error is shrinking.
And if the Zags want to keep their championship aspirations alive, they’ll need more than just moments of brilliance. They’ll need consistency.