Gonzaga’s final tune-up before the games start counting was never really about the final score, even if the Bulldogs still rolled Lewis-Clark State 91-59 on Friday night inside the McCarthey Athletic Center.
This charity exhibition was set up with help from the Innovia Foundation and the Spokane Region Long Term Recovery Group, with the goal of supporting Spokane wildfire victims. For Mark Few, the night carried a bigger purpose than the box score.
“As time goes on, the support starts waning and dissipating. I wanted to make another statement that there is still need out there right now.
These are people who watch us on TV every game, come to watch us play and are wanting to meet us. It’s important that we stepped up.”
On the floor, Gonzaga looked like a team settling into a clearer identity. Davis Fogle was back in the starting lineup after missing the Oct. 24 exhibition loss to Arkansas with a left leg injury, and the lineup from this game looks like the one Few will ride going forward: Xaivian Lee, Isiah Harwell, Fogle, Braden Huff and Massamba Diop. Chauncey Wiggins, still ineligible, watched from the bench in street clothes.
Wiggins, a Florida State transfer, is now trying to join the 5-in-5 lawsuit in Waco, Texas, after backing out of the Georgia case before the game. Theo Lawson of The Spokesman-Review reported the Texas hearing begins the morning of Oct. 29.
There was only so much you can learn from an exhibition against a team like Lewis-Clark State, but Gonzaga did leave behind a few clear snapshots worth noting. The most obvious one is Diop’s impact.
The 7-1 Arizona State transfer gives the Bulldogs something they’ve needed for a long time: real rim protection and a defensive presence around the basket. The next step, as with Graham Ike early in his Gonzaga run after arriving from Wyoming, is keeping his emotions in check and staying under control.
The bench frontcourt also flashed. Parker Jefferson gave Gonzaga useful minutes in the second half and finished with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
The redshirt freshman forward/center won’t be a guaranteed factor in the biggest stretches of the non-conference schedule, but he showed exactly why he’s worth having on hand. The 6-9 Waxahachie, Texas, native did the gritty work and kept fighting for his place in the rotation after his senior season at Inglewood in California.
Another promising piece is the backcourt pairing of Javon Bennett and Nathan De Sousa. The fifth-year combo guard and the French combo guard still need time to fully settle in, but once they do, Gonzaga could have a bench duo that makes life miserable for opposing guards. The shot-making from deep has to come with it, though, and that consistency hasn’t shown up yet in the first two October scrimmages.
If there was a loud takeaway from the night, it belonged to Izan Almansa. The 6-10 Spanish forward/center came off the bench and turned in what looked like a clean, polished scoring night, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 2-for-2 on catch-and-shoot threes.
The professional background is starting to show, and it’s not hard to see why he’s being talked about as one of the more underrated stretch bigs in the country. He reportedly has three years of college eligibility left after stints with the NBA G League Ignite, the Perth Wildcats in Australia and Real Madrid in the EuroLeague from 2023-26.
The KHQ/SWX broadcast may have also marked the last time Greg Heister and Dan Dickau were paired together in the booth, with Richard Fox absent from the broadcast. However anyone feels about the trio, all three have been part of plenty of memorable Gonzaga moments over the years and deserve their share of credit.
Now the attention shifts to Nov. 2, when No. 15 Gonzaga opens the 2026-27 season against Purdue at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 4:30 p.m.
PT on TNT. Matt Painter’s unranked Boilermakers received 50 votes in the preseason AP Poll.
And if anyone wants a reminder that October results don’t always tell you much, both teams can offer one. Gonzaga shot just 6-for-28 from three in its loss to Arkansas.
Purdue was even colder, going 2-for-25 in a 76-53 exhibition loss to UConn in Hartford on Oct. 27.
There’s one more wrinkle heading into Halloween weekend: Gonzaga has won 22 straight season openers, but it is still 0-5 all-time against Purdue. That’s the one that gets answered next.
In Other News...
Gonzagas Bench Suddenly Looks Deeper Thanks To One New Piece
Izan Almansas arrival gave Gonzaga an immediate boost in a place where bench depth matters every winter, and the timing could hardly have been better. Cleared by the NCAA just before the Bulldogs traveled to Arkansas, the forward quickly moved from late addition to meaningful piece, giving Mark Few another versatile option to work into the rotation and adding some needed punch to a second unit that always has to be ready when the schedule tightens.
Since becoming eligible, Almansa has already shown why coaches and teammates have been so encouraged by his game. He was active and productive in exhibition action and carried that momentum into the close loss at Arkansas, where his blend of size and skill stood out in a game Gonzaga needed every usable body it had. For a team with bigger goals ahead, the early evidence suggests this is more than just roster insurance. [Read more 🡒]
Gonzaga Still Waiting On Key Transfer As Season Nears
Gonzaga is still waiting on the status of transfer Chauncey Wiggins, who stepped out of a Georgia lawsuit tied to his push for a fifth year of college basketball eligibility. Wiggins is one of three Bulldogs involved in legal efforts against the NCAA over extended eligibility, alongside Javon Bennett and Xaivian Lee, as the program navigates a murky stretch of roster uncertainty heading into the season.
The Georgia case had been moving toward oral arguments set for Jan. 12, 2027, a timetable that could have left Wiggins on the sideline for much of Gonzagas early schedule. With that path no longer in play, he may look for legal relief elsewhere, but for now the Bulldogs are left waiting for the next move in a situation that still has no clear finish line. [Read more 🡒]
Graham Ike Is Giving Gonzaga Fans A New NBA Storyline To Watch
There is a fresh NBA thread for Gonzaga fans to follow in Golden State, where Graham Ike has gone from undrafted rookie to a player getting real run with the Warriors. He made his first NBA career start and then followed it by putting up his first double-double in the next game, a tidy little reminder that the Bulldogs keep finding their way into the league in different forms and at different stages.
Elsewhere on the Gonzaga alumni watch, the injury news around Jalen Suggs is a setback for Orlando after he was diagnosed with a mild bone bruise in his right knee and is expected to miss at least two weeks. Andrew Nembhard also missed a game because of neck and back issues, while Ryan Nembhards path to minutes in Denver has already been a winding one after a busy offseason of trades and waivers. [Read more 🡒]