Gonzaga hosts Eastern Oregon before beginning WCC play

For the previous week, the Gonzaga males’s basketball workforce has loved a much-needed vacation break.

The tenth-ranked Zags (10-3) performed seven AP High 25 applications within the first eight weeks of the season. The workforce made journeys to 6 completely different states and traveled roughly 17,700 miles.

After getting day without work to relaxation and get better, Gonzaga returns to motion on Wednesday when it hosts Japanese Oregon (7-4) at 2 p.m. PST. It will likely be the Zags’ last nonconference recreation forward of its West Coast Convention slate, which begins on Dec. 31 towards Pepperdine at residence.

Gonzaga defeated EOU 115-62 final season in an exhibition, however this time round, the consequence counts towards the Zags’ win/loss report. The competition will stay a scrimmage for the Mountaineers, who’re an NAIA program.

Spokane is EOU’s first cease of a three-game street journey, as it is going to additionally make visits to Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, ID., and Walla Walla in School Place, WA., earlier than heading again residence to La Grande, OR.

Heading into Wednesday’s matchup, the Mountaineers are coming off back-to-back wins, as they defeated Warner Pacific 102-83 on Dec. 16 and Multnomah 101-78 on Dec. 17.

EOU senior guard Emmit Taylor III led the way in which for his workforce towards Warner Pacific, ending with 27 factors on 9-of-15 taking pictures from the sphere. The Idaho State switch additionally confirmed off his accuracy from the 3-point vary, the place he made 4-of-9 makes an attempt.

Taylor III added 14 factors towards Multnomah, but it surely was guard Phillip Malatare who topped the workforce in scoring with 21 factors on 10-of-15 taking pictures. Malatare averages a team-high 17. 2 factors, 6.1 rebounds and three.0 assists per recreation.

Nonetheless, whereas EOU’s backcourt manufacturing is noteworthy, it’s been a a lot completely different story for the Zags.

Ahead Drew Timme has been Gonzaga’s No. 1 scorer in every of his workforce’s final 5 video games, all of which ended as wins.

Timme has averaged 27.6 factors, 10.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the course of the Zags’ five-game successful streak. He’s additionally the recipient of consecutive WCC Participant of the Week awards.

“Simply doing no matter it takes to win,” Timme stated after Gonzaga’s most up-to-date win over Montana. “That’s what has been wanted of me these days, in order that’s what I do.”

Defeating Montana marked the Zags’ 72nd victory in a row on the McCarthey Athletic Middle, breaking the report for the longest home-winning streak within the trendy period (since 1985).

“That is loopy,” Timme stated of the accomplishment. “Clearly, that’s one thing that nobody can actually say they’ve ever completed. It’s a testomony to educate [Mark Few] and the way he’s ran the ship and he’s at all times constant.”

Gonzaga’s variety of consecutive residence wins might stretch to 73 on Wednesday, however it could nonetheless stay far behind Kentucky’s streak of 129 from 1943-1955.