Nov. 3 -- Gonzaga's streak of season-opening wins never seemed to be in real jeopardy Monday night, even if it did take the Zags slightly longer than expected to shake off cobwebs and dial in their outside shooting.
The Zags still haven't lost a home opener under 27th-year coach Mark Few and extended their streak of victories in all openers to 22 with a dominant 98-43 win over Texas Southern at McCarthey Athletic Center.
It was a choppy start for the hosts, who came in favored by 29 1/2 points against a Texas Southern team picked to finish fifth in a preseason SWAC poll.
The Zags missed their first six shots, including three close-range tries from prolific senior post Graham Ike, who also missed a 3-pointer inside the opening minutes. The Tigers capitalized on the cold stretch, taking a 7-2 lead on Jaylen Wysinger's 3-pointer and holding the advantage through the first media timeout.
That's about when Gonzaga started to surge, playing through newly-eligible wing Tyon Grant-Foster, feeding veteran posts Ike and Braden Huff, and applying defensive pressure that forced Texas Southern to cough the ball up 17 times throughout the game.
Grant-Foster was a somewhat surprising addition to Gonzaga's starting lineup, getting the nod just seven days after a Spokane County Judge granted the transfer a preliminary injunction that cleared him to suit up for the Zags.
The former Grand Canyon standout and Western Athletic Defensive Player of the Year didn't need much time to settle in, pacing the Zags with 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting with five rebounds.
Ike was able to shake off four missed shots in the opening minutes to post a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, making five of his final seven shots to finish 5 of 11 on the night.
Arizona State transfer Adam Miller scored 13 points in his Gonzaga debut, making 5 of 8 from the field and pacing the Zags from the 3-point line, where he finished 3 of 5. Huff had 14 points and five rebounds and Jalen Warley came up with a number of key plays on the defensive end, finishing with four steals to go with eight points and four rebounds. Also making his Gonzaga debut, and playing in his first college basketball game since March 14, 2023, wing Steele Venters added six points off the bench.
Playing without top returner Zaire Hayes, a double-digit scorer from a year ago, Texas Southern had trouble keeping up with Gonzaga after the opening media timeout.
The Zags piled up big advantages on the glass (56-27), bench points (48-22) and points in the paint (56-22), to name just a few.
BOX SCORE
Bench generates spark for Gonzaga in blowout win over Texas Southern
For awhile in the first half, Gonzaga's bench was hanging close to the starters in the scoring column and helped the Zags break open a tight game through the first 12 minutes. -- Read more
3 takeaways: Tyon Grant-Foster impresses in Gonzaga debut, Braden Huff has eventful night vs. Texas Southern
Tyon Grant-Foster, whose eligibility was in doubt until a Spokane judge ruled in his favor last Monday at a preliminary injunction hearing, quickly moved into the starting lineup and had a strong debut. -- Read more
First half
17:34 -- TSU 4, GU 2: Zags miss their first five shots and TSU capitalizes with a pair of layups. Ike is 0 of 3 on layup attempts, but a pair of Huff free throws are the first points for GU this season.
16:00 -- TSU 7, GU 5: Bulldogs shoot 1 of 8 from the field with two turnovers during a choppy start, but an Innocenti 3 trims the Tigers' lead.
14:43 -- GU 8, TSU 7: GU takes its first lead on Grant-Foster's traditional three-point play, his first points as a Zag, after a Huff block on the other end. Bulldogs are on a 6-0 run, but shooting 2 of 10 from the floor.
11:51 -- GU 13, TSU 12: TSU's Posey throws down a putback dunk over two defenders to cut the Zags' lead. GU went up after Arizona State transfer guard Adam Miller scored five straight points, a 3 and a putback layup. Zags are 4 of 16 from the field.
9:26 -- GU 19, TSU 15: Ike hits back-to-back layups and the Zags are finding a little rhythm after a slow start. Tigers struggling to get good shots off, shooting 6 of 20 from the floor. Nine Zags players have already seen action. Miller, Steele Venters, Mario Saint-Supery and Jalen Warley made their GU debuts.
6:41 -- GU 26, TSU 20: Zags had a game-high seven-point lead after Huff's backdown layup, but TSU's Wysinger answered with a 3 before a driving layup by Venters, his first points as a Zag. GU shooting 8 of 23 from the field and 2 of 12 from deep. Grant-Foster, whose eligibility had been in question this offseason, is looking impressive for Gonzaga with a team-high seven points and three rebounds.
3:28 -- GU 37, TSU 27: Zag offense starting to find its rhythm, playing fast and sharing the ball. A 9-0 GU run over 2 minutes puts Gonzaga up by double digits. Huff had a stellar, spinning layup during the spurt. He's up to a game-high eight points.
2:12 -- GU 43, TSU 27: Bulldogs starting to pull away. They've forced three turnovers in the last 1:26 and have hit 6 of their last 8 shots from the floor. Warley grabbed a steal in the backcourt and threw down a two-handed dunk during a 6-0 run.
Halftime
After an uneven start, the Zags found their footing late in the half and built a 46-27 lead at the break.
Gonzaga forced five TSU turnovers over the final 3:34 and closed the half on a 20-5 run. The Bulldogs had an inefficient shooting start, but got hot as the half went on and head into the locker room shooting 15 of 35 (42.9%) from the field and 13 of 15 (86.7%) from the foul line, but just 3 of 14 (21.4%) from 3-point range.
Huff leads all players with eight points. Grant-Foster and Ike have seven apiece. Ike has a game-high eight rebounds already as the Zags are outrebounding the Tigers 28-14. GU has 17 points on 12 offensive rebounds.
Venters (six points), Saint-Supery (six), Miller (five) and Warley (two) have all scored in their GU debuts.
Second half
15:57 -- GU 56, TSU 31: Ike opened the half with a dunk and Huff added a floater and a turnaround layup. But Huff was called for a technical, apparently for complaining about no foul call on his turnaround. Ike already has a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
11:55 -- GU 66, TSU 33: Zags are on a 12-2 run over the last 4 minutes. Grant-Foster had a driving layup and a dunk, Ike added an alley-oop dunk and Smith scored his first points in a GU uniform on a 3-pointer. Bulldogs are 8 of 12 shooting in the second half.
8:21 -- GU 74, TSU 37: Grant-Foster continues to impress in his GU debut. He's got a game-high 15 points after another driving layup. Four-star freshman guard Davis Fogle is getting his first collegiate minutes. Zags are shooting 66.7% in the second half and holding the Tigers to 26.7%.
5:23 -- GU 84, TSU 37: Tigers haven't scored in nearly 4 minutes. Miller hit back-to-back 3s to get into double figures. He's got 13 points (3 of 5 from deep). Fogle scored his first collegiate points on a layup.
3:28 -- GU 90, TSU 41: Zags are resting their established standouts and giving bench players minutes. Fourteen players have seen the floor for Gonzaga. Senior Rathdrum product Noah Haaland is in. Ike and Huff are resting. Ike had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Huff totaled 14 points and five boards. Gonzaga shooting 67.9% from the field in the second. TSU is 5 of 24 in the period.
0:00 -- GU 98, TSU 43: Gonzaga separated late in the first half and cruised during an efficient second half, outscoring the Tigers 52-16 after halftime. Grant-Foster led all players with 15 points in his GU debut.
Starting fives
Gonzaga: Braeden Smith, Tyon Grant-Foster, Emmanuel Innocenti, Graham Ike, Braden Huff.
Texas Southern: Jaylen Wysinger, Zytarious Mortle, Kolby Granger, Duane Posey, Jordan Gorecki.
Pregame
Gonzaga basketball is back, and there are plenty of storylines to watch in the Bulldogs' opener.
Fans will want to get a look at the prominence of the Graham Ike-Braden Huff frontcourt duo. Zag supporters are surely eager to see Steele Venters' return to the court after injuries kept him sidelined for the entirety of the past two seasons. There are also intriguing newcomers to keep an eye on -- point guard Braeden Smith, Grand Canyon transfer Tyon Grant-Foster, Virginia transfer Jalen Warley, Arizona State transfer Adam Miller and others will make their GU debuts.
The 21st-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs open their season hosting the Texas Southern Tigers at McCarthey Athletic Center at 6 p.m. The game will air live on KHQ.
The Bulldogs are 29 1/2 -point favorites over the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Tigers, according to Vegas Insider. GU has won 21 consecutive season openers dating back to 2003, and 35 straight home openers.
Gonzaga is coming off a 26-9 season. The eighth-seeded Zags exited in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a close loss to No. 1 seed Houston. The Bulldogs didn't bring back a ton of players from that squad, but Ike and Huff are veterans, and the team returns some GU experience in wing Emmanuel Innocenti and backup center Ismaila Diagne.
The Tigers went 15-17 overall and 12-6 in SWAC play last season. They are led by senior guard Zaire Hayes, who averaged 10.4 points last year on 46.8% shooting.
Game preview
Patient Gonzaga trio eager to make debuts in Monday's opener against Texas Southern
If the seven- to eight-month period that constitutes college basketball's offseason feels like an eternity, try putting yourself in the shoes of Gonzaga's Steele Venters, Braeden Smith and Jalen Warley. -- Read more
Key matchup: Texas Southern's Zaire Hayes could test Gonzaga's new-look backcourt
Mark Few suggested he hadn't cracked open a scouting report for Gonzaga's first regular-season opponent after the team's exhibition game against Western Oregon. -- Read more
More on the Zags
College basketball got a taste of the Graham Ike-Braden Huff lineup in 2024-25, but Gonzaga's bigs are just getting started
Any scouting report for Gonzaga in 2025-26 will begin with those two -- likely Ike at the top and Huff occupying a space right below. There won't be many ways around, over or through the Zags' prolific frontcourt duo this season, and even if you are prepared for the multitude of duck-ins, short rolls and two-man actions, it's unlikely you'll be able to shut down the entire operation. -- Read more
Deep roster should help Gonzaga basketball offset a few unknowns
One thing that can't be argued: this is the most unpredictable Gonzaga team in years, which also makes it one of the most intriguing. -- Read more
Dave Boling: Meet three ex-Zags who were on the ground floor decades before GU's move to the penthouse
The Zags will say goodbye to the WCC at the end of this season, joining the newly reconfigured Pacific-12 Conference. It should be a fond farewell, as the WCC has served them well. So well, in fact, that a consensus exists among three former Zags -- from periods before and after and during the move out of the Big Sky: All agree, Gonzaga could never have reached its current elite status without first making that conference shift in 1979. -- Read more
'I can sleep now.' Tyon Grant-Foster cleared to compete for Gonzaga after judge rules in player's favor
Wearing a powder blue dress shirt, navy tie and white heart-shaped earrings, Tyon Grant-Foster leaned forward and placed two palms over his forehead. Moments later, he stood up to wipe tears from his left eye. On the way out of the courtroom, he walked by Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few, who offered a congratulatory pat on the back. -- Read more
Graham Ike's switch to No. 15 at Gonzaga and a tribute to a man who beat the odds
Graham Ike remembers a man with huge hands and an even bigger heart. -- Read more
Dave Boling: Gonzaga should be great, but these days you need a lot more than a crystal ball to predict college hoops
As the Gonzaga men's basketball team heads into the 2025 season, with a goodly number of unknown elements -- like almost every other team -- we'll just settle on some ball-park assessments rather than an unfounded prediction. -- Read more
© 2025 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.). Visit www.spokesman.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.