No. 15 Gonzaga plays host to USF (Jan 27, 2018)
The Gonzaga Bulldogs like to take turns.
In Thursday's 95-79 win at Portland, Killian Tillie matched his career high with 27 points and became the fifth different leading scorer for Gonzaga in the last five games.
So, who is up next for the No. 15 Zags (18-4, 8-1 in the WCC) when they return home to face San Francisco on Saturday in Spokane, Wash.?
Perhaps Corey Kispert.
The freshman, who had mostly struggled -- he was 3-for-17 from the field over his previous four games -- since returning from a late-November ankle injury, had career highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday.
"It was really good for Kispert to get going," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said, according to the Spokesman-Review. "I thought our starters were very good, and Corey really made some plays and was aggressive. That's a really good thing for us. It gives us another weapon."
Few and his staff knew a game like this was coming from Kispert, who didn't score in his two previous games.
"I was talking with (his teammates) all week, and they all believed in me," Kispert said. "They were saying, 'Corey, we know your big game is around the corner.'"
Kispert, who was 5-for-6 from inside the 3-point line, found success driving to the rim.
"Coach told me before the game, 'Corey, if your shot's not going in, (you've got to) do something else for a little bit,' " Kispert said. "That shot fake, going right to the rim, helped me get going."
Few would also like to see a repeat performance from Tillie, who made 11 of 14 shots and had two steals and two blocks.
"I just told him in the locker room he needs to follow it up," Few said of Tillie. "He has to back it up with some consistent play, because he has not done that this year. Fantastic effort tonight, great performance."
After each of the previous four times Tillie has scored 20 or more points this season, he has mostly disappeared the following game, averaging just seven points in those contests.
"I want to come back Saturday and have a good game again," Tillie said. "I've had some up-and-downs, but I'm going to try to be more consistent now."
San Francisco (12-10, 4-5), which was expected to finish in the top half of the West Coast Conference standings, is coming off back-to-back wins after disappointing losses to Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara earlier this month.
The Dons played well despite being short-handed in a 75-65 home loss to the Bulldogs two weeks ago.
"(The Zags) are a different animal at their place with the crowd," USF coach Kyle Smith said on the school's YouTube channel. "We've got to keep them out of transition.
"If we play with the same effort and purpose we did the first time, we can do some good things."
Chase Foster (ankle), the Dons' second leading scorer, and 6-9 freshman Taavi Jurkatamm (concussion) are both expected to play on Saturday after missing the Jan. 13 game.
