Gonzaga’s Final Exhibition Ends in 91-59 Rout Over Lewis-Clark State

Sometimes life's unfortunate circumstances are much bigger than basketball. This charity exhibition with NAIA's Lewis-Clark State Warriors from Lewiston, Idaho, came together through the help of the Innovia Foundation and Spokane Region Long Term Recovery Group to help Spokane wildfire victims.

For Gonzaga Bulldogs coach Mark Few, along with the help of the Lewis-Clark State coaching staff, to put this together shows how much basketball in the Pacific Northwest can unite two schools and communities from the neighboring states of Washington and Idaho.

Few had this to say postgame about the experience:

"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."

As for the college basketball action inside the McCarthey Athletic Center, sophomore wing Davis Fogle made his return to the Gonzaga starting lineup after the 76-72 exhibition loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks back on Oct. 24. Fogle was sidelined with a left leg injury in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The starting lineup from this matchup is what should be expected going forward: Fifth-year point guard Xaivian Lee, sophomore shooting guard Isiah Harwell, Fogle, redshirt senior power forward Braden Huff, and sophomore center Massamba Diop. Fifth-year forward Chauncey Wiggins is still ineligible for the Zags and was in street clothes on the bench.

Wiggins, a Florida State Seminoles transfer, is now attempting to join the 5-in-5 lawsuit in Waco, Texas, after withdrawing from the state of Georgia case before the game. The Spokesman-Review's Theo Lawson reports that the court hearing in Texas will take place starting on the morning of Oct. 29.

With an exhibition like this, it's hard to really pinpoint takeaways that will truly translate into Gonzaga's upcoming first true test. Here are a somewhat noticeable handful against a Lewis-Clark State group that is just excited to experience what the Kennel has to offer:

The program has been lacking rim protection for what seems like quite a long time now. Diop, the 7-1 Arizona State Sun Devils transfer, is going to bring a whole lot of that and more defensive upside to the table. It's about being in control of himself and not letting his emotions get the best of him, something that now Golden State Warriors forward Graham Ike dealt with early on in his tenure after transferring in from the Wyoming Cowboys.

The frontcourt depth speaks volumes with redshirt freshman forward/center Parker Jefferson's second-half outing off the bench. He ended up with 12 points on 6-of-9 field goals, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. While Jefferson may not see the floor much throughout the key stretches of the difficult non-conference slate, it's nice to know that he's readily available in Few's back pocket. The 6-9 native of Waxahachie, Texas, does the dirty work, simply fighting for his chance to receive meaningful minutes. Much respect to his dedicated workmanship, something that was instilled in him during his senior high school season in Inglewood, California.

Once the backcourt combination of fifth-year combo guard Javon Bennett and French combo guard Nathan De Sousa can get fully acclimated, that's a disruptive bench duo. It all depends on their consistency from beyond the arc and hitting at a high clip against top competition, something that hasn't been seen through the first two October scrimmages.

My overexaggerated take of the night? Spanish forward/center Izan Almansa is already one of the most underrated stretch bigs in the NCAA. The professional basketball background is going to pay off early and handsomely. Pretty hard to believe that the 21-year-old reportedly has three years of college basketball eligibility after spending three different seasons with the NBA G League Ignite, NBL's Perth Wildcats in Australia, and Real Madrid in the EuroLeague from 2023-26.

6-10 Almansa finished with a near-perfect shooting display off the bench against Lewis-Clark State: a tied-for-game-high 12 points on 4-of-5 field goals, 2-for-2 on catch-and-shoot three-point opportunities.

This KHQ/SWX broadcast could very well be the last with play-by-play Greg Heister and color commentator Dan Dickau together. Analyst Richard Fox wasn't present. While that trio was far from my favorite to listen to, I don't want to attack these Liliac City icons. They each deserve their own individual praise after being a part of a countless number of noteworthy memories during their careers working for the local television station.

No. 15-ranked Gonzaga's 2026-27 season opener comes against the Purdue Boilermakers at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 2 at 4:30 p.m. PT on TNT. Coach Matt Painter's unranked group did receive 50 votes in the preseason AP Poll.

Similar to how Few's unit shot horrendously from deep against Arkansas (6-for-28, 21.4 percent), Purdue did the same in their 76-53 exhibition loss at the UConn Huskies in Hartford, Connecticut, back on Oct. 27 (2-for-25, 8.0 percent). That's for those who like to overreact to October encounters that don't matter.

More eeriness to leave you with heading into the Halloween weekend. The Zags have won 22 straight season openers, but are 0-5 all-time against the Boilermakers. What gives at the start of next week?

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho