Tillie paces Zags in exhibition win

SPOKANE — Killian Tillie paced the Gonzaga men’s basketball team to a 96-67 season-opening exhibition victory over the College of Idaho in the McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday.

Tillie scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. He finished 11 for 11 from the field, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range. The sophomore added four rebounds and four steals off the bench.

Tillie was one of five Zags that finished in double figures. Johnathan Williams was 6 of 8 from the field with 18 points. He also had six boards and two blocks. Redshirt freshman Zach Norvell Jr. made five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Jacob Larsen and Corey Kispert chipped in 12 and 10 points respectively. Rui Hachimura and Silas Melson both grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists.

Gonzaga jumped out to a 17-5 lead nine minutes into the game. Tillie gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the first half, 46-28, on a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the half. GU made 52.8 percent of its shots from the field in the first 20 minutes, and committed only two turnovers. The Zags had a 46-31 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs scored 18 of the first 24 points in the second half and stretched the margin to 27, after a dunk from Williams with 14:50 left. Gonzaga led by as many as 33 points late in the second half. The Zags made nearly 61 percent of their shots from the field in the second half, including 6 of 14 from 3-point range.

Gonzaga outscored the Yotes (1-1) 46-20 in the paint. The Zags outrebounded C of I, 38-32. GU turned 15 College of Idaho turnovers into 17 points. The Bulldogs’ bench outscored their counterparts, 57-30.

Aziz Leeks and Tanner Kramer scored 11 and 10 points, respectively for C of I, of Caldwell. Leeks added a game-high seven rebounds. Talon Pinckney, a freshman from Centennial High in Boise, had five assists.

Gonzaga opens the regular season at home against Texas Southern on Friday.