NBA Draft Watch/College Basketball Game of the Day, January 31st (#4 Gonzaga at BYU) Recap/Prospects of Note

Gonzaga Brandon Clarke contests shot of BYU Yoeli Childs
(Photo Credit: Rick Bowmer/Associated Press)

Led by their two front court players Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura, the fourth ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs went on the road to defeat BYU by a score of 93-63, in a late Thursday night tip-off. 

Clarke and Hachimura combined for 43 points and 18 rebounds — with each grabbing nine rebounds, respectively — as the Bulldogs bullied the Cougars, cruising to another West Coast Conference win to remain undefeated in conference and improve to a 20-2 record on the season. 

For BYU they were led in scoring by junior guard TJ Haws who dropped 16 points, while junior big man and NBA Draft prospect Yoeli Childs came away with 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. 

After opening the game with back-to-back turnovers by point guard Josh Perkins and Hachimura, falling behind 3-0 to BYU following a made layup by Haws with 19:27 remaining, Gonzaga went on a 17-2 run over the next five minutes that saw Perkins playmaking serve as the catalyst, while Clarke and Hachimura got into a groove that lasted the entire game. 

A 6'8, 215 pound forward, Brandon Clarke had an excellent first half, going 4-4 from the field in the first 20 minutes, en route to sinking his first nine shots of the game.

Affecting the game on both ends of the floor early on, Clarke established his effectiveness with a few running one hand push shots, showing excellent touch from just inside the free throw line — including one where brought the ball up in transition and came to an under control jump stop. He also showed his awareness in moving without the ball, flashing to the the middle of the free throw line and flipping in another soft one handed shot on a pretty feed from Perkins with 10:50 left in the first half to put Gonzaga up 23-13.

A few possessions later, Hachimura caught the ball on the left wing and made a slashing drive to the middle of the the paint, before hopping in the lane and adjusting his body in the air, switching hands for a left hand finish with 8:43 left, putting Gonzaga up 25-18.

Bringing boundless energy, Clarke later ran the floor on a fast break led by Gonzaga wing Zach Norvell, Jr. and immediately followed Norvell's missed layup with a two-handed, put-back dunk over the head of a defender.

Hachimura followed that on the next possession to come up with an offensive rebound off his own missed jump shot and converted on a layup to extend the Gonzaga lead to 37-20, as 3:03 remained in the first half.

As well as Clarke and Hachimura played in the first half, it was point guard Josh Perkins who controlled the tempo and help push the 'Zags to a 41-24 lead at halftime. Providing his teammates with plenty of precise passes that lead to easy, open attempts both from the perimeter and near the basket, Perkins collected six of his game-high 10 assists in the first half. 

Exhibiting both poise and patience as well as decisive decision/playmaking, Perkins ignited the 'Zags 17-2 run in the first half after his turnover on a stolen pass opening possession. Finding wing Corey Kispert for an open three, the 6'3 senior exhibited excellent vision and passing with precision as he put plenty of zip on the cross court feed while reading the defense allowed his team to get on the board, tying the score at 3-3 with 18:36 to go. 

Between the 16:36 and 14:58 puts into picture Perkins impact during the period, as he first found Rui Hachimura on a outlet pass, throwing it ahead of the defense for an easy dunk by the projected first round pick and National Player of the Year candidate.

Perkins then followed that with a driving finish of his own and then on the very next possession pushed the tempo to create an in rhythm three on a flip to the right wing, finding the 6'5 redshirt sophomore Zach Norvell, Jr. — one of Gonzaga's players that has also drawn attention as a potential early-entrant into the draft — to put Gonzaga up 14-5, five minutes into the contest. 

Currently ranking 10th in the NCAA in assists per game (6.7), Perkins then closed out the scoring in the half for visitors by dropping off a dime to Hachimura for a dunk with 2:01 left in the half — pushing the Gonzaga lead to 41-20.

The senior playmaker then came out in the second half and reversed course of his turnover in the opening play of the game, perfectly executing a give n' go with Brandon Clarke, as Perkins took the handoff and found Clarke on a quick roll to the basket for a pretty lob pass, alley-oop dunk. 

Clarke would continue with his hot start from the field, as he went on a tear to start he second half. 

Boasting one of the highest field goal percentages in the country, Clarke scored in a series of ways in the second half, making a nice move out of the post to go baseline and finish with a fine ringer roll while guarded by Yoeli Childs on the right block. 

He then followed that on the next possession, running the floor hard then catching a lob thrown just across mid-court by Zach Norvell and went up to yam it home while hanging in the air. 

Soon after, Perkins found Clarke again, this time on the left wing as the forward confidently drilled an open three (just his third of the season) — scoring nine straight for Gonzaga to open the second half in making the score 50-32 with 16:56 left to play. 

Playing excellent defense, particularly in his part making things tough for BYU's Yoeli Childs to get going, Clarke battled for position in the post and came away with a steal on the following defensive possession. Clarke's steal led to points on the opposite end as Rui Hachimura made an effective face up triple-threat move, showing subtle quickness with a shimmy and then drive baseline for a layup to extend the Gonzaga lead to 20 at the time.

Displaying some defined moves from the post and diving to the basket on careful cuts against the defense, Hachimura was a force in the second half — going 3-3 from the field and getting to the free throw line multiple times (where he shot 4-8 for the game). He finished the game with 20 points. 

Wings Corey Kispert and Zach Norvell also scored in double digits, putting up 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Kispert was excellent in shooting the ball from the perimeter, going 4-6 on his 3-point attempts. 

Norvell played with his usual upbeat effective energy on both sides of the floor, closing out quickly to passes on the wing, while also scrapping on the glass, grabbing seven rebounds. Offensively, he made a concerted effort to keep the ball moving quickly around the perimeter and came away with four assists, while drilling two 3-pointers himself. 

Entering the game with the tenth most double-doubles and fourth most field goals in the NCAA, Yoeli Childs was the focal point of Gonzaga's defensive game plan — receiving double teams upon nearly all his entries into the post. 

On most possessions Childs was prevented from receiving the ball, as Gonzaga's front-court of Clarke and Hachimura each spent time working to establish favorable defensive position — fronting him in the post and offering weak-side help. 

Childs exhibited a couple effective moves throughout the game, showing off a soft touch on a pretty jump shot from the free throw line as he faded to the side upon his release. He also drilled an open in rhythm three from just to the right of the top of the key in the first half, but otherwise found it tough to score on the Gonzaga defense. 

The 6'8, 225 pound forward for BYU — who initially entered the 2018 NBA Draft before returning to school — did show the strength and willingness to attack the chest of the Gonzaga big men, offering more functional than fluid footwork from the post. 

Childs came away with three assists, making a few nice passes from the post when able to assess the defense and find teammates cutting to the basket. Drawing a few fouls on moves to the rim, he sunk 5-6 free throws for the game, while shooting 3-12 on field goals — including 1-3 from trey.