The Battle...Errr Skirmish of the Bulldogs

Let's be very clear about this, no major opinions should be taken from this game. No one will be freaking out about the sky falling because Starks went off for over 30, and no one will be arguing that GU needs to be ranked higher because it beat Bryant University. With that disclaimer out there, let's have some fun and dig into this game to see what we did learn about the 2013-2014 Zag team.

Gonzaga opened it's regular season today in typical fashion, taking down a lesser known opponent and knocking off some of the cobwebs. Gonzaga got out to an early lead thanks to Stockton, who used his quick first step and high basketball IQ to blow by Bryant defenders early on. Stockton looks to continue his fine form from last season, although he will need to prove he can be effective against more high caliber athletes before he is able to shed his critics.

Sophomore Karnowski was also effective early on picking up multiple easy baskets, but also picking up silly fouls and was forced to sit-down with his second foul 7 minutes into the game with the Zags leading 14-8. Karnowski will have to stay out of foul trouble this year for the Zags to succeed due to the lack of depth at the center position.

The Zags stayed aggressive early and were rewarded by putting the Bryant Bulldogs in foul trouble early and earning 17 free throws to extend their lead to 49-28 in the first half. Bryant meanwhile was paced by Joe O'Shea and Alex Francis who combined for 19 of Bryant's 28 first half points. Gonzaga was paced by Dower (11pts, 9rebs) and Pangos (9pts, 4ast) in the first half.

Coming out in the second half it was more of the same for the Zags as Dower took over to finish with 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Transfer Gerard Coleman put in 9 second half points to finish with 15pts and 4stl.

While the Zags won the game easily, the second half belonged to Dyami Starks. Starks went from shooting 3-8 in the first half to 10-14 in the second half on his way to lighting up the Zags for a game high 35 points. Gonzaga just didn't seem to have an answer for Starks on a night where just about everything fell for the Junior guard.

It in the end it didn't matter as the Zags used balance scoring to dismantle a young and growing Bryant team. Five Zags scored in double figures and 2 more finished with 9. Gonzaga was able to control almost every statistical category in the game on their way to an easy win.

Don't be surprised to see Bryant upset someone this season though, this is a well coached team with some quality players.

Make sure to check out our next article for 5 Takeaways As the Zags Take Down Bryant!