PORTLAND, Ore. — Joel Ayayi is a one of one, at least at Gonzaga.
Nobody before Saturday night's 116-88 win over Portland had ever recorded a triple-double in program history. Ayayi now has, and he did in in impressive fashion.
In just 21 minutes of play, Ayayi hit the milestone mark with his 10th assist. At that point he had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists on 5-of-5 shooting. Ayayi finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and a career-high 14 assists on 5-of-7 shooting. Ayayi, a guard, led the team in rebounds and assists. Fourteen assists is the second-most for a Gonzaga player in a single game ever.
"To be honest, it's just my teammates being in the right spot. A lot of time all I had to do was feed them," said Ayayi of the achievement postgame. "Rebounding, I always go and try to get rebounds and I try to dig them out. I had a feeling it was bound to happen at some point to be honest and I'm just lucky and thankful it happened today."
"It's quite an accomplishment any time you get a triple-double. It shows how engaged you are in the game and how many good things you do to help your team win. That's obviously what Joel does. He's got a knack for winning," said Mark Few of the accomplishment.
Overall, Drew Timme led the way for Gonzaga with 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Spokane native Anton Watson also poured in 23 on 8-of-9 shooting. Six Gonzaga players overall scored in double figures.
116 points was the third highest point total for a Gonzaga team in the Mark Few era.
The Gonzaga men next play Pepperdine on Thursday in The Kennel at 2 PM on Thursday on ESPN2.
