DREW TIMME

For the second straight season, Eastern Oregon’s Justin Jeske was able to enjoy a homecoming of sorts playing at Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center. The redshirt junior from Spokane started Wednesday in the NAIA Mountaineers’ 120-42 loss to the 10th-ranked Zags, roughly 14 months after a 115-62 setback to Gonzaga last season.

Gonzaga has climbed back into the top 10 in the Associated Press with a five-game winning streak.

Ray Giacoletti sat in the first row behind Gonzaga’s bench for the Alabama game last Saturday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. He was roughly six feet from seats he'd occupied for 34 years at arenas around the country during a coaching career that included stops at Eastern Washington as head coach from 2001-04 and Gonzaga as an assistant from 2008-13.

Our latest rewind looks at Gonzaga’s guard play and defense in Tuesday’s win over Montana – spoiler alert: some good and bad – and the Zags’ improvement since their 5-3 start.

Drew Timme has a lengthy flight home Wednesday to Dallas for the Christmas holiday, but his mind was completely focused on the task at hand Tuesday. Timme delivered another masterful performance on a night when the 11th-ranked Zags needed all of his season-high 32 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to hold off Montana 85-75 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Call up Montana’s category leaders in 12 different stats and Josh Bannan’s name is listed first eight times, including a couple that one wouldn’t expect to see a 6-foot-10, 222-pound forward at the top.

With final exams complete and an impressive win over Alabama added to the resume, Gonzaga has one more task ahead before many of its players board flights home for a short holiday break.