Gonzaga added a second exhibition game last month, and the late-arranged matchup will now do more than fill a date on the calendar. The Bulldogs will face Lewis-Clark State on Wednesday at McCarthey Athletic Center, with the game turned into a charity exhibition for Spokane wildfire victims.
The tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, and the game will air locally on KHQ. The setup came together after RJay Barsh made a phone call to Lewis-Clark State when Gonzaga still needed another exhibition game, and Austin Johnson later submitted the petition that the NAIA approved.
Johnson said the Warriors were willing to make the two-hour trip north from Lewiston even though the school had already been fully booked and the trip would leave it losing money. He said the arrangement meant giving up the program’s usual payment and still taking on costs for gas and meals, calling it “a lot of money for us.”
That payment, $5,000, will instead go to the Karen Worthy Memorial Wildfire Grant. Johnson told Gonzaga to keep the check and donate it, saying, “We’re not making money. For me, it wasn’t just about getting the GU game, it was this can also be a good, positive thing.”
The charity angle fits a program with a recent history against Gonzaga, even if the scoreboard has not gone its way. Lewis-Clark State lost by 38 the last time it played Gonzaga in 2024, when Graham Ike and Braden Huff combined for 45 points in a 96-58 victory.
Johnson said the trip has still been worthwhile in part because Gonzaga visits have let his players see friends and family in the Spokane area. Lewis-Clark State has made the trip on three occasions under his watch, but the NAIA’s scheduling limits had left the school without the flexibility to add another exhibition until this one was framed as a charity game.
Mark Few helped launch the Karen Worthy Memorial Wildfire Grant to help families affected by the Spokane Complex fires, which gives Wednesday’s exhibition a direct local purpose beyond basketball. The game now stands as a rare late addition that solved Gonzaga’s scheduling need and turned Lewis-Clark State’s sacrifice into relief for wildfire victims.
