SPOKANE — The first half started with Khalif Battle hitting consecutive 3-pointers and ended with Battle drilling a step-back jumper to beat the buzzer.
In between, Gonzaga piled up 19 assists — 10 by Ryan Nembhard in another record-setting performance — and through the first 13-plus minutes the team had more assists (15) than Pepperdine had points (13). Midway through the half, GU was shooting 75% and led by 20.
It was that kind of night for Gonzaga’s offense as the Zags cruised to a 107-55 West Coast Conference victory Saturday over the Waves at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
The only questions after the first half: Would Nembhard eclipse Blake Stepp’s single-game record of 16, set in 2002 against Long Beach State? Would the Zags break the school’s single-game assists record of 32, set in 1980 vs. Loyola Marymount?
The answers: No and yes. Nembhard played a season-low 22 minutes and just eight in the second half with the outcome long decided. He finished with 11 assists. The Zags set a new single-game record with 33 assists. The 33rd came when Emmanuel Innocenti fed Dusty Stromer for a 3-pointer with 4:50 remaining.
“As I told them in the (locker room), that’s a really special accomplishment because it shows you’re making the right basketball play,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “It shows you’re being a great teammate and you’re sharing it and doing what we kind of ask of them — keep that ball moving.”
“Big time,” Nembhard said of GU’s 33 assists. “It’s a credit to the guys we got, playing unselfish basketball and I think that’s a great brand of basketball to play.”
Nembhard played long enough to move past BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth as the single-season record holder for assists in WCC games. The senior point guard did it with his eighth assist late in the first half, giving him 137 in 14 games. Collinsworth’s record was 136 in 18 games in 2016.
Nembhard has 270 assists this season and he’s closing in on Saint Mary’s Emmett Naar’s conference record 284.
Gonzaga extended its streak of consecutive 20-win seasons to 28. The Zags (20-7, 11-3 WCC) remain in second place, two games behind Saint Mary’s, which thumped Washington State 77-56. Gonzaga visits WSU on Wednesday before the Gaels visit the Kennel on Saturday.
Gonzaga was rolling early in the first meeting with Pepperdine in late December and led by 20 points early in the second half. The Waves scored 50 second-half points and the final seven-point margin, 89-82, remains the closest of Gonzaga’s 20 wins.
The rematch was a mismatch from the outset. Point guard Moe Odum, who had 24 points in the first meeting, was limited to five and Stefan Todorovic, the WCC’s second-leading scorer at 18.8 per game, was just 3 of 12 from the field and scored 10 points.
“We did a good job, especially on those two,” Few said. “Those two kind of cooked us pretty good down at the place. We had a really poor second half (in Malibu) so I think we had our guys’ attention. They came out with great intensity, great purpose and we hit our coverages really well and flew around, and that’s what opened up some transition opportunities.”
Gonzaga led 55-26 at the break. The highlights kept coming in the second half with Battle nailing another 3-pointer in the first 15 seconds and the 6-foot-5 transfer from Arkansas dunking a lob pass from Nolan Hickman. Seconds later, Nembhard fed Graham Ike for a dunk and Gonzaga led 66-33 with 16:14 remaining.
Battle drilled four 3-pointers and finished with 24 points. He’d made just five 3-pointers in the previous seven games.
“He’s a heater, a microwave, that’s what he does,” Hickman said. “That’s why we brought him in. It’s always good to see him get going real early.”
Hickman added 18 points, four 3-pointers and a season-high seven assists in 24 minutes. Braden Huff and Michael Ajayi each had 10 points. Twelve Zags scored and eight recorded at least one assist.
Gonzaga finished 12 of 26 on 3-pointers after making just 14 of 71 in the first four games of February.
The Zags have won 49 in a row against Pepperdine, matching Syracuse’s streak over Colgate from 1963-2019 for the second longest in Division I history. UCLA holds the record with 52 consecutive wins over Cal from 1961-85.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
