Braden Huff and Graham Ike lead the way as No. 7 Gonzaga cruises past Arkansas-Pine Bluff 111-71
AP
Dec 05, 2023
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Braden Huff scored 19 points, Graham Ike added 17 points in 17 minutes, and No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs cruised past Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions 111-71 on Tuesday night.
Huff was named West Coast Conference freshman of the week after scoring 12 points in consecutive games last week, including Gonzaga’s 89-76 win over Southern California in Las Vegas on Saturday.
“He’s got a knack for scoring,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “He’s got soft hands like some of the great bigs we’ve had over the years. Kind of like Drew (Timme), the ball just goes in.”
Five players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs and 11 total scored points as the Bulldogs (7-1) rolled to their fifth straight win since their lone loss against No. 2 Purdue at the Maui Invitational. Anton Watson finished with 15 points and Nolan Hickman added 13 as the Zags shot 57% and outscored the Golden Lions 60-8 in the paint.
Gonzaga led 32-4 after just eight minutes as it knocked down 14 of its first 18 shots while Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-6) missed its first 14 attempts.
Jun Seok Yeo added 10 points for the Zags and made his first start as freshman Dusty Stromer came off the bench after starting the first seven games. Stromer still played 24 minutes and had eight points.
“I thought they did a good job playing the game right, executing at a high level,” Few said. “They were just focused and business-like. I thought it was a mature approach from our whole team.”
Huff had 12 points and Ike had 11 in the first half as the duo combined to make 11 of 15 shots and staked the Zags to a 59-30 halftime lead.
The Golden Lions shot just 9 of 34 in the first half. Gonzaga led by as many as 49 in the second half.
“They played it the right way and basically got a practice in the way they cleared the bench,” Arkansas-Pine Bluff coach Solomon Bozeman said. “Tonight was a learning experience for our team and our staff, getting to see what an elite team looks like.”
Joe French led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with a season-high 26 points on eight 3s. Rashad Williams added 17 points and Kylen Milton scored 13.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas-Pine Bluff: The Golden Lions were picked to finish 10th in the SWAC’s preseason poll. They will play their third straight game against a Top 25 team on Saturday before getting into their conference schedule.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs have won 10 consecutive home games since their NCAA-best 76-game home win streak was snapped on Jan. 20 by Loyola Marymount. Gonzaga has reached 100 points in three of its last four home games dating back to last season.
UP NEXT
Arkansas-Pine Bluff: At No. 5 Connecticut on Saturday.
Gonzaga: At Washington on Saturday.
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1st Half
UAPB
Golden Lions
30
GONZ
Bulldogs
59
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Golden Lions gains possession)
19:43
Rashad Williams misses two point jump shot
19:41
Anton Watson defensive rebound
19:27
+2
Nolan Hickman makes two point jump shot
0-2
19:09
Kylen Milton misses three point jump shot
19:07
Graham Ike defensive rebound
18:55
+3
Nolan Hickman makes three point jump shot
0-5
18:41
Lonnell Martin Jr. misses three point jump shot
18:39
Bulldogs defensive rebound
18:27
+2
Graham Ike makes two point alley-oop dunk (Ryan Nembhard assists)
0-7
18:14
Rashad Williams misses three point jump shot
18:12
Jun Seok Yeo defensive rebound
17:58
Jun Seok Yeo misses three point jump shot
17:56
Kylen Milton defensive rebound
17:40
Graham Ike shooting foul (Lonnell Martin Jr. draws the foul)
17:40
+1
Lonnell Martin Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2
1-7
17:40
+1
Lonnell Martin Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2
2-7
17:31
+2
Graham Ike makes two point dunk (Nolan Hickman assists)
2-9
17:18
Ishmael Plet misses two point jump shot
17:16
Graham Ike defensive rebound
17:12
+2
Ryan Nembhard makes two point jump shot (Nolan Hickman assists)
2-11
17:12
Golden Lions 30 second timeout
17:06
Rashad Williams turnover (Nolan Hickman steals)
17:05
Rashad Williams personal foul
16:53
+2
Graham Ike makes two point hook shot (Nolan Hickman assists)
2-13
16:27
Kylen Milton misses three point jump shot
16:25
Anton Watson defensive rebound
16:19
+2
Graham Ike makes two point layup (Anton Watson assists)
2-15
16:19
Joe French shooting foul (Graham Ike draws the foul)
16:19
+1
Graham Ike makes regular free throw 1 of 1
2-16
16:02
Lonnell Martin Jr. misses two point layup
16:00
Graham Ike defensive rebound
15:55
TV timeout
15:53
+2
Graham Ike makes two point layup (Ryan Nembhard assists)
2-18
15:37
Kaine McColley turnover (out of bounds)
15:13
+3
Dusty Stromer makes three point jump shot (Nolan Hickman assists)
2-21
14:54
Joe French misses three point jump shot
14:52
Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound
14:46
Nolan Hickman misses two point jump shot
14:44
Braden Huff offensive rebound
14:42
+2
Braden Huff makes two point layup
2-23
14:42
Trejon Ware shooting foul (Braden Huff draws the foul)
14:42
Braden Huff misses regular free throw 1 of 1
14:42
Jyre McCloud defensive rebound
14:32
Dusty Stromer personal foul
14:22
Rashad Williams misses two point jump shot
14:20
Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound
14:13
Anton Watson misses two point layup
14:11
Braden Huff offensive rebound
13:59
+2
Braden Huff makes two point layup
2-25
13:55
Joe French misses two point jump shot
13:53
Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound
13:38
Braden Huff turnover (lost ball) (Rashad Williams steals)
13:30
Jyre McCloud misses two point layup
13:28
Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound
13:24
+3
Nolan Hickman makes three point jump shot (Ryan Nembhard assists)
2-28
13:05
Joe French misses two point jump shot
13:03
Joe French offensive rebound
12:52
Joe French misses two point jump shot
12:50
Ishmael Plet offensive rebound
12:49
Braden Huff personal foul
12:49
+1
Ishmael Plet makes regular free throw 1 of 2
3-28
12:49
+1
Ishmael Plet makes regular free throw 2 of 2
4-28
12:28
+2
Braden Huff makes two point hook shot
4-30
12:18
Trejon Ware turnover (bad pass) (Nolan Hickman steals)
12:10
Dusty Stromer misses three point jump shot
12:08
Ishmael Plet defensive rebound
12:02
Rashad Williams misses three point jump shot
12:00
Ben Gregg defensive rebound
11:52
+2
Braden Huff makes two point dunk (Dusty Stromer assists)
4-32
11:35
+3
Rashad Williams makes three point jump shot
7-32
11:28
Trejon Ware personal foul
11:28
TV timeout
11:06
Nolan Hickman misses three point jump shot
11:04
Ben Gregg offensive rebound
10:58
Ben Gregg misses two point jump shot
10:56
Zach Reinhart defensive rebound
10:50
+2
Kylen Milton makes two point dunk (Zach Reinhart assists)
9-32
10:45
Rashad Williams personal foul (Luka Krajnovic draws the foul)
10:35
Jyre McCloud personal foul (Graham Ike draws the foul)
10:30
Ben Gregg misses two point layup
10:28
Ben Gregg offensive rebound
10:24
Ben Gregg misses two point layup
10:22
Ishmael Plet defensive rebound
10:17
Lonnell Martin Jr. misses three point jump shot
10:15
Ben Gregg defensive rebound
10:05
+2
Luka Krajnovic makes two point hook shot
9-34
9:42
+2
Jyre McCloud makes two point layup (Rashad Williams assists)
11-34
9:30
+2
Luka Krajnovic makes two point layup (Graham Ike assists)
11-36
9:11
Jyre McCloud turnover (Ben Gregg steals)
9:06
Ben Gregg turnover (bad pass)
8:55
+3
Joe French makes three point jump shot (Kylen Milton assists)
14-36
8:45
Anton Watson misses three point jump shot
8:43
Graham Ike offensive rebound
8:39
Ryan Nembhard misses three point jump shot
8:37
Rashad Williams defensive rebound
8:17
Rashad Williams misses three point jump shot
8:17
Graham Ike defensive rebound
8:17
Dusty Stromer misses three point jump shot
8:15
Kylen Milton defensive rebound
8:04
Kylen Milton misses three point jump shot
8:02
Graham Ike defensive rebound
7:49
+3
Anton Watson makes three point jump shot (Dusty Stromer assists)
14-39
7:27
+3
Kaine McColley makes three point jump shot (Rashad Williams assists)
17-39
7:18
Kylen Milton shooting foul (Anton Watson draws the foul)