No. 24 Gonzaga rebounds and opens WCC play with emphatic 86-60 win over Pepperdine
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Graham Ike scored 20 points, Anton Watson added 15 and No. 24 Gonzaga beat Pepperdine 86-60 on Thursday night in their West Coast Conference opener for its 46th straight win over the Waves.
Gonzaga (10-4, 1-0 WCC) has won all 25 conference openers under coach Mark Few, the last four coming against Pepperdine (7-9, 0-1).
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures including Nolan Hickman, who had 14 points. Hickman led the Zags with four 3-pointers and Gonzaga shot 42.1% on 3s after struggling badly from deep lately.
Ryan Nembhard finished with 10 points and seven assists, and drained his first 3-pointer in a month.
“It was about time,” Nembhard said. “I’m consistent with my work, always the same routine, but it was good to see them fall. Just got to keep being confident in my shot.”
Gonzaga had dropped three of its last five, including last week's home loss to San Diego State, and came into this one with its AP Top 25 ranking in jeopardy. The Bulldogs have made 142 consecutive appearances in the Top 25 poll since 2016.
But the Zags had an easy night against Pepperdine.
“It’s good to get back to winning. We don’t like losing. We don’t lose much around here, so this one felt good,” Few said. “Great to see the players take to heart what we’ve been working on.”
Gonzaga seized control early with a 15-2 run. Nembhard and Hickman buried 3s as part of a 13-1 spurt later in the half and the Bulldogs led 45-27 at the break.
“I think we came out with a bunch of energy. The defense and the effort were really good tonight,” Few said. “We were active, connected, physical around the rim. Those were things that we slipped up on the other night.”
Gonzaga stayed hot into the second half, making eight straight shots over a three-minute span, including 3s from Watson and Nembhard, to give the Zags a 74-43 lead with 7:55 to play.
Braden Huff added 11 points off the bench for Gonzaga.
Houston Mallette led Pepperdine with 15 points but shot just 2 of 9. Michael Ajayi added 14.
"We’re just getting some of our better players back and so we’re excited to start playing together, learning how to do that,” Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar said. “Gonzaga is arguably the top team in the conference. This was a great test to see where we are.”
BIG PICTURE
Pepperdine: Dropped its conference opener for the fifth consecutive season. The Waves had won two straight but are 0-4 on the road.
Gonzaga: Nembhard knocked down a pair of 3s as Gonzaga finished 8 of 19 from behind the arc. Nembhard had not hit a 3 since Dec. 5, missing 16 in a row going into the game.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine will be at home against Santa Clara on Saturday.
Gonzaga will host San Diego on Saturday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Boubacar Coulibaly vs. Graham Ike (Waves gains possession) | |||
19:37 | Jevon Porter misses two point jump shot | |||
19:35 | Nolan Hickman defensive rebound | |||
19:16 | Boubacar Coulibaly blocks Ryan Nembhard's two point layup | |||
19:14 | Ethan Anderson defensive rebound | |||
19:01 | +2 | Ethan Anderson makes two point layup | 2-0 | |
18:40 | Anton Watson turnover (bad pass) | |||
18:23 | Jevon Porter misses three point jump shot | |||
18:21 | Michael Ajayi offensive rebound | |||
18:20 | Michael Ajayi turnover (out of bounds) | |||
18:04 | Anton Watson misses two point jump shot | |||
18:02 | Graham Ike offensive rebound | |||
17:56 | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point hook shot | 2-2 | |
17:27 | Jevon Porter misses two point layup | |||
17:25 | Graham Ike defensive rebound | |||
17:16 | Ryan Nembhard turnover (bad pass) | |||
16:59 | Ryan Nembhard personal foul | |||
16:51 | Jevon Porter misses two point layup | |||
16:51 | Boubacar Coulibaly offensive rebound | |||
16:51 | Graham Ike personal foul | |||
16:39 | Michael Ajayi misses two point jump shot | |||
16:37 | Graham Ike defensive rebound | |||
16:25 | +2 | Anton Watson makes two point jump shot | 2-4 | |
16:07 | Dusty Stromer blocks Michael Ajayi's two point jump shot | |||
16:05 | Graham Ike defensive rebound | |||
16:02 | +3 | Dusty Stromer makes three point jump shot (Nolan Hickman assists) | 2-7 | |
15:35 | +2 | Jevon Porter makes two point layup (Michael Ajayi assists) | 4-7 | |
15:26 | TV timeout | |||
15:19 | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point hook shot | 4-9 | |
15:19 | Boubacar Coulibaly shooting foul (Graham Ike draws the foul) | |||
15:19 | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 4-10 | |
15:08 | Houston Mallette misses two point jump shot | |||
15:06 | Anton Watson defensive rebound | |||
14:48 | Dusty Stromer misses three point jump shot | |||
14:46 | Michael Ajayi defensive rebound | |||
14:24 | Anton Watson blocks Malik Moore's two point jump shot | |||
14:22 | Anton Watson defensive rebound | |||
14:00 | Nolan Hickman misses three point jump shot | |||
13:58 | Nils Cooper defensive rebound | |||
13:46 | Michael Ajayi misses two point jump shot | |||
13:44 | Ryan Nembhard defensive rebound | |||
13:36 | Michael Ajayi personal foul (Anton Watson draws the foul) | |||
13:34 | +2 | Anton Watson makes two point layup (Ryan Nembhard assists) | 4-12 | |
13:19 | Houston Mallette misses three point jump shot | |||
13:17 | Michael Ajayi offensive rebound | |||
13:17 | Dusty Stromer personal foul (Michael Ajayi draws the foul) | |||
12:58 | Nils Cooper misses three point jump shot | |||
12:56 | Michael Ajayi offensive rebound | |||
12:49 | Malik Moore misses two point layup | |||
12:47 | Jalen Pitre offensive rebound | |||
12:43 | Houston Mallette misses three point jump shot | |||
12:41 | Anton Watson defensive rebound | |||
12:34 | +2 | Braden Huff makes two point layup (Anton Watson assists) | 4-14 | |
12:34 | Michael Ajayi shooting foul (Braden Huff draws the foul) | |||
12:34 | +1 | Braden Huff makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 4-15 | |
12:22 | Jevon Porter turnover (bad pass) (Nolan Hickman steals) | |||
12:14 | Jun Seok Yeo misses three point jump shot | |||
12:12 | Jevon Porter defensive rebound | |||
12:03 | +2 | Ethan Anderson makes two point layup (Jevon Porter assists) | 6-15 | |
11:46 | Nils Cooper personal foul (Anton Watson draws the foul) | |||
11:46 | TV timeout | |||
11:33 | Anton Watson misses three point jump shot | |||
11:31 | Waves defensive rebound | |||
11:19 | +2 | Ethan Anderson makes two point layup (Jalen Pitre assists) | 8-15 | |
11:19 | Jun Seok Yeo shooting foul (Ethan Anderson draws the foul) | |||
11:19 | +1 | Ethan Anderson makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 9-15 | |
10:58 | Nolan Hickman misses two point jump shot | |||
10:56 | Bulldogs offensive rebound | |||
10:56 | Jalen Pitre personal foul | |||
10:52 | Ryan Nembhard misses three point jump shot | |||
10:50 | Jun Seok Yeo offensive rebound | |||
10:46 | Jun Seok Yeo misses two point layup | |||
10:44 | Braden Huff offensive rebound | |||
10:43 | +2 | Braden Huff makes two point layup | 9-17 | |
10:28 | Malik Moore misses two point jump shot | |||
10:26 | Braden Huff defensive rebound | |||
10:18 | +3 | Nolan Hickman makes three point jump shot (Ryan Nembhard assists) | 9-20 | |
10:08 | Ben Gregg personal foul | |||
9:56 | Ethan Anderson misses three point jump shot | |||
9:54 | Ben Gregg defensive rebound | |||
9:33 | Jun Seok Yeo offensive foul | |||
9:33 | Jun Seok Yeo turnover (offensive foul) | |||
9:16 | Ethan Anderson turnover (bad pass) | |||
9:04 | Dusty Stromer turnover (bad pass) (Jevon Porter steals) | |||
9:04 | Houston Mallette misses two point layup | |||
9:02 | Ben Gregg defensive rebound | |||
9:00 | Jevon Porter personal foul (Ben Gregg draws the foul) | |||
8:44 | Ben Gregg turnover (traveling) | |||
8:34 | +2 | Boubacar Coulibaly makes two point layup (Houston Mallette assists) | 11-20 | |
8:19 | Graham Ike misses two point jump shot | |||
8:17 | Michael Ajayi defensive rebound | |||
8:01 | Jevon Porter misses two point jump shot | |||
7:59 | Dusty Stromer defensive rebound | |||
7:50 | +3 | Nolan Hickman makes three point jump shot | 11-23 | |
7:32 | Boubacar Coulibaly misses two point jump shot | |||
7:30 | Nolan Hickman defensive rebound | |||
7:17 | Boubacar Coulibaly personal foul (Graham Ike draws the foul) | |||
7:17 | TV timeout | |||
7:17 | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 11-24 | |
7:17 | +1 | Graham Ike makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-25 | |
7:06 | +3 | Houston Mallette makes three point jump shot (Ethan Anderson assists) | 14-25 | |
6:41 | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point layup (Anton Watson assists) | 14-27 | |
6:26 | Jalen Pitre turnover (out of bounds) | |||
6:08 | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point jump shot | 14-29 | |
5:45 | Jevon Porter misses three point jump shot | |||
5:43 | Dusty Stromer defensive rebound | |||
5:31 | +2 | Graham Ike makes two point layup | 14-31 | |
5:12 | Michael Ajayi misses two point jump shot | |||
5:10 | Dusty Stromer defensive rebound | |||
5:05 | +3 | Ryan Nembhard makes three point jump shot (Dusty Stromer assists) | 14-34 | |
5:03 | Waves 30 second timeout | |||
4:35 | Michael Ajayi misses two point jump shot | |||
4:33 | Anton Watson defensive rebound | |||
4:32 | Jevon Porter personal foul (Anton Watson draws the foul) | |||
4:32 | +1 | Anton Watson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-35 | |
4:32 | +1 | Anton Watson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 14-36 | |
4:13 | Anton Watson personal foul (Houston Mallette draws the foul) | |||
4:13 | +1 | Houston Mallette makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-36 | |
4:13 | Houston Mallette misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
4:13 | Ben Gregg defensive rebound | |||
3:53 | Anton Watson misses two point jump shot | |||
3:51 | Michael Ajayi defensive rebound | |||
3:51 | Ben Gregg personal foul (Michael Ajayi draws the foul) | |||
3:51 | TV timeout | |||
3:51 | Michael Ajayi misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
3:51 | Braden Huff defensive rebound | |||
3:39 | Michael Ajayi blocks Anton Watson's three point jump shot | |||
3:37 | Dusty Stromer offensive rebound | |||
3:29 | +2 | Braden Huff makes two point layup (Anton Watson assists) | 15-38 | |
3:10 | Nolan Hickman shooting foul (Michael Ajayi draws the foul) | |||
3:10 | +1 | Michael Ajayi makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 16-38 | |
3:10 | +1 | Michael Ajayi makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 17-38 | |
2:57 | Malik Moore personal foul (Ryan Nembhard draws the foul) | |||
2:57 | Ryan Nembhard misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
2:57 | Houston Mallette defensive rebound | |||
2:34 | +3 | Houston Mallette makes three point jump shot | 20-38 | |
2:18 | Ryan Nembhard misses two point layup | |||
2:16 | Houston Mallette defensive rebound | |||
2:05 | Anton Watson personal foul (Michael Ajayi draws the foul) | |||
2:05 | +1 | Michael Ajayi makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 21-38 | |
2:05 | Michael Ajayi misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
2:05 | Ben Gregg defensive rebound | |||
1:53 | +3 | Nolan Hickman makes three point jump shot | 21-41 | |
1:24 | Houston Mallette misses three point jump shot | |||
1:22 | Michael Ajayi offensive rebound | |||
1:20 | Braden Huff shooting foul (Michael Ajayi draws the foul) | |||
1:20 | +1 | Michael Ajayi makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-41 | |
1:20 | +1 | Michael Ajayi makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 23-41 | |
1:10 | Braden Huff misses three point jump shot | |||
1:08 | Michael Ajayi defensive rebound | |||
1:00 | +3 | Michael Ajayi makes three point jump shot (Cord Stansberry assists) | 26-41 | |
0:44 | +2 | Braden Huff makes two point layup | 26-43 | |
0:28 | Braden Huff shooting foul (Houston Mallette draws the foul) | |||
0:28 | +1 | Houston Mallette makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 27-43 | |
0:28 | Houston Mallette misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
0:28 | Braden Huff defensive rebound | |||
0:21 | Bulldogs 30 second timeout | |||
0:04 | Graham Ike misses two point jump shot | |||
0:02 | Ben Gregg offensive rebound | |||
0:01 | Nils Cooper shooting foul (Ben Gregg draws the foul) | |||
0:01 | +1 | Ben Gregg makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 27-44 | |
0:01 | +1 | Ben Gregg makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 27-45 | |
0:00 | End of period |