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Gonzaga Basketball

No. 7 Gonzaga dominates Arkansas-Pine Bluff from the opening tip 111-71

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (34) battles the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at the rim during the first half of a college basketball game on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson The Spokesman-Review

Mark Few hasn’t had a lot to nitpick while watching his seventh-ranked Gonzaga team roll to a 7-1 start this season, particularly when considering the Bulldogs’ 2023-24 roster is largely comprised of new players or returning players filling new roles.

If there was one thing Gonzaga’s coach wanted to see his team correct, it may have been the Bulldogs’ slow starts.

That may be an issue of the past now after Gonzaga stormed out to an early double-digit lead against USC on Saturday and wasted no time opening the floodgates Tuesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, leading by as many as 31 points in the first half of a 111-71 rout at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Gonzaga (7-1) now looks ahead to Saturday’s game against Washington (4-3) at Alaska Airlines Arena, where the Bulldogs will have an opportunity to win their 17th consecutive game against the Pac-12. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. in Seattle and ESPN2 will carry the live broadcast.

Facing an Arkansas-Pine Bluff team that ranked No. 361 of 362 teams nationally in scoring defense, the Bulldogs raced out to 32-4 lead, holding the Golden Lions without a field goal until the 11-minute, 36-second mark in the first half. During that span, UAPB was just 1 of 15 from the field.

The Zags extended their lead to 31 points in the first half on a 3-pointer from Ryan Nembhard and entered the break leading 59-30. Gonzaga’s advantage grew to a game-high 49 points with 4 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the second half.

Twelve different Gonzaga players got into the game, 11 of them got onto the scoresheet and none of the Bulldogs’ starters played more than 28 minutes.

Redshirt freshman forward Braden Huff led the Zags in scoring with 19 points, making 8 of 9 shots from the field, and hauled in seven rebounds. Wyoming transfer Graham Ike had 17 points and nine rebounds while frontcourt mate Anton Watson totaled 15 points and seven rebounds. Making his first career start in place of freshman Dusty Stromer, sophomore forward Jun Seok Yeo had a career-high 10 points with four rebounds.