Gonzaga puts experience, depth on display in 113-54 win over UMass Lowell
Gonzaga’s game between its 40-minute battle against Arizona State and Monday’s road test against San Diego State in one of the toughest venues in the West could have fallen into the ‘trap game’ category.
Instead, the fourth-ranked Zags, favored by as many as 27.5 points, had no problem staying on task and crushed the River Hawks 113-54 Friday in front of 6,000 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
“We’ve got a good, mature group here and we all know what needs to be done before a big game,” said senior guard Nolan Hickman, referring to Gonzaga’s six seniors/grad students. “This is just the showing of it.”
Gonzaga (3-0) wasn’t razor sharp from the field in the opening half, but the Zags didn’t need to be.
They had loads of extra chances – via offensive rebounds and UMass Lowell’s 14 turnovers – and cruised to a 49-27 halftime lead despite shooting 43.6%.
The River Hawks, winners of 48 games the past two seasons and picked second in the America East Conference preseason poll, fell behind by double digits in the first 7½ minutes and the deficit kept growing.
“These guys had our full attention,” Zags coach Mark Few said. “They’re going to have a good season. They’re primed to challenge Vermont (in the America East). As I told the players, this is like a team we’d see in the first round of the NCAA (Tournament) if we get seeded where we want to be seeded, so you have to respect that.
“They have a bunch of guys back, 22 wins last year and added a couple of nice transfers. We were able get out and make shots, and I thought we were way more energized, active and assertive on the defensive end. Making plays instead of sitting back, much more so than we did against Arizona State.”
As expected, the Zags exploited their size advantage inside with a 60-20 edge in paint points. It could have been more lopsided, but GU missed several shots from close range in the opening half.
The Zags dialed in their shooting in the second half, hitting 10 of their first 11 attempts, to move in front 75-36 lead with 12 minutes remaining. GU made nearly 65% of its shots in a 64-point second half.
Guard Khalif Battle drilled a pair of 3-pointers in the first 40 seconds of the closing half, added a windmill dunk and another 3 before exiting with 21 points in 28 minutes. He was 4 of 4 on 3s.
Battle scored all 19 of his points in the second half of GU’s 88-80 win over Arizona State. He connected on three 3s in 66 seconds in the Zags’ 101-63 season-opening blowout over Baylor.
“When he gets going like that, he can be electric,” Few said. “He’s certainly had moments during his career, especially last year at Arkansas where he did that.”
Battle was nearly matched by Hickman, who hit 4 of 5 first-half 3s and finished with 14 points.
Ryan Nembhard added 13 points, eight assists, three steals and no turnovers in 24 minutes. The senior point guard has 30 assists and two turnovers in three games.
Gonzaga had an injury scare midway through the second half when sophomore wing Dusty Stromer went down grabbing his knee. He limped off the court with trainer Josh Therrien for further evaluation but returned after a few minutes and re-entered the game.
Stromer had a pair of dunks and finished with 11 points, one of six Zags in double figures.
UMass Lowell (2-1) made just 36% of its shots and committed 25 turnovers, leading to the Zags’ 36-2 advantage in fastbreak points and 22-point edge in points off turnovers. Gonzaga had 16 steals, including three by Stromer and Battle.
“That was a major emphasis after the Arizona State game,” Battle said of Gonzaga’s defense. “We wanted to pick it up, kind of like how we did in the Baylor game. We know what we’re capable of, but coach (Few) is going to hold us accountable.”