Recap and highlights: No. 3 Gonzaga cruises past Long Beach State 84-41
Stellar point guard play from Ryan Nembhard. Posts Graham Ike and Braden Huff combining for roughly their season average. The bench coming up big again.
And the defense putting together another quality effort.
Those have been Gonzaga’s trademarks early on this season and all were on display Wednesday against visiting Long Beach State.
Nembhard was on track for another double-double before going to the bench when GU’s lead ballooned to 35 in the second half. The post duo had 27 points and top three reserves Huff, Dusty Stromer and Ben Gregg chipped in 24 points and 18 rebounds as the third-ranked Zags rolled to an 84-41 victory in its final tune-up before next week’s Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Gonzaga played adhesive defense early, at one point forcing Long Beach State to go nine minutes between field goals. The offense was clicking, too, as the Zags led 9-2 at the first media break and 17-4, forcing a Long Beach State timeout. Gonzaga continued to pull away after the break, extending its lead to 33-9 on Khalif Battle’s 3-pointer with 7:40 remaining.
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The Beach put together 9-0 and 6-0 spurts to cut the deficit to 14, but Huff’s field goal bumped Gonzaga’s halftime lead to 40-24. Huff led a balanced offense with eight points and six teammates scored at least four points.
Gonzaga thoroughly dominated the second half. The Zags used a 14-0 burst to open up a 68-33 lead with 9 minutes remaining. GU rested several of its starters, including Nembhard, who had 10 points and seven assists, and many fans decided to call it a night and head home.
Ike and Khalif Battle each had 15 points and Huff added 12. Nolan Hickman finished with 10 points.
The Zags led wire to wire and haven’t trailed in 126 minutes and 27 seconds of gam action – since the 7:21 mark in the second half against Arizona State in the second game of the season.
First half
19:44 – GU 3, LBSU 0: Zags win the tip and Hickman makes a 3-pointer to start the game.
14:57 – GU 9, LBSU 2: Bulldogs on a 6-0 run at the first media timeout, as Ajayi finishes a put-back dunk. Zags start slow with three straight misses from 3-point range after Hickman’s make.
Beach just 1 of 6 form the field.
12:04 – GU 17, LBSU 4: Nembhard hits a 3-pointer and the Beach call a timeout.
Zags cruising early, Nembhard with five points and three assists. GU shooting 44% from the field and 3-for-8 on 3s. LBSU 1 of 8 from the field.
8:09 – GU 30, LBSU 9: Gregg makes a layup and Stromer is called for his second foul at the U12 media timeout.
Nembhard already with five points and five assists.
Beach was on a 9:54 scoring drought, they’re 3 of 16 from the field.
4:50 – GU 33, LBSU 18: Rare 3-pointer from Ike snaps a 9-0 run by the Beach. Ike, Hickman and Nembhard lead GU with five points apiece.
4:00 – GU 38, LBSU 20: Zags maintain their lead at the U4 media timeout. GU shooting 50% from the field and 5 of 12 on 3-pointers. Should see a healthy mix of Zags in the second half if this continues.
Halftime
Gonzaga hasn’t looked its best, but still leads Long Beach State 40-24 at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Zags guard Ryan Nembhard has five points and six assists. He’s one of eight GU players to have scored. Braden Huff leads with eight points, Graham Ike adds seven.
LBSU was held to 30% from the field and had a near-10 minute scoring drought. Devin Askew leads the Beach with eight points.
Second half
16:54 – GU 48, LBSU 27: Ike taking over to start the half, he has all eight of the Zags points and a block.
15:53 – GU 51, LBSU 27: Nembhard hits a 3-pointer and Ajayi is called for his third foul at the U16 media timeout. Zags open the half on an 11-3 run. Ike up to 15 points in the game, Nembhard has eight points and six assists.
11:26 – GU 59, LBSU 33: Zags steadily building their lead, with a 19-9 advantage in the second half. Hickman will shoot free throws after the U12 media timeout.
Nembhard (10 points, seven assists) and Ike (15 points, five rebounds) both head to the bench with GU fully in control.
9:05 – GU 68, LBSU 33: Hickman hits a 3-pointer to give the Zags a 14-0 run and Beach calls a timeout. Huff (12 points) and Hickman (10) make four Zags in double figures.
The rout is on in the second half with a 28-9 advantage.
7:37 – GU 68, LBSU 35: Zags’ getting their bench some minutes at the U8 media timeout, as Innocenti and Diagne take the court. Battle, Ajayi and Stromer out there too.
5:39 – GU 72, LBSU 39: Battle makes back-to-back layups to climb to 11 points, the fifth Zag in double figures. LBSU takes a timeout.
3:55 – GU 74, LBSU 39: Diagne gets a steal at the U4 media timeout. Yeo checks in for the Zags, who may get some Joe Few minutes at the end here.
0:00 – GU 84, LBSU 41: Diagne with some solid minutes at the end, five points, two rebounds, three steals and a block. We’ll be back shortly with a full recap.
Starting 5
Gonzaga starters: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Michael Ajayi, Graham Ike.
LBSU starters: TJ Wainwright, Ramel Lloyd Jr., Devin Askew, Austin Johnson, Derrick Michael Xzavierro.
Pregame
Gonzaga will play its second game in three days tonight when it hosts Long Beach State at McCarthey Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on KHQ and ESPN+ outside the region.
The No. 3 Bulldogs (4-0) continued its strong start to the season on Monday with a 80-67 win at San Diego State, their first true road game of the season. After tonight, the Zags will be off for a week as they prepare for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas.
Beach (1-3) won their opener against La Verne and have dropped three straight since; 80-79 at South Dakota State, 84-54 at San Francisco and 63-61 vs. Portland.
Series history
Gonzaga holds a 1-0 all-time series lead over Long Beach State with a 90-55 home win on Dec. 20, 2002.
Team stats
Individual leaders
Game preview
Last time out