Buzzer breakdown: Gonzaga’s passing clinic and Khalif Battle breaks out of slump in big way
Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 107-55 West Coast Conference win over Pepperdine on Saturday at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Dimes on demand
Get accustomed to Gonzaga and senior point guard Ryan Nembhard setting more assist records down the stretch of the regular season.
Gonzaga racked up 33 as a team, breaking a 45-year single-game record, set against Loyola Marymount with 32.
Seven days after breaking his Gonzaga single-season mark, Nembhard made West Coast Conference history, surpassing BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth for most assists in conference play.
Nembhard matched Collinsworth’s record of 136 assists on a transition pass to Michael Ajayi, then broke the WCC record on a dish to Braden Huff with roughly one minute to play in the first half.
The senior point guard finished with 11 assists and three turnovers, checking out for the final time with 12 minutes to play.
Battle busts out of 3-point slump
Transfer guard Khalif Battle endured a rough stretch shooting from the perimeter over the past four games, making just 2 for 17 against Saint Mary’s, Loyola Marymount, Pacific and San Francisco.
Battle needed only a few looks at the rim to break out of his slump, canning two 3-pointers inside the first 61 seconds against Pepperdine.
The sixth-year guard had eight of Gonzaga’s first 12 points and didn’t stop scoring after the early flurry, scoring 14 by halftime and finishing with a game-high 24.
The Arkansas transfer reached the 20-point threshold for the eighth time this season, finishing 10 of 15 from the field and 4 of 8 from the 3-point line.
Zags ride early blitz to blowout win
Two days earlier against San Francisco, Gonzaga was scoreless at the first media timeout after missing its first five shots from the field.
The Zags flipped things in a major way against Pepperdine.
Gonzaga had 14 points and a 10-point lead when the first media timeout rolled around at the 15:28 mark.
The Zags kept the foot on the pedal, building a 31-11 lead by the 10:27 mark and extended the advantage to 55-26 at halftime.
Gonzaga led by no fewer than 50 points for the final 3:33 – a stark contrast to the first meeting between the teams, when the Zags led by just four points in the final minute of an 89-82 victory at Firestone Fieldhouse.