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Gonzaga Basketball

Buzzer breakdown: LeJuan Watts carries lackluster WSU, Dusty Stromer finds shooting touch for Gonzaga

Washington State Cougars guard Nate Calmese (8) and forward LeJuan Watts (4) celebrate scoring against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half of a college basketball game on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

PULLMAN – Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 84-63 West Coast Conference win over Washington State on Wednesday at Beasley Coliseum.

Stromer for 3

Dusty Stromer entered WCC play shooting 42.9% on 3-pointers, but he’s struggled most of the conference season at 25%. Some of that was tough luck recently as several of his attempts rattled in and out.

Stromer found his stroke against the Cougars with consecutive 3s to boost Gonzaga’s lead to 26-19 with 7:15 left in the opening half. He missed a 3-point attempt a few minutes later, but Michael Ajayi scooped up the rebound and scored on a putback.

Stromer was 1 of 4 on 3-pointers against Pepperdine on Saturday, but 0 of 3 in the previous four games. It was Stromer’s third game in the WCC with two made 3-pointers. He finished with seven points in 12 minutes.

Nembhard record watch takes night off

Ryan Nembhard had another rare quiet night against Washington State. The senior point guard was in foul trouble in the first meeting and finished with nine points and five assists.

Nembhard was kept in check by the Cougars in the first half Wednesday. He was 0 of 2 from the field and a single assist on Braden Huff’s field goal with 10:35 left.

Nembhard scored seven points in the closing half and finished with a season-low two assists.

Nembhard is 13 assists from breaking former Saint Mary’s standout Emmett Naar’s WCC record of 284 set in 2018.

He became just the 51st Division I player with 800 career assists, 295 of those coming from his two seasons at Creighton, with 11 assists against Pepperdine last Saturday.

LeJuan Watts carries Cougs

Watts was WSU’s most reliable offensive threat and he didn’t get much help in the first half. The sophomore forward scored half of the Cougars’ 28 first-half points and added three assists.

Watts was 5 of 9 from the field while the rest of the Cougs were 6 of 22. He cooled off in the second half and finished with 19 points and five assists, but he committed six turnovers.