Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard breaks WCC single-season assists record against Santa Clara
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Gonzaga senior point guard Ryan Nembhard has an impressive record collection, and it just keeps growing.
Not that he pays much attention to those things. He made another run Tuesday at Blake Stepp’s single-game record of 16. Nembhard racked up 15 assists in GU’s 95-76 victory over Santa Clara. If that number of assists sounds familiar it’s because he had 15 against the Broncos in a 103-99 loss in Spokane last month. Nembhard is the first Division I player with two 15-assist games against the same opponent in one season in 22 years, according to college basketball stat guru Jared Berson.
Asked if Stepp’s record is one that’s on his radar, Nembhard said, “Naw, honestly I don’t really care about none of that at this point of the year. I’m trying to win games. We’ve got a big one (vs. San Francisco for second place and a bye into the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals). And we have a conference tournament we want to do well in.
“I’m not too worried about the individual goals. I’m trying to finish up my senior year in a big way.”
Nembhard didn’t waste much time against Santa Clara etching his name on top of another assists record.
His fourth assist of the game went to senior post Graham Ike – a familiar combination in Gonzaga’s offense the last two seasons – with 9:06 remaining in the first half to move into a tie for the WCC single-season record with former Saint Mary’s standout Emmett Naar’s 284 in the 2017-2018 season. Loyola Marymount’s Terrell Lowery had 283 assists in 1990-91.
Nembhard took over the top spot alone with a lob pass to Michael Ajayi, who dunked it home with 3:20 left in the opening half. It was reminiscent of Nembhard’s lob that led to Khalif Battle’s dunk against Pacific on Feb. 8 that gave him 244 assists, breaking the Gonzaga single-season record he set last season as a junior.
Santa Clara gave Nembhard the game ball following the contest.
“I’m happy for him,” Zags coach Mark Few said. “He’s a special, special player, and it’s so well deserved for him to be able to put his name on a record that will last quite some time. It’s hard to accrue those kinds of numbers.”
Same goes for Nembhard’s single-season record for assists in WCC games. He raced past former BYU star Kyle Collinsworth’s 136 in 2015-16 when he handed out 11 assists against Pepperdine on Feb. 15. Nembhard entered Tuesday’s game with 150 assists in conference play and exited with 165.
Nembhard is five assists from reaching 300, which would make him the 21st Division I player in history to reach that figure.
“You don’t see it (those types of numbers),” said Ike, who poured in 24 points but was limited to 20 minutes due to foul issues. “It’s kind of hard for me to fathom sometimes, but I see it so much every day that we’re used to it. Not like we’re taking it for granted, but so much appreciation for it.
“His midrange was money tonight, his 3 was money. How do you stop the guy?”
Nembhard made two 3-pointers and 5 of 12 shots while finishing with 12 points. He earned his 12th double-double of the season, which is in the top 20 nationally.
“He got a little loose with it (four turnovers), but in a hostile environment … he was a guy that we were putting in 90% of those ball screens, him and Nolan (Hickman),” Few said. “And just time and time again making the right play, the right pass, the right decision. He was able to hit some nice pull-ups, which he was missing the other night (against Saint Mary’s).”