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Gonzaga Bulldogs 73, LMU Lions 53: Live score updates recap, highlights from WCC men's basketball game

The Bulldogs swept the season series with the Lions

Cole Forsman

Gonzaga senior guard Ryan Nembhard (0).
Gonzaga senior guard Ryan Nembhard (0). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (17-7, 8-3 WCC) got back on track Thursday with a 73-53 victory over the Loyola Marymount Lions (14-9, 6-5 WCC) in a West Coast Conference tilt from Spokane.

Khalif Battle led the way offensively for the Zags with 24 points to go with six rebounds in 37 minutes of action for the sixth-year guard. Ryan Nembhard came on assist shy of another double-double in a 15-point, 9-assist performance, while Braden Huff chipped in 14 points off the bench.

Gonzaga came out strong, making its first five field goals to go ahead by double-digits early on, before enduring quite the cold streak to end the half. The Zags misfired on 20 of their final 25 looks from the field to take a 3-point lead into the locker room.

Caleb Stone-Carrawell led the Lions with 20 points, while Jevon Porter added 15 points and seven rebounds. The Lions' five-game winning streak was snapped after it made just one field goal over the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Here is the live updates recap:

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FINAL: Gonzaga 73, LMU 53

2ND HALF

Gonzaga 65, LMU 48 (3:41): The Bulldogs have stymied the Lions' offense amid a 20-2 scoring run that's lasted for nearly 7 minutes of game time. Khalif Battle broke up an alley-oop attempt from LMU, which Nembhard cleared before finding Braden Huff on the other end for a layup.

Gonzaga 56, LMU 46 (7:38): After Rick Issanza couldn't put home a two-hand dunk for the Lions, Ryan Nembhard scooped up the loose ball and raced upcourt, only pulling back at the last second to find Michael Ajayi trailing the play, resulting in a score for the Zags to make it a 10-point game.

Gonzaga 54, LMU 46 (8:19): Ryan Nembhard's alley-oop pass was slightly off the mark, though Khalif Battle still managed to pull off quite an acrobatic act to get his reverse layup to go off the glass, extending Gonzaga's scoring run to 9-0 over a 2-minute stretch that started after Jevon Porter put the Lions up 46-45 at the 10:27 mark.

Gonzaga 43, LMU 42 (11:32): Caleb Stone-Carrawell bailed out the Lions with a stepback 3-pointer from the wing just as the shot clock was ready to expire. The 6-foot-7 senior leads his team with 18 points on 7-of-13 from the field. Gonzaga hasn't made a field goal in 4 minutes of playing time.

Gonzaga 39, LMU 39 (13:17): Jevon Porter raced by every Gonzaga player on his way to the rim for a monster two-handed putback dunk off a missed layup in transition, tying the game at 39 apiece.

Gonzaga 39, LMU 35 (15:05): Ben Gregg converts around the rim off a feed from Nolan Hickman, extending the Bulldogs' run to six consecutive points after the Lions rattled off a 7-0 scoring run of their own to take a 35-33 lead. Jevon Porter rejected Gregg, raced upcourt and drained a 3-pointer right in front of Gonzaga's student section. Ryan Nembhard swiftly responded with a driving layup.

HALFTIME: Gonzaga 27, LMU 24: An energetic start from the Bulldogs slowly dwindled over the course of the first half, allowing the Lions to chip away at their double-digit deficit before settling for a 2-point margin at halftime. After a 5-for-5 start from the floor, a slew of self-inflicted mistakes got in the way of Gonzaga extending its early advantage over LMU, as the Zags missed 20 of their last 25 field goal attempts of the half while the Lions got 10 points from Caleb Stone-Carrawell to pull within striking distance.

1ST HALF

Gonzaga 25, LMU 23 (1:13): Caleb Stone-Carrawell tied the game at 23 apiece with a 3-pointer from the wing, drawing quite the response from Lions head coach Stan Johnson. Khalif Battle put the Bulldogs back in front with a driving layup, followed by a deep 2-pointer.

Gonzaga 19, LMU 17 (3:32): Aaron McBride's reverse layup caps off a 10-0 scoring run for the Lions and prompts a timeout for the Zags, who went ahead by double-digits before going ice cold from the field over a 4-minute stretch that included a handful of misses around the rim. Gonzaga is just 4-of-8 on layup attempts and 8-of-26 from the floor overall.

Gonzaga 19, LMU 9 (7:35): Michael Ajayi kept a possession alive with an offensive rebound after Graham Ike missed around the rim then found Ryan Nembhard for a score in the paint. Gonzaga's senior guard has six points and two assists in the first half. MJ Amey Jr. snapped the Lions' 7-minute scoring drought with a layup.

Gonzaga 16, LMU 7 (11:04): Ryan Nembhard ends Gonzaga's scoring drought with a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line, followed by a basket from Braden Huff moments later off another second-chance opportunity for the Bulldogs.

Gonzaga 12, LMU 7 (11:46): What looked to be a shootout has turned into a slugfest between the Zags and Lions. Neither team has scored in over three minutes, as Gonzaga's execution has dropped off from where it was in the opening minutes, while LMU hasn't completely cracked the lid off the basket. The Bulldogs have missed six in a row from the field; the Lions are already up to eight turnovers on the night.

Gonzaga 12, LMU 5 (15:38): Gonzaga hasn't given an inch defensively since the opening tip, as five of the Lions' first seven possessions ended in a turnover, leading to eight points the other way for the home team. Graham Ike has six points early on for the Bulldogs, while LMU hasn't scored since Caleb Stone-Carrawell's 3-pointer at the 17:38 mark.

Gonzaga 12, LMU 5 (16:34): Jevon Porter stepped out of bounds trying to drive baseline, marking LMU's fourth turnover out of the gate. Graham Ike capitalized on the other end with an emphatic slam off a pocket pass from Khalif Battle. Zags are a perfect 5-of-5 out of the gate.

Gonzaga 2, LMU 0 (19:00): Nembhard snuck a bounce pass to Ben Gregg along the baseline, resulting in Gonzaga's first points of the night after Gregg scored the easy layup.

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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