Gonzaga Bulldogs 109, Warner Pacific 52: Live score recap, highlights from men's basketball exhibition

Bulldogs beat Knights in final exhibition game before 2024-25 season opener
Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford
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The Gonzaga men’s basketball team cruised to a 109-52 win over NAIA-foe Warner Pacific in the second and final exhibition before the 2024-25 season opener.

Following a sluggish start offensively, the Bulldogs dialed up their defensive intensity to pull away from the Knights late in the first half. Mark Few and the coaching staff drew up a full-court press to throw the opposition out of whack, which ended up working out in favor of the home team as Gonzaga started the night 7-of-21 from the floor, before making 17 of its next 21 field goal attempts to end the first 20-minute period on a 42-8 scoring burst. 

Nolan Hickman led all scorers with 19 points, all of which were scored in the first half, as the Zags shot 51.2% from the field. Michael Ajayi had a few highlight dunks to finish with 14 points, while Braden Huff added 14 as well. 

Matt Solomon led the Knights with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field.

Gonzaga tips off the 2024-25 regular season on Monday against No. 8 Baylor in the Spokane Arena.

  • HOW TO WATCH GONZAGA VS. WARNER PACIFIC
  • SECOND HALF:

    Gonzaga 100, Warner Pacific 48 (3:59): Gonzaga's coaching staff sent out the reserves to finish out the exhibition. Jun Seok Yeo got the crowd excited for a two-hand dunk from the Korean forward, while freshman center Ismaila Diagne scored inside for his points of the night.

    Gonzaga 94, Warner Pacific 39 (7:47): Stromer drilled his second 3-pointer of the night and his team's eighth overall, as the Bulldogs extended their insurmountable lead over the Knights late in the second half.

    Gonzaga 85, Warner Pacific 33 (11:39): Sean Johnson broke the shield off the rim for the Knights with a 3-pointer for the team's first field goal of the second half — at the 13:47 mark. Bulldogs continued to get whatever shot they wanted on the offensive end.

    Gonzaga 81, Warner Pacific 27 (15:09): Gonzaga started the second half on a 17-0 scoring run, with eight of those points coming from Ajayi. The 6-foot-7 wing had a couple of dunks to start the second period, as the Knights started 0-of-6 from the floor.

    HALFTIME: Gonzaga 64, Warner Pacific 27: Following a sluggish start out of the gate, the Bulldogs amped up their defensive intensity to create some transition opportunities on the other end and pull away from the Knights midway through the half. Gonzaga made 17 of its last 21 field goal attempts before halftime, as Nolan Hickman led all scorers with 19 points.

    FIRST HALF:

    Gonzaga 49, Warner Pacific 22 (3:36): While the Knights went nearly four minutes without a basket, the Bulldogs took full advantage of some extra opportunities off turnovers to rattle off a 15-0 scoring run.

    Gonzaga 40, Warner Pacific 22 (6:38): The Zags dial up the pressure even more to force the Knights into back-to-back turnovers, which led to an easy dunk for Ajayi in transition, followed by a not-so-smooth finish from Nembhard. The senior guard couldn't quite get the one-hand flush to go down smoothly, though the ball still found the bottom of the net regardless.

    Gonzaga 29, Warner Pacific 19: Ike got his second basket of the night to go in transition, as the Bulldogs' defense clamped down with a full-court press to rattle the Knights.

    Gonzaga 21, Warner Pacific 17 (11:57): A few live-ball turnovers led to easy baskets for the Knights, who started 4-of-9 from behind the arc after back-to-back triples from Terrin Dickey and Solomon. Gonzaga answered with a 3-pointer from Stromer on the other end.

    Gonzaga 14, Warner Pacific 8 (14:59): The Bulldogs went into the first media timeout of the half with a 6-point margin over the Knights, as Hickman scored seven points early to get the ball rolling for the Zags. Matt Solomon drilled a 3-pointer out of the gate for Warner Pacific.

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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.