Gonzaga finishes season sweep of Loyola Marymount with big road victory
Coming off their biggest win of the season to this point, the Gonzaga Bulldogs went from Lexington, Kentucky, to sunny Los Angeles to face an under-manned Loyola Marymount squad that had lost four straight and was without its leading scorer.
But as Mark Few and his program have come to learn over the years, every team in the West Coast Conference is ready to give the league's kingpin their best punch whenever the Bulldogs are in town. Never had that sentiment been more true than it was on Thursday at Gersten Pavilion, as the Lions fought tooth-and-nail in a back-and-forth affair dominated by junior guard Will Johnston, who couldn't be stopped in a 33-point performance that had Gonzaga on upset watch midway through the second half.
Johnston, who was held scoreless the last time the two teams met in Spokane two weeks ago, kept LMU (10-15, 3-8 WCC) in the fight with 22 points in the first half including a buzzer-beater to make it a 47-46 ballgame at half. The Bulldogs (19-6, 9-2 WCC) came out with an extra sense of urgency, going on a 12-0 scoring run to go up by double digits.
But they couldn't pull away for good, as Johnston nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 70-69 game with 9:26 left in the second half. The 6-foot-3 guard more than made up for the lack of the team's top 3-point threat in Dominick Harris, the WCC's leader in 3-point percentage who was out with a knee injury, though Johnston was effective in his own right with seven triples. The Lions went 11-of-20 from downtown.
Turnovers spoiled Johnston's night though, as LMU coughed up the rock eight times in the second half that led to 16 points the other way for the Bulldogs, who finished the game on a 19-3 scoring run to run away in the final minutes of their ninth win in WCC play.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
BULLDOGS FINISH STRONG AGAIN
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It doesn't feel that long ago that the notion regarding Gonzaga's late-game execution was that it struggled to put away its opponent when it mattered most down the stretch in tightly contested affairs. Second-half woes in losses to Washington, Santa Clara and Saint Mary's led to frustrating letdowns in the final moments. After the 64-62 loss at home to the Gaels, though, the Bulldogs have proven to be quite the performers in the clutch as of late.
Starting last Saturday at Rupp Arena, down 57-51 after a 12-0 run from the Wildcats sparked a wave of energy in the home crowd, Gonzaga never let the big moment get the best of it. The Bulldogs scored on 18 of their final 22 possessions, as well as holding Kentucky without a field goal for the last two minutes en route to a 4-point win over an AP Top 25 team on the road. Few was ecstatic his team finally closed a game strong, and it seemed to have a lasting effect during a more tightly-contested contest than some probably anticipated against an outmatched LMU squad.
The Lions never faded despite numerous blows from the Bulldogs, who led by one point at halftime despite shooting 51.6% from the field and knocking down eight 3-pointers in an extremely efficient first 20 minutes of play from both sides. LMU made two more field goals and just as many 3-pointers to keep the home crowd involved and stay within striking distance, even taking a 50-49 lead early in the second half.
Gonzaga seemingly delivered the final blow with a 13-0 scoring run to go up 62-50 with 14:38 left, as LMU got in its own way with unforced turnovers combined with a strong second-half effort from Ike. But the Lions answered, putting the Bulldogs in another pressure situation after they had jumped out to an early advantage. Once again, Few's team responded.
The Bulldogs finished on a 19-3 scoring run, made nine of their final 11 shot attempts and tightened their clasps defensively by trapping LMU's ballhandlers when they came off pick-and-roll sets. Watson helped spark the run after he came up big on consecutive possessions to keep the Lions off the scoreboard with two key blocks; the 6-foot-8 forward denied Justin Wright at the rim, followed by a block from behind on a jumpshot from Johnston. Nembhard had a few steals late that led to easy baskets in transition, as Gonzaga scored 23 points off 12 turnovers from the Lions.
BULLDOGS' BACKCOURT OWNS LMU
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Much like the first meeting against the Lions two weeks ago, Gonzaga's guards made the right basketball play time and time again to set the tone offensively in the rematch.
Hickman, who went for 24 points in the matchup at The Kennel, was just as aggressive in hunting for his shot and finding the soft spots in the Lions' zone defense on Thursday. The junior went 7-of-12 from the field and finished with 22 points, knocking down four 3-pointers in the process. Defensively he had his struggles staying in front of Johnston, especially coming off screens, but to be fair there wasn't much Gonzaga could do to slow him down.
Nembhard, meanwhile, carved up the Lions for 16 points and 11 assists in his second double-double as a Bulldog. The 6-foot guard now has 20 assists over his last two games after exploiting the Wildcats' pick-and-roll coverage, though the WCC's assist leader has been torching opposing defenses for most of his career to this point. When he's able to wheel and deal, Gonzaga is hard to stop — the Bulldogs are 15-4 when he has five or more assists this season.
JUST HAVE TO STAY THE COURSE
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Just before tipoff, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi moved Gonzaga into the "Last Four In" category after Richmond lost at home to UMass on Wednesday. That means after the win at LMU, the Bulldogs can hold onto their at-large hopes as long as they take care of business over the final five regular season games. That's easier said than done considering the last week is on the road at San Francisco and at Saint Mary's, but if they stack wins against Pacific, Portland and Santa Clara before then, their NCAA Tournament odds will be slightly more secure by then.
