Gonzaga 81, Cal State Bakersfield 65: Live score updates, highlights
The No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs took down Cal State Bakersfield, 81-65, for their third consecutive win of the season.
Ryan Nembhard paced the Zags (5-1) with 22 points, 15 of which came in the second half, on 8-for-12 shooting from the field to go with five assists. Six Bulldogs finished in double-figures for scoring, as Gonzaga shot 52.6% from the field.
For the Roadrunners (3-4), Kaleb Higgins led with 21 points. Bakersfield shot 40.3% from the field and 31.6% from behind the arc.
Here is the live updates recap:
SECOND HALF:
Gonzaga 77, Bakersfield 62 (2:19): McGee knocked down his third 3-pointer of the night after Nembhard went 2-for-3 at the free-throw line the possession prior. Nembhard paced with 22 points.
Gonzaga 75, Bakersfield 59 (2:55): Nembhard extended Gonzaga's lead with a crucial 3-pointer from the right wing, courtesy of Huff who snatched an offensive rebound off a miss from Watson.
Gonzaga 70, Bakersfield 54 (5:17): Gonzaga was held scoreless for two minutes, but the defense kept Bakersfield from capitalizing. Ike picked up a flagrant foul on a rebound attempt.
Gonzaga 68, Bakersfield 46 (8:05): The Bulldogs jumped out to their largest lead of the night after capitalizing on back-to-back turnovers from the Roadrunners. Gonzaga's defense was stifling in the second half, as it held Bakersfield to a 7-for-19 start from the field and forced nine turnovers.
Gonzaga 60, Bakersfield 44 (11:55): McGee picked up his second personal foul to put the Bulldogs in the bonus for the rest of the half.
Gonzaga 53, Bakersfield 39 (16:00): Bulldogs had another strong start coming out of the locker room, as they started 4-of-5 shooting from the field. The Roadrunners got a pair of baskets from Higgins and Kancleris, as eight of their first 10 points in the second half came in the paint.
FIRST HALF:
HALFTIME: Gonzaga 44, Bakersfield 29: Huff's putback as the first half wound to a close sent the Bulldogs into the locker room with a double-digit lead. Stromer paced Gonzaga with 10 points, while Higgins finished the half in double-figures as well. The Zags shot 53.1% from the field and outrebounded the Roadrunners, 21-11.
Gonzaga 34, Bakersfield 22 (3:43): Huff awakened The Kennel crowd with a two-hand slam off a pick-and-roll set with Nembhard. The Roadrunners went without a field goal for over six minutes.
Gonzaga 26, Bakersfield 20 (7:09): Both teams went cold for over three minutes midway through the first half. After an 8-for-10 start from the field, Gonzaga missed its last six shots, while the Roadrunners went 9-for-20 from the field.
Gonzaga 26, Bakersfield 20 (10:26): Higgins knocked down his second 3-pointer of the night right in front of Gonzaga's bench to cut into the Roadrunners' deficit. Higgins had eight of Bakersfield's first 20 points, while Stromer had eight points as well for the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga 20, Bakersfield 9 (14:04): An airball from the Roadrunners led to a layup from Hickman in transition to cap a 7-0 scoring run from the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga 13, Bakersfield 9 (15:47): The Bulldogs started 5-of-6 shooting from the field to take an early advantage over the Roadrunners. Stromer knocked down a 3-pointer in transition, followed by a strong drive and sweeping layup across the lane. Bakersfield started 4-of-8 from the field.
