Gonzaga Nation

Gonzaga crushes Pepperdine in historic rout: Game recap, analysis

The Zags set a single-game record for assists with 33

Gonzaga Nation Staff

Gonzaga Bulldogs senior guard Nolan Hickman (11).
Gonzaga Bulldogs senior guard Nolan Hickman (11). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford
In this story:

One day after Gonzaga men's basketball coach Mark Few was named a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame finalist, his team looked like world beaters.

Gonzaga put up historic numbers against Pepperdine on Saturday night, shooting 57% from the field and setting a single-game record for assists in a resounding 107-55 victory at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Khalif Battle led Gonzaga (20-7, 11-3) with 24 points, Nolan Hickman added 18 points and 7 assists and Ryan Nembhard had his 16th double-digit assist game of the season with 11. Twelve different Gonzaga players scored and the Bulldogs outrebounded Pepperdine 52-31 in a game that was never close.

Few has now won at least 20 games in all 26 seasons as Gonzaga's head coach. Read our complete game recap below.

Final stats: Gonzaga 107, Pepperdine 55

Gonzaga shot 45-of-79 from the field, 12-of-26 from downtown and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. In arguably his best performance of the season, Khalif Battle had 24 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 25 minutes. Nolan Hickman broke out of a mini-shooting slump with 18 points and 7 assists on 7-of-9 shooting, and Michael Ajayi had 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Braden Huff chipped in with 10 points and 4 rebounds, and Graham Ike added 8 points and 9 rebounds. Gonzaga had 54 points in the paint and its bench scored a whopping 47 points. The Zags averaged a ridiculous 1.446 points per possession.

Second half recap

Gonzaga 107, Pepperdine 55, final: The Bulldogs put it all together tonight, and this game was never close. Khalif Battle scored 24 points, Nolan Hickman added 18 and Gonzaga won its 20th game.

Gonzaga sets assist record: Dusty Stromer nails a 3-pointer off a pass from Emmanuel Innocenti with 4:32 to play to give Gonzaga its 33rd assist of the game β€” a new single-game record.

Gonzaga 91, Pepperdine 52, 6:11 left: The Bulldogs are 39-of-68 from the field and have 30 assists. Ten different Gonzaga players have scored, including Jun Seok Yeo who came off the bench and drilled a 3-pointer.

Nolan Hickman on fire: Gonzaga's senior guard is having a much-needed breakout game on the offensive end. Hickman has 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting (4-of-6 from downtown). He also has 7 assists, including this dime to Braden Huff.

Gonzaga 72, Pepperdine 38, 14:00 left: The Bulldogs are firing on all cylinders. Khalif Battle has 22 points on 4-of-7 shooting from downtown, Ryan Nembhard has 11 assists and Nolan Hickman has 10 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.

Gonzaga 62, Pepperdine 33, 17:00 left: Khalif Battle throws down another dunk on a transition lob, and The Kennel erupts. Battle has 19 points in 17 minutes.

First half recap

Gonzaga 55, Pepperdine 26, halftime: The Bulldogs are putting up historic numbers against the Waves. Nine Gonzaga players have scored and the Zags have 25 field goals on 19 assists. Ryan Nembhard has 10 assists and Khalif Battle leads all scorers with 14 points.

Gonzaga 42, Pepperdine 20, 3:58 left: The Bulldogs are playing one of their most efficient offensive games of the season. They're 19-of-34 from the field and have 16 assists.

Gonzaga 38, Pepperdine 13, 8:30 left: Emmanuel Innocenti hits a 3-pointer in transition, then gets a steal and a dunk to give the Zags a 25-point lead.

Gonzaga 25, Pepperdine 9, 13:09 left: Folks, this game might already be over. Gonzaga is playing on a completely different level tonight. The Zags are 3-of-6 from downtown and already have 16 points in the paint.

Gonzaga 14, Pepperdine 4, 15:28 left: Khalif Battle has 8 points as the Zags have jumped all over the Waves in the first four-plus minutes. Here's a look at assist No. 800 for Nembhard.

800 assists for Nembhard: Ryan Nembhard throws a lob to Khalif Battle for his 800th career assist. He's one of just 51 players in NCAA Division I history to reach that milestone.

Khalif Battle came to play! Battle hits two 3-pointers to open the game and Gonzaga has a quick 6-0 lead.

Gonzaga's starting five: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Ben Gregg, Graham Ike.

Pregame updates

Game time is scheduled for just after 7 p.m. Stay tuned for live updates.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Continue to follow our Gonzaga coverage on social media by liking us onΒ FacebookΒ and following us onΒ InstagramΒ andΒ Twitter.

Published |Modified
Gonzaga Nation Staff
GONZAGA NATION STAFF

Home/Basketball