Recap: Gonzaga cruises by Waves behind Nembhard and Holmgren
It was business as usual for the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Wednesday night, routing the Pepperdine Waves in an 86-66 blowout in Malibu. Chet Holmgren (17 rebounds) and Andrew Nembhard (14 assists) each posted career highs for the Zags, who have now won 15 straight on the season.
While the win doesn’t do much for the resume, Gonzaga (22-2, 11-0 WCC) extends its true road game winning streak to 11, the longest of its kind in the nation. Excluding neutral site games, the last loss in an opposing building was at BYU in 2020, which also marked the last time they dropped a conference game. Since then, the Zags have rattled off 32 straight against the WCC, with all but one decided by double-digits.
For the Waves (7-21, 1-12 WCC), they’ve dropped 12 of their last 13 games and sit in sole possession of last place in the conference. While the roster features young talent for the future, the 2021-22 season will be a forgettable one for Lorenzo Romar and his staff. Pepperdine is set to close out the regular season with a trip to Portland before coming home to face Santa Clara, then traveling to Provo ahead of the WCC tournament.
Here's how the Zags took care of business in Malibu:
ANDREW NEMBHARD: QB1
Gonzaga doesn’t have a football team, but if it did, Andrew Nembhard would open spring camp as the unquestioned starter under center. Since conference play began, the senior leads the WCC with an astounding 5.6 assist-to-turnover ratio, as he continues to pick apart opposing defenses in transition and the pick-and-roll with an array of talent surrounding him. Mark Few has stated that no other point guard in the country compares as a playmaker, and Wednesday showcased that to a tee.
It didn’t take long for the maestro to get to work, either. A lob to Drew Timme on the first possession foreshadowed what was to come, as he accounted for seven points out of the gate. Later, he connected with Anton Watson in the pick-and-roll to push the Zags’ lead to 13 with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
Nembhard orchestrated the offense to a comfortable lead early with seven assists on Gonzaga’s 13 made field goals.
His job only got easier after Pepperdine inexplicably decided to switch to a zone defense as the first half wound down. With more room to operate, passing lanes became more open than they had been all night. A dump off pass to Holmgren brought the lead to 14, before Julian Strawther cashed in from deep a few possessions later courtesy of Nembhard’s vision in transition.
Leading 45-29 at halftime, nine of the Bulldogs’ 18 field goals were assisted by Nembhard.
A SLAP ON THE WRIST
The first half was a breeze for the Zags, but that certainly didn’t discourage Pepperdine from putting up a fight at home.
After Holmgren knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 57-40 ballgame, the Waves went on a run of their own. Houston Mallette and Victor Ohia Obioha combined to score nine points in less than two minutes to cut the deficit to single digits. With the Zags offense suddenly at a stand-still, Firestone Fieldhouse came alive midway through the second half.
As if the 12-3 Pepperdine run was a wakeup call, the stretch of sloppy play and uncharacteristic fouls was ratified shortly thereafter. Back-to-back scores from Julian Strawther pushed the lead back to double-digits. After torching the zone defense in the first half, Nembhard continued to make the Waves pay with a short lob pass to a cutting Hunter Sallis on the baseline.
From there, the Zags slowly but surely grinded their way back to a 23-point lead with four minutes remaining. It was far from the offensive clinic that took place in Spokane last month, but the job was completed nonetheless.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bulldogs are back in The Kennel for one last time this season as they host Santa Clara (17-9, 7-4 WCC) on Saturday night at 6 p.m. The Broncos, who travel to Los Angeles to play LMU on Thursday, have been one of the hottest teams in the WCC leading up to the postseason. With six wins in the previous eight games, Herb Sendek and his crew have jumped into fourth place in the standings after beating the likes of Saint Mary’s and BYU over the last few weeks.
