Jan. 18—Halftime
Gonzaga used a big first half from Nolan Hickman to narrowly lead Santa Clara 45-44 at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Hickman scored 15 points, hitting 3 of 6 3-point attempts. Ryan Nembhard hit a jumper as the clock wound down to give GU the lead. Nembhard has seven points and seven assists.
The Broncos have had little problems on offense, led by Tyeree Bryan’s 18 points. SCU has a 24-16 advantage in paint points and has eight points off of turnovers.
First half
3:33 — GU 36, SCU 35: Hickman hits a 3-pointer to retake the lead and the Broncos call a timeout.
One of the best halves of the year for Hickman, who has 14 points with three 3-pointers.
4:42 — SCU 35, GU 31: Bryan steals and dunks to give the Broncos an 11-1 run and the Zags call a timeout. GU on a 3:48 scoring drought.
Bryan leads SCU with 13 points.
7:53 — GU 31, SCU 29: Bal commits a turnover at the U8 media timeout as the Zags cling to their lead. Both teams have made 11 of 24 attempts from the field.
11:24 — GU 24, SCU 21: Huff makes a basket through contact and will shoot a free throw after the U12 media timeout.
Zags struggling at the defensive end, allowing the Broncos to hit 57% of their shots. GU doing enough on offense so far, though, have hit four 3-pointers and have seven assists.
14:30 — GU 13, SCU 11: Nembhard makes a layup to give the Zags the lead at the first media timeout. Quick action in the early going, Zags with three 3-pointers — two from Hickman.
Bryan has seven points for the Broncos.
18:55 — SCU 2, GU 0: Stewart drives right in for a layup to give the Broncos the first lead and we are underway in the Kennel.
Sabonis ceremony
Starting fives
Gonzaga: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Ben Gregg, Graham Ike.
Santa Clara: Carlos Stewart Jr., Tyeree Bryan, Adama Bal, Jake Ensminger, Christoph Tilly.
Pregame
Gonzaga will hope the presence of a team legend will lead to an inspired performance against Santa Clara tonight.
The Zags will hang the jersey of Domantas Sabonis in the rafters ahead of their game against the Broncos at McCarthey Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on KHQ and ESPN+ outside the region.
The Bulldogs (14-5, 5-1 West Coast) suffered their third overtime loss of the season at Oregon State on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Broncos (12-7, 4-2) are also coming off a close defeat, 57-54 at Loyola Marymount, where they missed two tying 3-pointers in the final seconds.
Series history
Gonzaga holds a 71-31 all-time series lead over Santa Clara, but had a 26-game winning streak over the Broncos snapped last season.
The Zags haven’t lost to Santa Clara at home since 2007.
Team stats
SCU (12-7, 4-2)
Gonzaga (14-5, 5-1)
Points
79.5
87.8
Points allowed
73.5
71.1
Field goal pct.
45.8
49.1
Rebounds
38.9
40.3
Assists
16.0
18.9
Blocks
3.3
2.9
Steals
6.4
7.3
Streak
Lost 1
Lost 1
Individual leaders
POINTS
PPG
FG%
FT%
Adama-Alpha Bal (SCU)
13.7
41.7
77.4
Graham Ike (GU)
17.1
58.6
80.0
REBOUNDS
RPG
DRPG
ORPG
Jake Ensminger (SCU)
5.8
4.2
1.6
Graham Ike (GU)
7.5
5.3
2.2
ASSISTS
APG
TOPG
MPG
Carlos Stewart Jr. (SCU)
2.9
1.6
28.8
Ryan Nembhard (GU)
9.4
2.4
35.5
Game preview
Key matchup: Bruising Santa Clara 7-footer Christoph Tilly enters Gonzaga game coming off career high
For long stretches of Thursday’s game at Gill Coliseum, Gonzaga’s Graham Ike and Oregon State’s Parsa Fallah traded body blows and baskets before both players eventually fouled out in overtime. — Read more
Last time out
Defense, late-game struggles offensively contribute to another narrow Gonzaga loss
CORVALLIS, Ore. — As suboptimal combinations go, yielding baskets and 3-pointers, putting a good free-throw shooting team on the line and failing to follow the scouting report isn’t ideal — as Gonzaga found out Thursday night. — Read more
‘Super frustrating’: Defense lets Gonzaga down in 97-89 OT loss to Oregon State
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Gonzaga hasn’t had much luck in close games. Neither has Oregon State. — Read more
Graham Ike’s big night culminates with frustrating fouls in Gonzaga’s OT loss at Oregon State
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Graham Ike delivered the biggest shot of his career at the most opportune time of Gonzaga’s overtime loss to Oregon State at Gill Coliseum. — Read more
