Drew Timme

There’s something about second halves at the Moda Center that have brought out the best in Gonzaga’s junior forward. Timme followed a 22-point second half in Thursday’s opener against Georgia State with 21 points after halftime against Memphis to finish with a game-high 25. The junior forward finished 10 of 16 from the field and was 9 of 13 in the second half, making one 3-pointer and finishing 4 of 8 from the free-throw line. Timme also had double-digit rebounds (14) for the second straight game.

Andrew Nembhard

The Bulldogs’ top facilitator on Thursday had to accept a different role against Memphis, scoring 13 first-half points as Gonzaga struggled to get offense from anywhere else. Nembhard knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half and made 2 of 3 from the-free throw line while his GU teammates went just 2 of 6. It was more of the same from the Ontario native in the second half. Nembhard added 12 second-half points and made the free throws that sealed the victory with 4 seconds remaining. He finished with 25 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the 3-point line and had five assists.

Turning point

It may be repetitive, but another second-half Gonzaga scoring flurry did the trick. Similar to the one on Thursday, this one was inspired by a sensational stretch from Timme, who delivered the first five Gonzaga baskets in the second half to close a 10-point Memphis lead to three (45-42) in just under 5 minutes. Timme scored three of the next five points for Gonzaga then made layups to help the Bulldogs take their first lead of the game at 58-57. He extended the lead to 63-59 with 8:57 to play.