Gonzaga routs third SWAC opponent in 15 days with 100-76 win over Jackson State

Midway through the second half of Wednesday’s game against Jackson State, Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard was the recipient of a hard foul while driving to the basket against the Tigers’ Jayme Mitchell.

Gonzaga fans let out a collective gasp as Nembhard was knocked to the ground midair and had a few more nervous moments as the point guard laid on his stomach for roughly a minute before eventually getting up and walking gingerly to the Bulldogs’ bench.

It was probably the only real moment of tension in an otherwise routine 100-76 nonconference win over the Tigers at McCarthey Athletic Center.

After their third home win over a SWAC school in 15 days, the 15th-ranked Bulldogs will head into a short holiday break sitting at 9-3 overall and 6-0 in home games. Gonzaga will return to Spokane for a Dec. 29 game against last year’s NCAA Tournament runner-up, San Diego State, at McCarthey Athletic Center.

During their three-game December stretch against the SWAC, the Zags outscored Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a margin of 289-187.

“I was really happy with our effort,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “I think Jackson State will win their league. They’ve got some guys that are older and had a great plan, (coach) Mo (Williams) does a great job with them, man. Their switching defenses and NBA isos and they kind of start picking on guys.

“They had our full attention, but our guys did great. We have only eight turnovers against that trapping, quick-handed defense, 20 assists, got to the free-throw line and I thought the bigs did a nice job posting.”

The Zags had an 11-0 run in the first half and opened the second half with a 10-0 spurt to create separation from the Tigers. Gonzaga’s lead grew to a game-high 37 points with 6 minutes, 33 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs shot a season-high 39 free throws and scored more than a quarter of their 100 points from the line, connecting on 69%.

At various points of the game, it felt like Gonzaga players were interested in staging a contest to see which one could do the best job of filling up the stat sheet.

The box score offered a handful of choices and perhaps no real winner in a game in which five players finished in double figures, six had at least five rebounds and three registered three or more assists.

Graham Ike was Gonzaga’s high scorer, securing his fourth double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Ike finished 6 of 8 from the field and had a handful of numerous opportunities at the free-throw line, where he was 10 of 14.

Ike’s second-highest-scoring game of the season came on the heels of Friday’s 76-63 loss, when the Wyoming transfer scored only five points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field.

“It felt pretty good, man,” Ike said. “We just stayed confident in the work that we do and in the preparation and we come out and do things like this tonight.”

Anton Watson was on triple-double pace for a portion of game, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Watson had his highlight dunk in the second half, catching a long pass from Nembhard before soaring over JSU’s Jordan O’Neal.

Nembhard had another quiet night shooting the ball, but the point guard was still effective, scoring 11 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. Most of Nembhard’s production came in the second half, when he scored nine points, dished out four assists and hauled down four rebounds.

Braden Huff scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds, guard Nolan Hickman had 18 points to go with three assists and Dusty Stromer finished with eight points and six rebounds.

Ben Gregg came off the bench to total six points, five rebounds and a game-high three steals. Jun Seok Yeo was productive with six points and three rebounds during a short 8-minute stint late in the second half.

Gonzaga’s 3-point-shooting struggles continued. The Bulldogs finished under 30% for the fourth straight game, making 5 of 18. Jackson State hit had an impressive showing from the 3-point line, finishing 13 of 32 on 3-pointers after making 9 of 19 in the second half.

Jackson State’s Jordan O’Neal fouls Gonzaga forward Graham Ike during the first half Wednesday in nonconference play at McCarthey Athletic Center.