Difference makers: Nolan Hickman scores career-high 20 points, drills late 3 to lift Gonzaga over Santa Clara

Nolan Hickman

After modest scoring efforts in Gonzaga’s past three games against Division I opponents, Hickman came through with a career-high 20 points and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1 minute, 13 seconds left to help the Bulldogs secure their third conference win. Hickman scored just 13 total points in games against Montana, Pepperdine and San Francisco, making just 6 of 19 shots in those games. Efficiency wasn’t an issue for the sophomore point guard on Saturday as Hickman made his first four shots and finished 7 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from the 3-point line. Hickman also had two rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

Drew Timme

Timme made a layup with 50 seconds remaining in the first half of Thursday’s game at San Francisco then proceeded to go more than 36 minutes over two games without making a field goal, missing 11 times during that stretch. The senior forward busted out of the slump late in the first half against Santa Clara, scoring seven points in the final 7:07 before adding 13 more in the second to finish with a team-high 20. Timme made 7 of 14 shots from the field, finished 6 of 10 from the free-throw line and had six rebounds to go with four assists and two blocked shots.

Key moment

Rasir Bolton delivered most of the clutch shots in Gonzaga’s two-point win over USF on Thursday. Two days later, Hickman picked up where his fellow guard left off. Santa Clara’s Carlos Stewart hit a jumper to give the Broncos a lead with 1:36 remaining. On the next possession, Hickman brought the ball down the floor and shook off Stewart with a crossover move, dribbling the ball between his legs before connecting on a 3 from the top of the arc. Hickman’s fourth 3-pointer gave the Zags a lead they didn’t relinquish for the final 73 seconds.