Arrow-right Camera

Color Scheme

Subscribe now
Gonzaga Basketball

Recap and highlights: Stellar second half sends No. 18 Gonzaga to big win over WSU 88-75 in first game as WCC foes

 (Photos by Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Greg Woods The Spokesman-Review

Synths bounced around the McCarthey Athletic Center and Gonzaga fans cheered along to Flo Rida’s “Good Feeling,” filling a second-half timeout with a racket of noise. On one end of the floor, Washington State coach David Riley crouched in the huddle and barked instructions to his team, trying to rally his group from a double-digit deficit.

On the other end, GU coach Mark Few and his club had done enough to render that conversation meaningless, burying the Cougars under a barrage of 3-pointers and an array of easy baskets at the rim. After a tight first half, Gonzaga turned this rivalry’s first renewal in a decade into a 88-75 blowout.

With just a three-point halftime lead, the Zags got a game-high 21 points from forward Graham Ike, who helped spark the 8-0 run the hosts used to pull away for good. Guard Nolan Hickman tallied 19 points on five triples, forward Ben Gregg posted 11 points and GU got 10 points apiece from guard Khalif Battle and forward Braden Huff, winning its fifth straight and the first game in this rivalry since 2015.

All game, the Bulldogs (14-4, 5-0 WC) took advantage of the Cougars’ (13-5, 3-2) miscues, turning 16 WSU turnovers into 20 points. Guard Nate Calmese scored 20 points and wing LeJuan Watts added 17, but those two also combined for seven turnovers, making a late comeback impossible. WSU forward Ethan Price, who totaled just two points, also committed four turnovers.

Gonzaga Athletics / Youtube

Those mistakes piled up as the game went on. In the second half, after earning 55-44 lead, Gonzaga ripped off nine straight points, a surge that included triples by guard Ryan Nembhard and Hickman, plus an and-one layup by Huff, seizing a 20-point lead and putting this one to rest.

With the win, the Zags stay on top of the WCC ahead of a road matchup next week against Oregon State. It’s the second straight loss for the Cougs, who have followed a costly Quad 4 loss Thursday against Pacific with a Quad 1 setback to the Bulldogs. WSU visits San Diego on Thursday.

It was a different story in the first half, when WSU led by as many as six, taking control with 10 straight points in one stretch. Forward ND Okafor registered seven points, including an and-one finish through traffic, and the Cougars took advantage of the Zags’ wayward 3-point shooting.

But Gonzaga used a strong rebounding effort, parlaying seven offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points, heading into the intermission with a three-point lead, even with Nembhard playing limited minutes. In the end, it hardly mattered for the Bulldogs, who won this one handily.

BOX SCORE

First half

19:40 – WSU 2, GU 0: Cougars win the tip and Erikstrup hits a layup to give WSU the first lead.

 

15:43 – GU 11, WSU 9: Back-and-forth action as Ike commits GU’s first turnover at the first media timeout.

Ike leading the Zags with six points. Gerrits hit the Cougs first 3-pointer to cut into the lead.

12:00 – WSU 19, GU 16: Zags carless with the ball, give up four turnovers in six possessions and the Cougs go on a 10-0 run. Stromer stops the bleeding with a layup and then goes 1 of 2 from the line on the next possession.

Okafor leads WSU with seven points.

7:30 – WSU 24, GU 20: Stromer gets a steal at the U8 media timeout. Cougs holding their lead through strong defense. Nembhard picked up his second foul and went to the bench.

5:28 – GU 26, WSU 24: Gregg dunks in transition and the Cougs call a timeout after a woeful stretch. WSU with five turnovers in the last 3:33 and no points the last 2:24.

3:03 – WSU 33, GU 32: Watts hits a 3-pointer at the U4 media timeout, as the teams connect on 3s each of the last five possessions. Cougars are 5 of 11 from outside.

Watts leads WSU with nine points, Ike has 10 for GU. Nembhard still on the bench.

0:31 – GU 38, WSU 37: Stromer hits a 3-pointer to put the Zags back in front and GU calls a timeout. Stromer up to eight points in a solid first half. Hickman also hit a 3, he has nine points.

Halftime

Khalif Battle made a tough layup at the buzzer to give Gonzaga a 40-37 lead over Washington State in what has been an entertaining game at the Kennel.

Graham Ike leads the Zags with 10 points. Nolan Hickman (nine points), Dusty Stromer (eight) and Battle (seven) have picked up the slack with Ryan Nembhard sitting on the bench for a large part of the half with two fouls.

Cougars hurt by 12 turnovers, but have been solid on the offensive end, making 56% of their attempts from the field and 5 of 11 3-pointers. LeJuan Watts leads the Cougs with nine points.

Second half

17:10 – GU 48, WSU 37: Perfect start to the second half for the Zags, who are on an 8-0 run after a layup from Hickman. WSU calls a timeout.

Hickman up to 11 points. Ike leads with 13 and Battle joins in double figures with 10.

Cougars are 0 of 4 from the field with two turnovers in the second half.

15:52 – GU 50, WSU 40: Thrastarson snaps the Cougars drought with a 3-pointer, but Ike answers with a dunk. Price is called for a foul at the U16 media timeout.

13:11 – GU 61, WSU 44: Nembhard with a step-back 3-pointer, Hickman hits a 3 on the next possession and the Cougars call a timeout. Dominant half from the Zags so far, 21-7 advantage in the period.

11:59 – GU 66, WSU 48: Gerrits scores through contact at the U12 media timeout, but the Zags are getting anything they want in the second half. 

Nembhard has five points and four assists in the second half, Huff has eight points.

8:30 – GU 72, WSU 57: Cougars go on a quick 7-0 run, capped by a layup from Calmese and the Zags call a timeout. Still a lot for WSU to make up down the stretch here.

2:56 – GU 84, WSU 63: Gregg called for a foul at the final media timeout, but this one’s going to go down as a decisive victory for the Zags. Stellar second half for GU to pull away.

Hickman and Ike lead with 19 points apiece. Gregg (11 points), Battle (10) and Huff (10) join in double figures. We’ll be back at the buzzer with a full recap.

Starting fives

Gonzaga: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Ben Gregg, Graham Ike.

WSU: Nate Calmese, LeJuan Watts, Tomas Thrastarson, Nate Calmese, Dane Erikstrup.

Pregame

Gonzaga and Washington State have waited nearly a decade for another date on the hardwood.

The Bulldogs (13-4, 4-0 West Coast) and Cougars (13-4, 3-1) will play for the 77th time tonight at 6 p.m. at McCarthey Athletic Center on KHQ and ESPN+ (outside the region).

There will be plenty more meetings in the future, with the Zags set to join the rebuilt Pac-12 after the Cougars spend this season and the next as a member of the WCC.

Tonight’s game had potential to be for first place in the WCC, until Washington State lost to Pacific on Thursday. The Cougs previously beat Portland, Loyola Marymount and San Francisco in what has been a solid season for first-year coach David Riley, whose team has been depleted by injures.

The No. 18 Zags opened conference play with wins over Pepperdine, Portland, LMU and San Diego. The later, a 93-80 win on Wednesday, came amid an illness spreading through the GU locker room.

Series history

Washington State holds a 44-32 all-time series lead over Gonzaga, but the Zags have won 10 of the 13 meetings since 2000. GU last won 69-60 in Pullman on Dec. 2, 2015.

Team stats

  WSU (13-4, 3-1) Gonzaga (13-4, 4-0)
Points 82.3 87.8
Points allowed 75.2 69.3
Field goal pct. 49.2 49.2
Rebounds 37.4 40.8
Assists 17.2 18.8
Blocks 5.5 2.9
Steals 6.6 7.4
Streak Lost 1 Won 4

Individual leaders

POINTS PPG FG% FT%
Nate Calmese (WSU) 16.2 46.6 70.8
Graham Ike (GU) 16.3 57.2 78.3
REBOUNDS RPG DRPG ORPG
LeJuan Watts (WSU) 8.3 5.9 2.4
Graham Ike (GU) 7.6 5.5 2.1
ASSISTS APG TOPG MPG
Nate Calmese (WSU) 4.4 3.3 30.2
Ryan Nembhard (GU) 9.6 2.4 35.6

Game preview

More on the Zags and Cougs