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Gonzaga Basketball

Recap and highlights: No. 16 Gonzaga has no answer for Tyeree Bryan, Santa Clara in 103-99 loss

 (Photos by Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
Theo Lawson The Spokesman-Review

Gonzaga came out of its first loss this week focused on improving its defensive play while vowing to demonstrate more resolve in late-game situations.

The Bulldogs didn’t address the first item on their to-do list and squandered another opportunity to address the second, falling behind by double figures late in the second half Saturday against Santa Clara before pulling within one possession in the final two minutes and ultimately losing 103-99 at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Gonzaga’s now lost consecutive games for the second time this season – something that hadn’t previously happened since 2018-19 – and the team’s first home loss this season, and first loss in a Quadrant 2 scenario, could have at-large NCAA Tournament ramifications as the Bulldogs inch closer to the bubble.

Behind a flurry of 3-pointers, Santa Clara established its largest lead of the game on Christoph Tilly’s layup to put the Broncos up 13 points with 4 minutes, 27 seconds remaining.

By that point, the Broncos had already drilled 11 3’s in the second half and 17 in the game, elevated by the play of guard Tyeree Bryan, who finished with a career-high 35 points on 13 of 21 from the field and 7 of 12 from the 3-point line.

In a dire situation, the Zags applied a full-court pressure defense late in the second half, forcing six Santa Clara turnovers inside the final four minutes while closing the deficit to three points on a 3-pointer from Nolan Hickman and then again on a pair of free throws from Ben Gregg.

Bryan knocked down a dagger 3-pointer, and Santa Clara’s 18th triple of the game, to give the Broncos a 98-92 lead with 43 seconds remaining and allow the visitors to win for the first time in Spokane since 2007.

Hickman led Gonzaga with 24 points while point guard Ryan Nembhard scored 16 points and dished out a career-high 15 assists.

The Zags (14-5, 5-1) have their longest layoff since WCC play started and won’t be back on the floor until next Saturday, when they visit Portland (6-14, 1-6) for a 5 p.m. tipoff at the Chiles Center.

BOX SCORE

First half

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Second half

14:16 – SCU 62, GU 57: Broncos start the second half red hot, hit four straight 3-pointer to take a seven-point lead, before Huff makes a jumper and the Zags call timeout. SCU with a 18-12 lead out of halftime.

10:03 – SCU 76, GU 68: Zags will shoot two free throws at the other end of the U12 media timeout, but haven’t been able to do anything to stop the Broncos in the second half.

SCU 11 of 13 from the field and 7 of 7 on 3-pointers. Dazzling performance from Bryan, who has a career-high 27 points. Bal has 13, all in the second half.

7:42 – SCU 79, GU 72: Nembhard cuts the lead to four, but Bryan hits another 3-pointer to pad the lead at the U8 media timeout.

Bryan up to 30 points for the Broncos. Nembhard has 13 points and 12 assists.

Big difference has been on 3-pointers in the second half, SCU 8 of 10, GU 0 of 5.

3:46 – SCU 93, GU 80: Zags cut the lead to nine, but Ike is called for a technical foul and GU is on its way to a second straight loss at the final media timeout. Broncos offense too much for the Zags tonight.

3:18 – SCU 93, GU 85: Hickman hits a 3-pointer after a steal from Gregg and the Broncos call a timeout. Quick five-point burst for the Zags.

1:39 – SCU 95, GU 90: Gregg dunks, gets a steal on the inbound and passes to Hickman for a 3-pointer to cut the lead to three and the Kennel crowd goes crazy. But Bal makes a layup to bring the lead back to five.

1:13 – SCU 95, GU 92: Gregg makes two free throws, Hickman gets another steal, but Ajayi turns it over. Zags call timeout, on a 12-2 run, but need a stop.

0:30 – SCU 98, GU 93: Bryan hits another 3-pointer to bring his total to 33. Nembhard hits one of two free throws and the Zags send the Broncos to the line. That will about do it.

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

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