SPOKANE — It might have been a sign when Gonzaga went 5 minutes, 29 seconds without scoring midway through the first half. Or when the Bulldogs withstood another extended offensive drought — this one lasting exactly 5 minutes toward the later stages of the first half.
From the early stages, it seemed evident Gonzaga wouldn’t be shattering any McCarthey Athletic Center scoring records on Thursday night, but the Bulldogs were able to iron out their offensive issues in way Loyola Marymount never did, and the home team pulled away down the stretch for a comfortable 73-53 win over the Lions.
The final numbers weren’t glowing for a Gonzaga team that entered the week second nationally in scoring offense at 88.2 points per game, but the Bulldogs managed to author an impressive turnaround in the second half after posting a season-low 27 points through the opening 20 minutes.
“It was the best of the best,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of the team’s closing stretch. “We played great defense, we did a great job competing on the glass, we had to really go high point some balls and scratch and claw and find some there with just great effort.”
It was a bumpy ride until Gonzaga pulled ahead for good with approximately 10 minutes left in the game. After opening 5 of 5 from the field and forcing six early LMU turnovers to build a 12-5 lead, Gonzaga’s offense went ice cold in a way it hasn’t all season and the Bulldogs made just 5 of their next 25 shots — including 1 of 11 from the 3-point line — to close out the first half.
LMU was hardly hitting on all cylinders during a rough first half and Gonzaga entered the break with a three-point lead after holding its opponent to 9 of 24 from the field and 2 of 13 3-point line. While the Zags struggled through a few of their worst offensive stretches of the season during the first half, they were upstaged by an LMU team that went 7 minutes, 22 seconds without scoring at one point and 9 minutes, 54 seconds without making a shot from the field.
Gonzaga’s shooting struggles spilled into the second half, but the Bulldogs ultimately found other sources of offensive production as they ripped off the game’s decisive run — a 21-2 spurt spanning 7 minutes, 14 seconds.
“We were really, really smart and efficient on the offensive end after being really stagnant in the first half,” Few said. “After our start, we got really stagnant at the start of the second half. They were switching up their coverages, they did a nice job but guys figured out and obviously (Braden) Huff started delivering and Ryan (Nembhard) was cooking.”
For a long stretch in the second half, options one, two and three all involved handing the ball off to Khalif Battle, who successfully took LMU defenders off the dribble before drawing fouls at the rim.
Battle, who had 25 points over GU’s last four games — with 23 of those coming in a 98-60 win over Oregon State — was able to get to the free throw line at will, scoring a team-high 24 points after going 15 of 16 from the charity stripe, 4 of 13 from the field and 1 of 7 from the 3-point line.
“KB was great tonight,” Few said. “He was getting downhill, making plays. That last group that was in really did a terrific job.”
Nembhard had 15 points, nine assists and four rebounds, Huff finished with 14 points and eight rebounds and Graham Ike scored eight points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes.
The Lions finished 19 of 55 from the field and 4 of 22 from the 3-point line, committing nine of their 11 turnovers in the first half. Senior transfer Caleb Stone-Carrawell had a team-high 20 points on 7 of 17 from the field and 3 of 7 from the 3-point line.
“As a team, I think we took a step forward defensively,” Battle said. “We’ve been going hard in practice about that and that’s just got to be our DNA. Just guarding and being nasty and being vicious up there on the defensive end. I think we accomplished that and that was the reason we won tonight.”
Gonzaga (17-7, 8-3) faces a short turnaround before visiting Pacific (8-18, 3-9) for a 5 p.m. tipoff Saturday at the Spanos Center in Stockton. The Bulldogs entered the night three games behind first place in the WCC standings, but the gap closed on Thursday after San Francisco pulled off a 65-64 upset of previously unbeaten Saint Mary’s at War Memorial Gym.
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