Recap and highlights: Gonzaga finishes strong for 73-53 win over Loyola Marymount

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Feb. 6—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, but the Bulldogs were able to iron out their offensive issues in a way Loyola Marymount never did, allowing the hosts to ultimately pull away for a 73-53 win.

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 first 20 minutes.

Gonzaga made 2 of 18 (11%) shots from the 3-point line, but found other sources of offense in a second half that saw the Bulldogs rip off a 22-2 run and lead by as many as 19 points after trailing at the 11-minute, 31-second mark.

Khalif Battle, who had 25 points over GU’s last four games — 23 of those coming in a 98-60 win over Oregon State — was able to get to the free throw line at will much of the night, scoring a team-high 24 points after going 15 of 16 from the charity stripe.

Ryan Nembhard had 15 points, nine assists and four rebounds, Braden Huff finished with 14 points and eight rebounds and Graham Ike scored eight points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes.

Gonzaga kept the clamps on LMU in the second half after the Lions withstood a 7-minute, 22-second scoring drought in the first half, failing to hit a shot from the field for 9 minutes, 54 seconds.

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.

Gonzaga (17-7, 8-3) faces a short…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/recap-highlights-gonzaga-finishes-strong-045900249.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2025-02-07 04:59:00

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