Jan. 4—LOS ANGELES — Gonzaga’s last four games, played over a stretch of eight days, may have each warranted different letter grades on a traditional report card.
After stumbling last Saturday against UCLA, holding on for a narrow win against Pepperdine on Monday and cruising against Portland on Thursday, Gonzaga saved its most complete performance for last, earning passing marks across the board during Saturday’s 96-68 win at Loyola Marymount.
Graham Ike scored 27 points, finishing one shy of a season-high, Khalif Battle had a season-high 26 points and Ryan Nembhard totaled 10 points, 11 assists and six rebounds to help the Zags secure their third victory of the week and second road win in West Coast Conference play.
Michael Ajayi broke out of a five-game offensive slump, scoring in double figures for the first time since a mid-December loss to Connecticut with 15 points off the bench.
Gonzaga returns to Spokane for its first home game since Dec. 21 — and first home game with students since Nov. 20 against Long Beach State — when the Bulldogs host San Diego (4-12, 1-2) on Wednesday.
BOX SCORE
Gonzaga’s Michael Ajayi provides spark off the bench for second straight game
Gonzaga forward Michael Ajayi caught up his former coach at Pepperdine, Lorenzo Romar, earlier Saturday. On Friday night, Ajayi and former Waves teammate Jevon Porter chatted on the phone. And roughly a half hour after Ajayi turned in one of his better performances of the season in Gonzaga’s 96-68 rout Saturday over Loyola Marymount, Ajayi and Porter visited again leaving the Gersten Pavilion court. — Read more
Buzzer breakdown: Graham Ike stays hot in Gonzaga’s blowout win over LMU
LOS ANGELES — Here are three observations from Gonzaga’s 96-68 win over Loyola Marymount on Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion. — Read more
First half
19:23 — LMU 2, GU 0: Merkviladze hits a layup to open the scoring and we’re underway in Los Angeles.
15:58 — GU 7, LMU 7: Johnston hits a 3-pointer to tie it up and Gregg turns it over at the first media timeout. Zags were on a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from Battle and inside shots from Nembhard and Ike.
GU with two turnovers, LMU with three in the early going.
10:38 — GU 19, LMU 11: Ajayi and Stromer come off the bench to score five and three points, respectively. Lions have hit just 2 of their last 11 attempts from the field.
Ajayi’s made 3-pointer is his first since the Battle 4 Atlantis. He had missed 12 in a row.
8:50 — GU 25, LMU 13: Ajayi gets a steal and dunk in transition and LMU calls a timeout with the Zags on a 6-0 run.
Ajayi has seven points, performing well in a second straight game off the bench. Ike leads with 10 points and five rebounds.
5:02 — GU 35, LMU 20: Battle scores an easy layup off a ball screen and LMU calls a timeout. Zags in control here, Ike has 14 points and six rebounds.
Zags rotating plenty with the loaded week.
3:06 — GU 40, LMU 22: Battle feeling it at the U4 media timeout as he hits a layup and a 3-pointer to extend the Zags lead. Battle has 10 points, joining Ike in double figures.
Halftime
Ryan Nembhard hit a layup right before the buzzer to cap what was a comfortable first half for Gonzaga, which leads Loyola Marymount 46-28 in Los Angeles.
Graham Ike leads three Zags in double figures with 15 points and six rebounds. Michael Ajayi has been excellent off the bench with 11 points and Khalif Battle heated up for 10 points, mostly in rapid succession.
The Zags shot 53% from the field and made 3 of 5 3-point attempts. GU also leads 23-14 in rebounds, 16-5 on bench points and 26-10 in the paint.
Second half
15:32 — GU 57, LMU 35: Zags building their lead at the U16 media timeout, a 11-7 advantage in the second half.
Battle up to 15 points after he hits a 3-pointer, he’s 6 of 8 from the field. Nembhard has seven assists.
11:58 — GU 65, LMU 41: Zags in a scoring lull, but not much to worry about. Battle has 21 points, but went to the bench with four fouls. GU still outscoring LMU 19-13 in the second half, solid defensive effort.
7:54 — GU 72, LMU 55: Johnston heaves up a transition 3-pointer and the Zags call a timeout with the Lions building momentum.
After a scoring burst LMU is shooting 47% in the half, 4 of 9 on 3-pointers. Porter leads LMU with 15 points, Jonston adds 11.
4:30 — GU 85, LMU 60: Battle checks back in a hits a layup, the Zags fifth make in five attempts and LMU takes a timeout.
Bulldogs will cruise to the finish now. Battle has 23 points, Ike leads with 27 points and nine rebounds. Nembhard has 10 points and 11 assists.
0:35 — GU 96, LMU 68: Ajayi hits a pair of free throws and that will do it. We’ll be back shortly with a full recap.
Starting fives
Gonzaga starters: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Ben Gregg, Graham Ike.
LMU starters: Will Johnston, Alex Merkviladze, Caleb Stone-Carrawell, Jevon Porter, Rick Issanza.
Pregame
The Gonzaga men’s basketball team will play its fourth game in seven days when it takes on Loyola Marymount tonight at 6 p.m. in Los Angeles. KHQ and ESPN+ (outside of region) will carry the broadcast.
The Zags (11-4, 2-0 West Coast) lost its nonconference finale to UCLA last Saturday, before beating Pepperdine and Portland in WCC play.
The Lions (9-6, 1-2) have had a similar workload with road conference losses to San Francisco and Washington State and a home win over Oregon State on Thursday.
Series history
Gonzaga holds a 79-24 all-time series lead over LMU, but were stunned by the Lions two seasons ago. GU had its 75-game home winning streak snapped in LMU’s first win in the series since 2010.
Team stats
LMU (9-6, 1-2)
Gonzaga (11-4, 2-0)
Points
71.5
86.9
Points allowed
69.0
68.7
Field goal pct.
43.5
49.2
Rebounds
35.9
40.4
Assists
14.1
19.0
Blocks
4.1
3.0
Steals
5.9
7.5
Streak
Won 1
Won 2
Individual leaders
POINTS
PPG
FG%
FT%
Jevon Porter (LMU)
13.9
38.7
69.8
Graham Ike (GU)
15.7
56.6
77.0
REBOUNDS
RPG
DRPG
ORPG
Jevon Porter (LMU)
8.0
5.7
2.3
Graham Ike (GU)
6.7
4.9
1.8
ASSISTS
APG
TOPG
MPG
Will Johnston (LMU)
3.5
1.0
29.4
Ryan Nembhard (GU)
9.5
2.4
35.8
Game preview
Resembling ‘NBA schedule,’ demanding week for Gonzaga concludes with road game against unpredictable LMU
LOS ANGELES — There aren’t many basketball teams around the country that will encounter a stretch of games as physically demanding or mentally exhausting as the one Gonzaga’s faced this week. — Read more
Key matchup: Gonzaga, Michael Ajayi have plenty of history with LMU’s Jevon Porter
LOS ANGELES — Gonzaga has a deep file on Jevon Porter, stemming from four previous matchups with the skilled wing in West Coast Conference play over the past two seasons. — Read more
More on the Zags
Senior forward Ben Gregg makes most of return to Gonzaga’s starting lineup
Ben Gregg has been here before as a starter and on the other side as a key reserve. He’s experienced it a couple times this season as well as last year. On Thursday, the fifth-year senior forward’s name boomed over the Spokane Arena’s public address system with Gonzaga’s starting five again prior to tip-off against Portland. — Read more
Gonzaga opens up big lead, keeps pedal down in 81-50 blowout over Portland
By the end of the first half filled with missed shots, Portland scoring first was just a vague memory. That’s because the Pilots’ second basket came more than 7 minutes and 30 seconds later. Their next points came on two free throws after 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Gonzaga wasn’t exactly lighting it up at 34.3% from the field in the opening half, but it hardly mattered because of Portland’s penchant for dry spells and turnovers. — Read more
‘Grab every rebound like it’s my last.’ Michael Ajayi takes move to Gonzaga’s bench in stride, grabs 15 rebounds in win over Portland
Michael Ajayi believes his offensive production will come. Until then, the senior wing is focused on doing all the little things in a big way for the 19th-ranked Gonzaga basketball team. — Read more
