Huff scores 21 off bench to help No. 6 Gonzaga squeak past Arizona State

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Braden Huff scored 21 points off the bench and Ryan Nembhard tallied 13 points and 11 assists as No. 6 Gonzaga hung on for an 88-80 victory over Arizona State on Sunday.

Huff went 9-for-13 from the field and missed only two 2-point attempts for the Bulldogs (2-0), who won their 21st straight home opener.

Khalif Battle scored all 19 of his points in the second half, including a trio of 3-pointers and an alley-oop dunk. Battle and Huff contributed 17 of Gonzaga’s last 21 points to help the Zags avoid the loss in the first-ever meeting between the programs.

Basheer Jihad added 22 points and 10 rebounds for Arizona State (2-1). The Ball State transfer was just 1-for-10 in his two first games under Bobby Hurley before going 7-for-14 against Gonzaga.

Takeaways

Gonzaga: In the first half, the Zags shot 3-for-12 from 3-point range, but Graham Ike and Huff combined to go 8-for-10 inside the arc to keep them competitive. ... Gonzaga's bench got 30 points in the second half.

Arizona State: Arizona State's hope for an upset was hurt by 4-for-15 shooting from 3-point range in the second half. Five-star recruit Jayden Quaintance scored all nine of his points in the first half, and fouled out of the game with just a single rebound and zero assists.

Key Moment

A steal from Michael Ajayi led to a fast break opportunity for the Zags, who had numbers running down the floor before Nembhard threw an alley-oop pass that Battle finished to even the score at 63 apiece midway through the second half. Battle’s dunk revived the crowd in the Kennel.

Key stat

Gonzaga assisted on 22 of their 31 made shots, with all eight players to see the floor registering at least one. Nembhard played 36 minutes and didn’t record a single turnover.

Up next

Arizona State: Faces Grand Canyon in a neutral-site matchup on Thursday night for the 2024 Hall of Fame game in Phoenix.

Gonzaga: Hosts UMass Lowell on Friday night.

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