No. 13 Gonzaga pulls away in the 2nd half to beat Nicholls 102-72

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Braden Huff scored 25 points off the bench and No. 13 Gonzaga overcame a slow start to roll past Nicholls 102-72 on Wednesday night.

Graham Ike added 20 points and six rebounds, and Ryan Nembhard had 18 points and 10 rebounds to help the Bulldogs (8-3) bounce back from a 77-71 loss last week to No. 11 UConn at Madison Square Garden.

Bryon Ireland led Nicholls (7-5) with 16 points, including eight in the first half.

Gonzaga didn’t make a 3-pointer for nearly 15 minutes but surged ahead with a 22-4 run over the final seven minutes of the half. Huff sparked the run with back-to-back layups, followed by Ike’s 3-pointer — the team’s first of the game. Nembhard added another 3-pointer in the final minute, giving the Zags a 43-29 lead at halftime.

Gonzaga: After 28 days away from home and two high-profile losses, the Bulldogs shot 64.8% from the field and 88.9% at the free-throw line to grind out their first win of December.

Nicholls: The Colonels hung around with a national powerhouse for most of the first half.

Midway through the first half, Huff rebounded a missed corner 3-pointer from Nolan Hickman and finished through a foul to it at 25. He converted his lone free-throw attempt to give the Zags a narrow lead before they raced away with a 22-4 run to end the half.

After making six 3-pointers and shooting below 38% from beyond the arc in each of their last four games, the Zags made eight 3-pointers on a 47.1% clip against the Colonels.

Nicholls is at Seattle on Dec. 30. Gonzaga hosts Bucknell on Saturday.

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