Field Level Media
Jan 30, 2021
Drew Timme had 19 points and six rebounds and top-ranked Gonzaga defeated Pepperdine for the 41st consecutive time, notching a 97-75 victory on Saturday in West Coast Conference play at Malibu, Calif.
Andrew Nembhard scored 17 points and also had eight assists as the Bulldogs won their 21st straight game dating back to last season. That is the longest active streak in the nation after Winthrop's 21-game streak was ended by UNC Asheville on Friday.
Corey Kispert scored 16 points and reserve Aaron Cook tallied season highs of 15 points and three steals for Gonzaga (17-0, 8-0 WCC). Anton Watson scored 12 points and Joel Ayayi added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, who made 59.7 percent of their shots and were 9 of 28 from 3-point range.
Colbey Ross recorded 16 points and seven assists and also became the first player in Pepperdine history to reach 2,000 career points when he connected on a free-throw line jumper with 16:02 left in the first half. Ross is the 13th player in WCC history to reach the mark.
Ross, who has 2,010 points, is tied for 12th place in WCC history with Loyola Marymount legend Bo Kimble (1987-90).
Sedrick Altman had 14 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Waves (7-8, 3-3). Kessler Edwards added 11 points and six rebounds.
Pepperdine made 41.3 percent of its field-goal attempts, including 7 of 22 from behind the arc.
The Waves, however, were hot at the outset and made 7 of 10 shots while roaring out to a 16-7 lead with 15:41 left in the half.
But things unraveled quickly as Pepperdine missed eight straight shots and Gonzaga ripped off 16 straight points to take a seven-point advantage with 9:40 left.
Cook made two 3-pointers in a 36-second span to elevate the advantage to 34-21 with 7:02 remaining.
The lead reached 17 on Ayayi's basket with 2:35 left before the Bulldogs settled for a 49-34 halftime lead.
Gonzaga continued the assault at the outset of the second half by scoring nine of the first 12 points to take a 58-37 advantage on Kispert's three-point play with 16:16 left in the contest.
Ayayi connected on a 3-pointer and then added a steal and a layup as the lead reached 30 at 90-60 with 5:09 remaining.
The lead topped out at 32 points.
--Field Level Media