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.