SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga dished out a record 33 assists in a 107-55 victory over Pepperdine Saturday. The Bulldogs broke the program's 45-year-old record in their fourth straight win.
 
The Zags (20-7, 11-3 West Coast Conference) also clinched the program's 28th straight 20-win season, which ranks as the second-longest active streak in the nation only behind Kansas at 33.
 
Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard etched his name in record books in the win. The nation's leader in assists became just the 51st player in NCAA Div. 1 history to dish out 800 assists in a career. He is one of only two active players in the country with 800 career assists. The Aurora, Ontario, native needed three assists to reach that plateau, and he finished with a game-high 11. The senior had 10 assists by halftime and set a new West Coast Conference record for most assists in a single season in conference play. Kyle Collinsworth of BYU had the previous record of 136 in 18 games during the 2015-16 season. Nembhard sits at 140 assists through 14 conference games.
 
The Bulldogs' previous single game team assist record was 32 set versus Loyola Marymount on Jan. 19, 1980. On Saturday, GU had 33 assists on 45 made shots from the field. Seven Zags finished with multiple assists in the win, including Nolan Hickman who was one of his career-high with seven.
 
The Zags never trailed against Pepperdine (10-17, 4-10 WCC) and the game featured no ties. GU made 57 percent from the field, including 12-of-26 from behind-the-arc, while the Waves were 29 percent from the field. Gonzaga jumped out to a 20-4 lead and stretched it to 40-15 at the 6:12 mark of the first half. The Bulldogs led 55-26 at halftime.
 
The Bulldogs' Khalif Battle led all scorers with 24 points. He was 10-of-15 from the field, with four made threes, along with five rebounds and three assists. Hickman added 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and he also made four threes. Michael Ajayi and Emmanuel Innocenti both finished with 10 points. Graham Ike and Ajayi grabbed nine and eight rebounds.
 
Gonzaga outrebounded the Waves 52-31 and had a 54-20 advantage in the paint. The Bulldogs also had a 28-11 edge in fast break points, and 47-10 in bench points. GU forced 12 turnovers, while only committing six.
 
Danilo Dozic led three Pepperdine double-digit scorers with 12 points. Boubacar Coulibaly chipped in 11 points and Stefan Todorovic had 10 points.
 
Up next
Gonzaga makes the short trip to Washington State (16-11, 6-8) Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Cougars fell at Saint Mary's Saturday, 77-56.