SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard broke the West Coast Conference single season assist record in a pivotal 95-76 win at Santa Clara Tuesday.
 
Entering the game, Nembhard needed five assists to break Emmett Naar of Saint Mary's assist record of 284 set in 2017-18. On Tuesday, Nembhard matched his career-high with 15 assists in the road victory. He sits at 295 this season, which still leads the nation. The senior had his conference-leading 12th double-double of the season, adding 12 points.
 
Gonzaga (22-8, 13-4 West Coast Conference) had four double-digit scorers, led by Graham Ike's 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field. Khalif Battle finished with 21 points and Nolan Hickman chipped in 11. Ismaila Diagne came off the bench to chip in nine points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field. Michael Ajayi grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Santa Clara (19-11, 11-6 WCC) scored the first seven points of the game and had its largest lead, 13-3, at the 16:53 mark of the first half. The Bulldogs tied the score at 17 three minutes later. The Broncos built a 40-31 lead with 4:27 left in the half. GU would close the half on a 10-0 run to take its first lead and have a 44-42 advantage at the break. A Battle fastbreak dunk gave the Zags their largest lead of the game, 87-64, with 2:44 remaining in regulation.
 
All eight Bulldogs that played in the second half scored. Gonzaga made 20 of its 34 shots from the field in the second half and finished 57.8 percent from the field in the game. SCU was 40 percent from the field in the game. The Broncos made their first eight threes of the game but would then shoot 3-of-17 from behind-the-arc.
 
Tyeree Bryan led Santa Clara with 18 points. Carlos Stewart contributed 14 points, while Adama Alpha Bal and Camaron Tongue both scored 11.
 
The Zags outrebounded SCU 33-29 and outscored the Broncos 56-20 in the paint. Gonzaga also had a 16-3 edge in fastbreak points. The Bulldogs turned 17 Santa Clara turnovers into a 25-12 advantage in points off turnovers. GU entered the game leading the country in assists and finished 22 in the win. It was the 16th 20-assist game of the season for the Zags.
 
Up next
In the final game of the regular season, Gonzaga plays San Francisco (22-7, 12-4) in the Chase Center Saturday at 8 p.m. A Bulldog win would clinch the second-seed and a bye in next week's West Coast Conference tournament semifinals. GU won the first meeting this season in Spokane, 88-77, on Feb. 13. Before the matchup with Gonzaga Saturday, the Dons are at Oregon State Wednesday.