3 takeaways from Gonzaga's win over Santa Clara: Nolan Hickman has career night, Drew Timme bounces back

'I know you look on Twitter, everybody’s like ‘oh my god Gonzaga sucks.’ Nah, we’re just getting some tournament experience.' - Drew Timme

Drew Timme and Nolan Hickman scored 20 points each to help No. 9 Gonzaga (14-3, 3-0) rally from an early deficit to defeat Santa Clara (14-5, 2-2) 81-76 on Saturday at the Leavey Center.

Here are three key takeaways from Gonzaga’s victory:

NOLAN HICKMAN STEPS UP

After scoring a combined eight points in the Zags’ first two West Coast Conference matchups, Hickman finished with a career-high 20 points against Santa Clara.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Zags a 76-74 lead with 1 minute, 13 seconds remaining. The bucket ignited a 7-0 scoring run that put the game out of reach for the Broncos.

“I definitely took it upon myself,” Hickman said of his final 3-point make. “I saw the play was breaking down and the shot clock was running down, so I took it into my own hands.”

Hickman made four 3-pointers and shot 8-for-9 from the field against Santa Clara. He also registered two assists, two rebounds and two blocks in 32 minutes.

“We’ve challenged him to take care of the ball and do things like that, but obviously the way he shot it — he made big shots,” said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few.

DREW TIMME BOUNCES BACK

Not much was working for Timme in Thursday’s win over San Francisco.

The two-time All-American forward shot 3-for-16 against the Dons, by far his least efficient performance of the season.

Timme’s struggles continued to begin Saturday’s contest, as he went 0-for-4 before being subbed out with 10 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the first half.

Several minutes later, Timme checked back into the game and quickly scored his first point on a free throw after he was fouled.

His first two field goals came on a pair of layups that capped off a 13-0 scoring run for the Zags, who trailed by a point with 4 minutes, 28 seconds before halftime.

Timme had seemingly regained his offensive rhythm, as he finished another layup before the intermission and started the second half by scoring Gonzaga’s first four points.

As Timme’s point total grew, his efficiency improved as well. After shooting 3-for-8 from the field and 1-for-3 on free throws in the first half, he went 4-for-7 on field goal attempts and 5-for-7 at the charity stripe in the second half.

Aside from his 20-point output, Timme also added six rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 37 minutes.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Timme, who had gone 36 minutes, 16 seconds without a field goal dating back to the first half of Thursday’s game against San Francisco.

“I put so much … work in and I have so much confidence in myself and coach and my teammates just kept saying, ‘just do you.’”

After avoiding upsets in back-to-back games, Timme spoke highly of his team’s effort during their trip to the Bay Area.

“This was a tough, tough ass road-trip,” Timme said. “It’s good to get battle-tested like that. I know you look on Twitter, everybody’s like ‘oh my god Gonzaga sucks.’ Nah, we’re just getting some tournament experience.”

BRANDIN PODZIEMSKI DOESN'T DISAPPOINT

After playing 4.3 minutes per game last season at Illinois, Podziemski’s transfer to Santa Clara didn’t get much attention across the WCC.

That changed in the season opener when he had 30 points, nine rebounds, five steals and two assists in an 84-72 victory over Eastern Washington.

Podziemski, a 6-foot-5 guard, lived up to the hype in his first matchup against Gonzaga. He ended Saturday’s loss with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, seven rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes.

Podziemski did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 13 points before the intermission and helping Santa Clara jump out to a 20-8 lead in less than seven minutes of play.

He was second in scoring for the Broncos, who were led by a 22-point showing from forward Keshawn Justice.

“They’re good,” Few said of Santa Clara. “They’ve got good size, and I thought their intensity tonight was really good. And their physicality was really good, especially in the post.”