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Gonzaga Bulldogs 101, Baylor Bears 63: Live updates recap, highlights from men's basketball game

Bulldogs raced by the Bears with an explosion from behind the 3-point line

Cole Forsman

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford
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Mark Few and No. 6 Gonzaga (1-0) sent a message to the rest of college basketball Monday in a dominant 101-63 blowout over No. 8 Baylor (0-1) to start the 2024-25 season.

Five Bulldogs finished in double-figures in scoring, as senior guard Nolan Hickman led the effort with 17 points and six rebounds. Hickman had three of his team's 13 3-pointers, while Khalif Battle (12 points) knocked down four triples, including three in the second half.

Fifth-year senior Norchad Omier led the Bears with 15 points and nine rebounds. Freshman wing Robert Wright III had 12 points, though Baylor shot just 37.1% from the field and 3-of-21 from deep.

Here is the live updates recap from Gonzaga's season-opener vs. Baylor.

FINAL: Gonzaga 101, Baylor 63

2ND HALF:

Gonzaga 89, Baylor 55 (3:37): Ajayi drained the Bulldogs' 13th triple of the night off an assist from Ryan Nembhard, his 11th of the night. Stromer and Huff both reached double-figures off the bench.

Gonzaga 84, Baylor 50 (6:10): Spokane was ready to celebrate Gonzaga's win over a top 10 team after Battle made three 3-pointers in a row to blow the doors off Baylor down the stretch.

Gonzaga 75, Baylor 48 (8:10): Nembhard and Hickman knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 10-2 scoring run from the Zags. Ike continued to control the paint on both ends of the floor, first slapping the ball from Omier, then finishing a putback over him on the other end.

Gonzaga 65, Baylor 46 (11:18): Gonzaga got a strong defensive stand from Ike, then back-to-back scores from the 6-foot-9 All-WCC forward to extend its lead over Baylor midway through the second half. The Bears went another two minutes without a score, as they started the second half 5-of-12 from the field.

Gonzaga 59, Baylor 42 (14:09): Huff found Ajayi for an easy dunk inside, followed by a soft turnaround jumper from the 6-foot-10 post.

Gonzaga 55, Baylor 35 (15:43): Hickman continued to fuel Gonzaga's offense out of the halftime break. The senior guard nailed his second 3-pointer of the night to extend the Zags' advantage to 23 points, their largest lead of the night.

HALFTIME: Gonzaga 49, Baylor 30: Bulldogs caught fire from deep to end the first half on a 12-4 scoring run. Nolan Hickman sunk a triple and had a layup in transition to end the first 20 minutes with a game-high 11 points. Dusty Stromer drilled three 3-pointers to end the half with nine points. Baylor missed six of its final seven field goal attempts.

1ST HALF:

Gonzaga 36, Baylor 24 (3:41): Freshman wing Robert Wright III beat Gonzaga to the rim twice as the Bears rattled off three straight scores to cut into their deficit. Gregg answered with an and-1layup through contact from Omier.

Gonzaga 30, Baylor 18 (6:44): Gonzaga's middle ball screen with Huff gave Baylor problems, as the redshirt sophomore punished the Bears with eight points and an assist to Battle for a 3-pointer.

Gonzaga 18, Baylor 11 (11:14): The Bears responded with a quick 8-0 scoring run led by Omier, though the Bulldogs responded with a 10-0 burst of their own. Stromer drilled a pair of 3-pointers to jumpstart the offense, as he and Huff combined to score 10 of Gonzaga's first 18 points off the bench.

Gonzaga 8, Baylor 1 (16:23): Bulldogs came out attacking the interior of the Bears' defense, as Gregg got a few scores inside to give Gonzaga an early lead. Baylor, meanwhile, missed its first five field goal attempts.

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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