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Gonzaga Bulldogs 94, Santa Clara Broncos 81: Live score recap, highlights from WCC men's basketball game [2/24/24]

Bulldogs tamed the Broncos on Anton Watson's senior night

Cole Forsman

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The Gonzaga Bulldogs defended home court for the final time this season in a 94-81 win over the Santa Clara Broncos on Saturday.

Gonzaga (22-6, 12-2 WCC) withstood a hot start from Santa Clara (18-11, 9-5 WCC), which shot 54.5% from the field and knocked down six 3-pointers to trail by just six points at halftime.

The Bulldogs picked it up defensively in the second half to hold the Broncos to 37.1% from the field and 5-of-14 from downtown. Leading scorer Adama-Alpha Bal was held to eight points before fouling out in 23 minutes.

For the Bulldogs, Graham Ike was dominant again with 26 points and seven rebounds. Nolan Hickman added 20 points and five 3-pointers as Gonzaga shot 56.7% from the field and was 8-of-16 from deep. 

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Gonzaga honored Anton Watson on senior night prior to tipoff. The Spokane native is third in program history with 127 wins and 144 games played, ranks second in steals and is 10th in rebounds. Watson passed John Stockton for 26th on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list with his first score of the night.

Here is the live score recap:

SECOND HALF:

Gonzaga 89, Santa Clara 79 (1:37): Broncos stayed in the fight with three-straight 3-pointers to cut their deficit to 10 with just under two minutes remaining.

Gonzaga 86, Santa Clara 68 (3:40): Nembhard converted a tough floater over the top of O'Neil after snaking his way into the paint. The previous Gonzaga possession ended in a dunk for Watson, who left Ensminger in the dust for an easy score.

Gonzaga 76, Santa Clara 60 (7:57): Bulldogs clamped down on the Broncos in the second half, as the visitors missed 15 of their 21 field goal attempts after shooting 54.5% from the field in the first half. Ike got his seventh field goal to drop to extend Gonzaga's lead.

Gonzaga 69, Santa Clara 55 (12:05): Stromer gave the Bulldogs some strong minutes with Nembhard on the bench. The freshman swooped in for a putback layup off a miss from Huff, followed by stellar defense on the other end to force an airball from the Broncos. Watson nailed a midrange jumper to extend Gonzaga's largest lead.

Gonzaga 62, Santa Clara 51 (14:31): Bulldogs got back-to-back 3-pointers from Stromer in the corner and a crafty in-and-out move from Hickman, prompting a timeout from the Broncos as they faced their largest deficit of the night.

Gonzaga 56, Santa Clara 51 (15:47): Nembhard picked up his third foul trying to stop a backdoor cut. Bulldogs went almost three minutes without a basket since going up 56-46 at the 18:35 mark.

Gonzaga 56, Santa Clara 51 (17:13): Nembhard had a score in transition followed by a nifty reverse from Watson to push Gonzaga's lead to double-digits, though the Broncos responded with a dunk from Tilly and a 3-pointer from O'Neil to stay within striking distance.

HALFTIME: Gonzaga 52, Santa Clara 46: Hickman found Ike on an alley-oop for the Bulldogs' last score of the half, as the two combined for 30 points while Hickman was 4-of-5 from downtown. Gonzaga shot 62.5% from the field while Santa Clara, led by O'Neil's 13 points, shot 54.5% from the field.

FIRST HALF:

Gonzaga 48, Santa Clara 42 (1:50): Bulldogs tightened up defensively and pounded the paint to gain a slight advantage over the Broncos. Stromer nailed a long 2-pointer in the corner on a dime from Hickman, followed by a jumper from O'Neil on the other end.

Gonzaga 44, Santa Clara 40 (3:24): Bulldogs got out in front with an 8-2 scoring spurt capped by a 3-pointer from Hickman in transition, his fourth of the night. Ike knocked down a pair of free throws followed by a score in the post after Jalen Benjamin beat him on a drive to the rim the possession prior. Both teams shot better than 54% from the field to start.

Santa Clara 32, Gonzaga 29 (7:52): The Broncos continued to light it up with deep. O'Neil drilled his third 3-pointer of the night, followed by Ensminger's first of the night, as the Broncos started 6-of-10 from deep. Watson picked up two fouls in a 40-second span, one offensive and one on the defensive end trying to contest a shot.

Santa Clara 26, Gonzaga 23 (10:03): Watson got the crowd into it with a two-hand dunk courtesy of a steal from Gregg leading to an easy score. The Bulldogs didn't score for two minutes after that, as the Broncos bench stepped up with a few points inside and a 3-pointer from Camaron Tongue, who scored in transition before Mark Few called timeout.

Santa Clara 12, Gonzaga 9 (16:10): Both sides came out firing offensively with a 4-of-6 start from the field for the Bulldogs and Broncos. Knapper and O'Neil nailed a couple of 3-pointers, while Hickman got Gonzaga going from the outside with a stepback triple. Nembhard found Ike inside for an easy two off a loose ball rebound.

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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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