Gonzaga survives again: Nolan Hickman helps Zags avoid upset against Santa Clara

Hickman finished with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting in 32 minutes of play

Gonzaga’s two-game road trip to the Bay Area was anything but a cakewalk.

A few days after a less-than-emphatic win over San Francisco, the ninth-ranked Zags (14-3, 3-0) barely survived to defeat Santa Clara (14-5, 2-2) 81-76 on Saturday at the Leavey Center.

Similar to USF, the Broncos came out on fire, hitting 12-of-13 shots to jump out to a 23-13 lead in less than nine minutes. 

Santa Clara guard Brandin Podziemski was instrumental to his team’s hot start, leading the way with 13 first-half points on 6-of-9 shooting.

The Zags eventually regrouped, as they traded buckets with Santa Clara for a few minutes, before going on a 13-0 run to make it a one-point game with about four minutes to play until halftime.

The last four points of Gonzaga’s unanswered scoring push came on a pair of layups from forward Drew Timme. It marked the first two field goals of the game for Timme, who was coming off a 3-for-16 showing against USF. 

Gonzaga continued to execute offensively, but Santa Clara remained on top 37-36 going into halftime. 

The game stayed competitive in the second half, with neither squad leading by more than four points until a layup from guard Nolan Hickman off a backdoor cut put the Zags up 69-64 with under six minutes to play.

A few minutes went by before Santa Clara pulled back ahead, but Hickman answered with a 3-pointer off the dribble to give the Zags a 76-74 lead.

Hickman’s bucket ignited a 7-0 scoring run which put the game out of reach for the Broncos.

Hickman was Gonzaga’s most efficient scorer, finishing with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting. The 6-foot-2 sophomore also added two assists, two rebounds and two blocks in 32 minutes.

Timme matched Hickman’s 20-point output on 7-of-15 shooting, while Strawther tallied 18 on a 60% clip.

Santa Clara forward Keshawn Justice led his team with 22 points, followed by Podziemski, who registered 17. 

The victory for the Zags extends their winning streak to nine games, an undefeated stretch that dates back to Dec. 5.

Gonzaga will travel to Provo, UT, on Thursday to play BYU at 6:30 p.m. PST. 

The Zags return home next Saturday to host Portland at 7 p.m. 

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(All photos by Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports)