No. 3 Gonzaga returns to form in win over No. 14 Indiana

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — No. 3 Gonzaga responded to a disappointing loss the way one would expect of a program that’s been on the national stage for 25 years.

So did No. 14 Indiana — for about 10 minutes.

This Thanksgiving Day matchup was stuffed with highlight-reel hustle, fouls, more fouls, on-court chatter and spirited play before the Zags settled into a level of play that the Hoosiers simply couldn’t match, even with former GU center Oumar Ballo scoring seemingly every time he touched the ball in the first half.

GU put together one of its best stretches of the young season with a 21-2 spurt in a nearly six-minute span to take command. The Zags didn’t let up in the second half of an 89-73 victory at Imperial Arena.

“We responded well from (Wednesday’s 86-78 overtime loss to West Virginia),” said senior guard Nolan Hickman, who made three 3-pointers and scored 15 points. “I even responded well. I had a bad little turnover down the stretch (vs. the Mountaineers), but that’s just growth like coach said in the locker room. A few years ago I wouldn’t have been myself in this game.”

The Zags (6-1) will face Davidson at 5:30 p.m. Pacific (ESPN2) today in the Battle 4 Atlantis fifth/sixth-place game. Indiana, which trailed Louisville by 38 points at one point in Wednesday’s 89-61 loss, dropped to 4-2 with its second straight loss.

Gonzaga led 13-3 early, but Ballo powered the Hoosiers in front 18-16. It stayed tight until Michael Ajayi hit a putback and Khalif Battle — shortly after IU’s Luke Goode barked in his ear after missing a 3-pointer — added two free throws and a dunk on the break.

Ben Gregg erupted for nine points in two minutes, including his first 3-pointer of the season, and Gonzaga was on top 54-33. Ryan Nembhard had three of his nine first-half assists during the spurt.

“Excellent pace, I think Ryan had it, Nolan certainly did, KB (Battle) was good, and obviously stops,” Few said of the game-changing run. “We keep track of kills (three stops in a row) and I think we had three consecutive kills. If we can do that to you and get out and run, that’s when we’re at our best.”

The whistles came early and often. Graham Ike had a nice start but was on the bench with 17:16 left in the first half with two fouls — the second ruled a flagrant foul after a hard box out on Mackenzie Mgbako, who responded with a forearm to Ike’s neck. Mgbako also received a flagrant foul.

Early in the second half, Ike was called for two fouls in three seconds (his third and fourth). One second later, Braden Huff was tagged with his third foul. Seven seconds later, Ajayi was whistled for his third foul.

“The flagrant quote-unquote,” Ike said with a quizzical look on his face. “Things definitely got chippy and it added more fuel to the fire.”

Gonzaga leaned on its depth, and Gregg came through with a season-high 13 points, many coming against Ballo, who scored on every post GU put in front of him in the opening half.

“These last two days Ben played amazing,” Ike said. “He’s really responded well, and we have to control what we can control. If we’re in foul trouble and things aren’t going our way, so be it, the other guys will make up for it. They have been all year and vice versa.”

The Zags owned the boards, 42-27, led by Ajayi’s nine. GU won the offensive glass 13-7 and racked up a 23-4 edge in second-chance points. Gonzaga led by 18 at halftime, fueled by a 36-14 advantage in paint points.

“It’s a major problem we’ve had,” Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson said. “A lot of it is we weren’t putting bodies on bodies to block out. That’s got to stop. We rebounded pretty well against Louisville and then (Thursday) we don’t rebound very well and that was probably the difference in the game.”

Indiana never got closer than 15 points in the second half.

Six Zags reached double figures: Battle (16) Ajayi (15), Hickman (15), Ike (14 in just 20 minutes), Gregg (13 in 19 minutes) and Nembhard (11).

Ajayi was one of several Zags to bounce back from tough outings Wednesday.

“I wanted to make a statement,” he said. “We all contributed on the glass, all gave great effort.”

Nembhard registered his career-high 13th assist with a lob pass dunked home by Battle, pushing GU’s lead to 85-64 with four minutes left.

“We don’t take it for granted, but we expect it,” Few said. “This was a high-possession game and teams going up and down. That’s obviously a huge advantage for us and him if we can get him in the open court.”

Former Washington State star Myles Rice had six points and one assist in 20 minutes for Indiana.

Ballo poured in 18 first-half points on 8-of-9 shooting and 3-of-4 at the foul line. He finished with 25 points. The 7-footer now shoots free throws left-handed as opposed to right-handed in his lone season at Gonzaga and three years at Arizona. Mgbako, who averages a team-high 16.6 points per game, scored five points in the final two minutes to finish with 13.

No. 3 Gonzaga 89, No. 14 Indiana 73

INDIANA (4-2)

Mgbako 4-10 3-4 13, Reneau 3-5 0-0 6, Ballo 11-13 3-5 25, Carlyle 2-8 1-2 6, Rice 2-6 2-2 6, Galloway 2-8 0-0 4, Goode 1-4 2-2 5, Tucker 1-3 0-0 2, Hatton 1-2 4-7 6, Leal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 15-22 73.

GONZAGA (6-1)

Ike 6-8 2-2 14, Ajayi 5-9 5-5 15, Battle 5-15 6-6 16, Hickman 6-10 0-0 15, Nembhard 2-6 6-7 11, Gregg 5-9 2-2 13, Stromer 0-1 0-0 0, Huff 2-6 0-0 5, Innocenti 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 21-22 89.

Halftime — Gonzaga 57-39. 3-Point Goals — Indiana 4-18 (Mgbako 2-5, Goode 1-3, Carlyle 1-5, Reneau 0-1, Galloway 0-2, Rice 0-2), Gonzaga 6-20 (Hickman 3-5, Nembhard 1-1, Gregg 1-3, Huff 1-3, Ajayi 0-1, Ike 0-1, Battle 0-6). Fouled Out — Rice. Rebounds — Indiana 22 (Reneau, Carlyle 5), Gonzaga 33 (Ajayi 9). Assists — Indiana 17 (Galloway 6), Gonzaga 20 (Nembhard 13). Total Fouls — Indiana 22, Gonzaga 22. A — 2,885 (500).