No. 3 Gonzaga bounces back from loss, swamps No. 14 Indiana behind Nembhard double-double

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Khalif Battle led a balanced attack with 16 points, Ryan Nembhard had a double-double and No. 3 Gonzaga used a first-half blitz to beat No. 14 Indiana 89-73 in the consolation round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thursday.

The Bulldogs led 33-31 with under eight minutes to go in the first half when five players scored in a 16-0 run in less than 4 1/2 minutes and the Hoosiers never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

Nembhard had 11 points and a career-high 13 assists for the Bulldogs (6-1). Michael Ajayi and Nolan Hickman added 15 points and Ben Gregg 13. Ajayi had nine rebounds as Gonzaga outrebounded Indiana 42-27.

Omar Ballo had 25 points for Indiana (4-2), which lost its second straight. Mackenzie Mgbako scored 13.

Takeaways

Gonzaga was locked in for its second blowout win over a top-15 opponent and rebounded from a loss to West Virginia.

Indiana struggled to get its offense going.

Key moment

Indiana was within two when Bello scored inside at the 8:11 mark of the first half, giving him 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting against his first college team. His next basket came at 2:58 and cut Gonzaga’s lead to 49-33. The Hoosiers missed eight shots with three turnovers between baskets.

Key stats

Gonzaga led 57-39 at half with a 17-3 advantage in second-chance points. … Bello was 11-of-13 shooting, his teammates were 16 of 46. … Gonzaga had six players in double figures before Indiana got its second with 1:20 left in the game.

Up next

Gonzaga will play the winner of Providence and Davidson for fifth place, and Indiana plays the loser for seventh on Friday.