Gonzaga’s frontcourt was too much for Davidson in its 90-65 win in the Battle 4 Atlantis final

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – With depth and offensive balance that few teams in college basketball can match, third-ranked Gonzaga has already demonstrated its ability to beat teams in a variety of ways this season.

Throwing the ball inside to an experienced stable of post players may still be Gonzaga’s bread and butter, and it was the preferred method of attack for the Bulldogs as they cruised to a 90-65 victory over Davidson in the fifth-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Ryan Nembhard scored a career-high for the second time in just a few days, collecting 14 assists and scoring Davidson with a steady series of passes to Gonzaga’s big men, amassing a 58-24 lead in points in the paint and helping the Bulldogs convert 60 % of their shots inside the arc during the final at the Imperial Arena in the Bahamas.

Ben Gregg gave Gonzaga its fifth leading scorer of the season by scoring 24 points off the bench, the highest of his career, while converting 7 of 9 field shots and going a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line.

Graham Ike had his first double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds despite a slow start, while backup forward Braden Huff scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and added a career-best four assists.

“First of all, it’s a very difficult team to prepare for in a short amount of time,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “They make a lot of moves defensively that you just don’t see, and they blocked quite a bit defensively as well.

“Obviously (Gregg) had two really active, powerful games down here and we knew going to G and B-Huff would be a good plan tonight. The guys did a great job executing the defensive game plan and the offensive plan, which is what you have to do against Davidson.”

Gonzaga led by double digits in all three games of the Battle 4 Atlantis – 10 points against West Virginia, 23 against Indiana, 28 against Davidson – but came away with a 2-1 record after an 86-78 loss in its second appearance at the tournament overtime against West Virginia and an 89-73 win over Indiana on Thursday.

Davidson, already at a size disadvantage against Gonzaga and overwhelmed in many ways, had six hours less time to recover and prepare than his opponent on Friday after defeating Providence in Thursday’s nightcap, which ended just before 10 p.m. local time .

A longer look at Gonzaga may not have helped Davidson, who faced another group of impressive frontcourt players two nights earlier against Arizona and former Zags assistant Tommy Lloyd.

“They have the ability to just keep throwing to you,” Davidson coach Matt McKillop said. “We saw that against Arizona and you have to work so hard to get back in transition because they’re putting pressure on you every single possession to get the ball up the court quickly. So you have to stop the ball but at the same time defend the post.”

The only adversity Gonzaga’s frontcourt faced Friday night was an elbow Huff caught just below his right eye midway through the second half while vertically deflecting a Davidson shot in the paint. Huff left the game and spent some time in Gonzaga’s locker room receiving stitches, but returned to the bench about 10 minutes later to loud applause from the Bulldog fans in attendance.

“Stitched,” Gregg said. “But he looks tough.”

Gonzaga’s size advantage allowed the Bulldogs to control not only the paint but the glass as well, as they held a 40-23 advantage in the rebounding column.

Davidson’s Reed Bailey finished with 19 points, his highest score of the game, but the Wildcats were limited to 24 of 56 (42%) shooting from the field and 6 of 24 (25%) from the free throw line.

Nembhard broke the Battle 4 Atlantis record with 39 assists in three games – seven more than previous record holder Zavier Simpson of Michigan – and finished the game with 22 more assists than West Virginia’s Javon Small, who was ranked No. 2 in that category this week landed.

Dusty Stromer added 10 points from Gonzaga’s bench for a total of 48 points on 19 of 27 (70%) from the field.

The Bulldogs have a seven-day break before returning to action next Saturday at Battle in Seattle against eighth-seeded Kentucky. Tipoff at Climate Pledge Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.