Northern Arizona Lumberjacks vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Match Player Stats On Dec 28, 2020

Joel Ayayi scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 1 Gonzaga defeated Northern Arizona 88-58 Monday night in a nonconference game at Spokane, Wash.

Drew Timme added 14 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for the Bulldogs (8-0). Dominick Harris scored 12 points and Andrew Nembhard added 10 with a game-high seven assists and two steals.

Gonzaga played without starting point guard Jalen Suggs, who sustained a right leg injury Saturday in the second half of the Bulldogs' 98-75 victory against then-No. 16 Virginia. The freshman, a projected lottery pick in the 2021 NBA draft, is averaging 15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game.

Cameron Shelton led Northern Arizona (1-6) with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Jay Green scored 12 points.

The Lumberjacks were coming off their first victory of the season, a 68-65 decision at Denver on Dec. 22 in which Shelton scored 27 points. However, Northern Arizona struggled from the outset against Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs scored the game's first 10 points as the Lumberjacks committed two turnovers and missed two shots on their first four possessions. Green's jumper with 17:23 remaining in the half got the Lumberjacks on the board, but Gonzaga responded with a 7-0 run to make it 17-2 after less than 4 1/2 minutes had been played.

Gonzaga led by as many as 29 points, 47-18, late in the first half before taking a 51-23 edge into the intermission. Ayayi had 14 points and nine rebounds in the first half with Timme and Nembhard each scoring 10. Nembhard, a transfer from Florida who is a member of the Canadian national team, started in place of the ailing Suggs and played a team-high 30 minutes.

Bulldogs senior guard Corey Kispert, who scored a career-high 32 points and matched a school record with nine 3-pointers against Virginia, had eight points and eight rebounds Monday while playing a complementary role. Kispert attempted just eight shots in 23 minutes as Zags coach Mark Few emptied the bench early, using 12 players in the game -- 11 of whom scored.

--Field Level Media