Gonzaga batters Hoosiers after loss
NASSAU, Bahamas — Khalif Battle led a balanced attack with 16 points, Ryan Nembhard had a double-double as 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.
In other Top 25 action
on Thursday:
NO. 13 PURDUE 71, N.C. STATE 61: SAN DIEGO — Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half and Camden Heide added 15 for No. 13 Purdue, which beat N.C. State in the opening game of the Rady Children’s Invitational. It was a rematch of last season’s Final Four game, which Purdue won 63-50 before losing to UConn in the championship game. Braden Smith had 11 points and Fletcher Loyer 10 for Purdue (6-1).
NO. 18 FLORIDA 75, WAKE FOREST 58: LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 points and Alijah Martin added 16 as No. 18 Florida beat Wake Forest 75-58 in the ESPN Events Invitational. Florida (7-0) opened the second half with a 10-0 run to add to its 32-28 halftime lead. After scoring 6 points in the first half, Cayton scored six points in the first half and 15 in the second half. Hunter Sallis and Cameron Hildreth each had 15 points to lead Wake Forest in scoring.