Gonzaga senior guard Nolan Hickman steps up with 19 points, seven rebounds in win over WSU
Nolan Hickman picked an ideal time to snap out of a post-Christmas slump.
Hickman provided leadership, scoring, defense and ball-handling with point guard Ryan Nembhard parked on the bench with two fouls for nearly half of the first half.
Hickman finished with season highs in points (19), rebounds (seven) and made 3-pointers (five) to spark Gonzaga’s 88-75 victory over Washington State.
Nembhard, the nation’s assist leader, left with 9 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the opening half after picking up his second foul. GU trailed 19-16 when Nembhard exited, but the Zags put up 24 points in the closing 8:30 to take a 40-37 halftime lead.
“It’s obviously very, very nice,” Zags coach Mark Few said of Hickman, who was the team’s starting point guard as a sophomore before moving to shooting guard the last season and a half. “He has played point in a lot of big games.
“Probably bigger than all that was how he rebounded, how he battled defensively when they were posting him with 6-8, 6-9, 6-10 guys. It was absolutely huge.”
Hickman fed Ben Gregg for a dunk that cut WSU’s lead to 26-24 before draining a pair of 3-pointers, the latter pulling Gonzaga even at 35.
“It’s super fun, especially seeing my guys all hyped for me,” Hickman said of his 5-of-8 3-point performance. “That’s what really gets me going.”
Hickman didn’t slow down in the second half, nailing two more 3-pointers and grabbing five of his seven boards. He finished with 19 points, eclipsing his 17 vs. Baylor in the season opener. His seven rebounds matched a career best, set against Kent State in December 2022.
The 6-foot-2 senior guard added three assists and just one turnover in 38-plus minutes. The turnover came with 68 seconds left and Gonzaga leading by 19.
Hickman hit three 3s and scored 13 points against Portland on Jan. 2, but he was just 8 of 30 from the field (26.7%) and averaged 5.5 points in Gonzaga’s other four games after the Christmas break.
The Seattle native’s scoring average dipped to a season-low 9.5 entering Saturday’s contest and he exited at 10.0 points per game.
“I think I needed it, for sure,” Hickman said. “I just give it up to my teammates. They found me where I was open and I just knocked it down. All props to them.”
Hickman also came up with his sixth block of the season. He swatted 6-6 LeJuan Watts in the paint, then drove around Watts for a layup at the other end of the floor to put Gonzaga on top 48-37 with 17:17 remaining.
“I started off fronting him, and they threw an over-the-top pass to him,” Hickman said. “I just spun back around and tried to contest the best way I could. The ball was right there and I got a hand on it.”