Buzzer breakdown: Graham Ike, Nolan Hickman struggle in Gonzaga’s 77-71 loss to UConn

NEW YORK – Here are three observations from no. 8 Gonzaga’s 77-71 loss to no. 18 Connecticut Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Evenings for Ike, Hickman

For the second straight season against UConn, Gonzaga’s starting center Graham Ike and starting guard Nolan Hickman were ineffective.

Ike only attempted one shot and scored a point 8 minutes into the first half. The Zags tried to get him started early in the second half, but he traveled on the first possession before missing a shot from 3 feet. He drew the third foul on UConn post Tarris Reed, who saw most of the minutes after starting center Solomon Johnson left with an injury in the first half.

Ike picked up his third foul with 17:56 left and was replaced by Braden Huff. Ike finished with three points in 12 minutes. He had five points against the Donovan Clingan-led Huskies’ defense last year in Seattle.

Hickman didn’t score for 8 minutes in the first half. He left early in the second half shortly after missing a shot attempt. Hickman played 12 minutes and did not score.

Hickman scored eight points on 3-of-10 shooting in 39 minutes against UConn last season.

Nembhard shines in bright light

During warmups well before the start of the game, a UConn fan sitting about a dozen rows from the floor saw Ryan Nembhard take a shot and yelled, “You can’t handle the Big East, Ryan! Crying Ryan.”

Nembhard, who spent his first two seasons at Creighton in the Big East, went 2-1 against the Huskies in games he played with the Bluejays. He came out on the short end vs. UConn last year as a junior at Gonzaga and again Saturday night.

Nembhard was one of the main reasons the Zagers stayed within striking distance after falling behind early. He finished with 16 points, seven assists, two steals and just two turnovers in 40 minutes. After hitting a 3-pointer to tie it at 55, Nembhard missed four of his final five shots.

Awesome freshman

UConn freshman wing Liam McNeely was a thorn in GU’s side throughout. The 6-foot-7 McNeely led all scorers with 13 points in the opening half.

McNeely, a five-star recruit from Richardson, Texas, the same hometown as former Zags great Drew Timme, finished with 26 points. His final season high was 20 against Colorado at the Maui Invitational.

McNeely played one season at Pearce High with Walker Timme, Drew’s younger brother.