Bouldin leads No. 13 Zags over Pepperdine

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - Gonzaga rebounded from a disappointing conference defeat with a rout.

Matt Bouldin had 18 points and five assists, and Elias Harris scored 13 points to lead No. 13 Gonzaga to a 72-54 victory over Pepperdine (7-21, 3-9) on Saturday night.

Robert Sacre and Steven Gray scored 12 points apiece and Sacre added a career-high six blocks for the Bulldogs (22-5, 10-2 West Coast), who won 14 of 16 games.

On Thursday night, Gonzaga lost 72-66 to Loyola Marymount for only the third time since 1996.

"I just challenged them," Bulldogs coach Mark Few said of his players. "You can't approach these games like that. You're getting everybody's best shot."

Bouldin said that Few's approach worked.

"That LMU game, we didn't come out with the same kind of fire we had all season," Bouldin said. "Tonight, we really made a focus to push the ball and to play defense the way we have all season. It really made the difference."

Gonzaga made its first 10 shots in building a 30-11 lead with 9:59 left in the first half.

Gonzaga hosts Santa Clara on Thursday.

GONZAGA (22-5)

Harris 5-6 2-5 13, Sacre 4-8 4-5 12, Goodson 1-5 3-4 5, Bouldin 7-11 0-0 18, Gray 4-9 2-2 12, Arop 1-3 0-0 2, Vilarino 0-0 0-0 0, Gibbs 1-2 0-0 2, Olynyk 2-3 0-0 4, Kong 0-1 0-0 0, Foster 2-3 0-2 4. Totals 27-51 11-18 72.

PEPPERDINE (7-21)

Thompson 3-16 3-4 11, Darby 1-2 1-3 3, Agre 2-5 0-0 4, Bell 5-15 6-8 17, Willis 0-2 0-0 0, Lowery 1-4 2-4 5, Kerry 0-4 0-1 0, Jackson 0-7 0-0 0, Dupre' 3-9 0-0 6, Moore 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 19-70 12-20 54.

Halftime-Gonzaga 40-19. 3-Point Goals-Gonzaga 7-18 (Bouldin 4-8, Gray 2-5, Harris 1-2, Olynyk 0-1, Goodson 0-1, Gibbs 0-1), Pepperdine 4-20 (Thompson 2-8, Lowery 1-2, Bell 1-3, Willis 0-1, Dupre' 0-2, Jackson 0-4). Fouled Out-Moore. Rebounds-Gonzaga 37 (Arop, Harris 6), Pepperdine 47 (Bell 10). Assists-Gonzaga 13 (Bouldin 5), Pepperdine 8 (Jackson 3). Total Fouls-Gonzaga 20, Pepperdine 19. A-3,021.