Gonzaga pulls away from LMU
SPOKANE - Tied at halftime and struggling to find a rhythm, Gonzaga drew on the experience of its tough nonconference schedule to dominate the second half.
Robert Sacre scored 18 points as Gonzaga (13-5, 3-0 West Coast) pulled away for a 79-59 win over Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
Steven Gray had 16 points and Elias Harris added 14 and 10 rebounds for Gonzaga. Gray scored 13 second-half points after attempting just four shots in the first half.
After getting outrebounded 24-17 in the first half, Gonzaga's front line responded by controlling the paint in the second half. Sacre and Harris proved to be too much for the smaller LMU squad.
"It was great to see (Harris' inside play)," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "That's kind of how Elias played a lot last year. He was in attack mode."
Drew Viney led Loyola Marymount (8-10, 1-3) with 18 points, eight coming from the free-throw line. Anthony Ireland added 10 points, on 4 of 15 shooting, and 10 rebounds.
Loyola Marymount made just 15 of 55 shots, and was 24 of 30 from the free-throw line.
The Bulldogs shot 51.6 percent from the field, but were just 3 of 12 from 3-point range.
Gonzaga - which played the likes of Kansas State (13-5), Marquette (12-6), Illinois (13-5), Notre Dame (14-3), Oklahoma State (13-4) and Washington State (13-5) in its nonconference schedule - opened the second half with a 13-4 run to go on top 46-37. The Bulldogs went on to lead by as many as 23 points in the second half.
Gray was held to three first-half points but scored seven quick points to start the second. His 3-pointer with 13:26 left put Gonzaga up 49-40.
"When you play against Gray, it's like walking in a minefield," Loyola Marymount coach Max Good said. "Sooner or later - you're not going to keep him down for 40 minutes."
The game got a little chippy with 13:06 to play. Gonzaga's Harris stole the ball and dribbled down the court for a breakaway bucket, but Tim Diederichs hit him from behind and was called for an intentional foul. An object was thrown onto the court, forcing Gonzaga coach Mark Few to address the crowd.
A layup by Mathis Keita gave Gonzaga a 59-47 lead with 9:50 to play. Sam Dower, one of 11 Bulldogs to score, made back-to-back baskets during a 10-3 run to extend Gonzaga's lead to 69-50.
The game was much more competitive in the first half. LMU trailed 16-14 despite hitting just 3 of 15 field goals. The Lions stayed close by making 7 of 9 free throws.
"We needed to stop fouling," Sacre said. "We limited our fouls in the second half and made the spread a lot bigger."
Gonzaga led 21-20 before a Keita 3-pointer ignited a 7-2 Bulldog run. It had been over nine minutes since the Bulldogs made consecutive baskets.
A baseline jumper by Viney ended a five-minute field goal drought and pulled Loyola Marymount within 30-26. Ireland scored seven straight LMU points during an 11-5 run to even the score at 33 heading into halftime.
Vernon Teel, the Lions' second-leading scorer (14.1 ppg), was not in the starting lineup. He was 0 for 10 in LMU's double-overtime loss to Portland on Thursday. Teel is one of two LMU seniors and finished with just six points.
"We play a good 50 minutes at Portland and we played a good 20 here," Good said.
Last season, Loyola Marymount handed Gonzaga one of its two regular-season conference losses.
Gonzaga has now won nine games in a row, including all three conference games, and is 85-5 in the McCarthey Athletic Center since opening in 2004.