Southland basketball: No. 1 Gonzaga cruises past Loyola Marymount
Filip Petrusev scored 16 points, Corey Kispert added 15, and top-ranked Gonzaga rolled to a 87-62 victory over host Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
It was the Bulldogs’ 31st straight regular-season win in West Coast Conference play, tying them with the San Francisco squads led by Bill Russell and K.C. Jones for the second-longest streak in conference history. Pepperdine has the record at 32.
Gonzaga (18-1, 4-0) had five players in double figures. Ryan Woolridge scored 13, Admon Gilder added 12 and Drew Timme 10 as the Bulldogs won their 10th straight overall and 22nd consecutive against the Lions.
“I’ve been on them that there’s accountability and honor that comes with the ranking,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “You have to come out and own it. You should prepare and play as confident as anyone. By and large that is what we wanted to do.”
USC dominated UCLA inside and won easily despite Onyeka Okongwu’s minor production.
Eli Scott paced Loyola Marymount (7-10, 1-2) with 20 points.
“I thought we did a good job once we got them into half court, but they did a great job in transition off our misses and turnovers,” LMU coach Mike Dunlap said.
Gonzaga missed six of its first nine from the field before making five of its next six as part of 11-2 run and 17-6 lead midway through the first half. Loyola Marymount responded with six straight points before the Bulldogs scored 10 of the next 11 to put the margin in double digits the rest of the game.
The Bulldogs led 38-22 at halftime and were up by 30 late in the second half.
More Southland
Pepperdine 85, at San Diego 78: Kameron Edwards led the Waves (8-9, 1-2 West Coast Conference) with a season-high 23 points, and the Toreros (7-12, 0-4) are winless after four WCC games for the first time since 2015-16.
at UC Riverside 65, Cal State Fullerton 59: Dikymbe Martin had 13 points off the bench to help lift the Highlanders (12-6, 2-0 Big West Conference). Brandon Kamga scored a season-high 20 points for the Titans (5-12, 0-2).
at Cal Poly 74, Cal State Northridge 56: The Mustangs (4-12, 1-1 Big West) turned a close game into a rout by outscoring the Matadors 42-31 in the second half. Terrell Gomez had 18 points for Northridge and Tuukka Jaakkola had 17 for Cal Poly.
The Bears defeat the Jayhawks 67-55 for their first victory at Allen Fieldhouse; No. 7 San Diego State routs Boise State to remain unbeaten.
at UC Irvine 74, Hawaii 60: Collin Welp scored 18 points for the Anteaters (9-8, 1-0 Big West), who took control of the game with a 39-25 lead at halftime. Samuta Avea led the Rainbow Warriors (10-6, 1-1) with 14 points.
Long Beach State 55, at UC Santa Barbara 52: Chance Hunter had 16 points to help the Beach (6-12, 1-1 Big West) end at six games a winning streak by the Gauchos (12-5, 1-1), who shot only 32.0% from the field.
Cal Baptist 61, at Grand Canyon 57: Brandon Boyd had 16 points to lead the Lancers (12-5, 3-1 Western Athletic Conference). Alessandro Lever had 18 points for the Antelopes (5-11, 0-2).
Go beyond the scoreboard
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