SPOKANE, Wash. – Santa Clara men's basketball was unable to overcome its cold shooting and the long-range accuracy of Gonzaga All-America candidate Kyle Wiltjer who scored a game-high 35 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 84-67 victory in Thursday night West Coast Conference action.

Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds for the Bulldogs (16-5, 8-2) who shot 45 percent from the floor, including 13 of 26 beyond the 3-point line. Sabonis helped Gonzaga hold a 48-30 rebounding edge.

Wiltger connected on 10 of 15 field goals, including 7 of 10 from behind the 3-point line. He had 23 of the team's 46 points in the first half.

Jared Brownridge scored a team-high 15 points (5 of 12 field goals), KJ Feagin tallied 13 (5 of 13 FGs) and Kai Healy 10 (5 of 12 FGs) for the Broncos (7-15, 3-7) who turned the ball over only four times, but shot 37 percent from the floor, including 25 percent in the first half.

Brownridge and Feagin combined to score 10 points in a 14-2 run that cut a 29-point second-half deficit to 60-43 with 11 minutes on the clock, but the Broncos again went cold, missing five of their next six field goal attempts.

"We had to really fight to get back in the second half," Santa Clara head coach Kerry Keating said. "To our guys credit, they fought to get back in the game."

A 3-pointer by Brendyn Taylor, who had a career-high nine points, made it 75-61, but by that time there was only 3 minutes left in the game and that was as close as Santa Clara got in the second half.

The Broncos outscored the Bulldogs 32-16 in the paint and 23-2 off turnovers (Gonzaga committed 16 turnovers), but the edge in 3-point field goals (13 to 5) and made free throws (25 to 16) for Gonzaga was too much to overcome.

Santa Clara was unable to get anything going offensively in the first half and had no answer for Wiltjer who on fire from long range.

After Brownridge hit a layup to close an early deficit to 14-7, the Bulldogs scored the next 11 points capped by a back-to-back 3-pointers from Wiltjer, who hit 6 of 7 from behind the arc in the first half.

"We did a terrible job on our defensive assignments," Keating said. "He made one really tough [3-pointer in the first half] and the other five were breakdowns by us, poor communication. But that's what good players do, they make you pay."

The Broncos stopped the bleeding briefly when Healy hit a layup to make it 27-13 with 7:39 left in the first half, but Wiltjer immediately keyed a 14-0 run with three 3-pointers. His final 3-pointer of the half made it 44-15 with 3 minutes left.

Brownridge was just 1-for-5 from the floor in the opening period, while Nate Kratch scored his only three points of the game as the Broncos hit 7 of 28 field goals with the Bulldogs countering by hitting 48 percent, including 8 of 14 (57 percent) from the beyond the 3-point line.

Kratch (four) was one of four Santa Clara players to end the game with at least four fouls with Emmanuel Ndumanya fouling out. Kratch played only 16 minutes, including two in the second half.

The Broncos now hope to replicate what they did three weeks, following up a road loss (Jan. 7 at BYU) with a road win (Jan. 9 at San Diego) when they visit Portland Saturday.

"We're going to have some fortitude right now and go to Portland with the right mind set," Keating said.

Notes: Tonight's game was a homecoming for sophomore forward Matt Hubbard who is from Colville, Washington, which is located 70 miles north of Spokane. Hubbard scored six points off the bench … former player Phil Von Buchwaldt (1992-96) served as the analyst on tonight's KSCU (103.3 FM) radio broadcast, joining Anthony Passarelli. Von Buchwaldt lives in Spokane and has handled analyst duties for the Gonzaga road game the last six seasons … with five assists, KJ Feagin (91) moved from fifth to fourth on the school's all-time freshman list, passing Melvin Chinn who had 90 during the 1988-89 season … Kai Healy (10 points) scored in double figures for the fifth time this season, including fourth in the last eight games … Kyle Wiltjer's 35 points were the most by an opponent this season. Mike Hill of Pacific Union had 34 on Dec. 12. 

The Gonzaga Series: The series began in 1946 with Gonzaga leading, 56-31. The Bulldogs have won the last 12 meetings. Santa Clara's last win occurred on Jan. 20, 2011 when the Broncos downed the Bulldogs, 85-71, in Leavey Center.