SPOKANE, Wash. – Joel Ayayi posted 19 points and Filip Petrusev and Admon Gilder each scored 18 for top-ranked Gonzaga which took advantage of a cold-shooting performance by Santa Clara men's basketball to roll to a 104-54 victory on Thursday.
Corey Kispert scored 16 and Drew Timmie had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (19-1, 5-0) who won their 11th straight outing by shooting 52 percent from the floor and holding a 53-35 edge in rebounding in the West Coast Conference tilt.
Josip Vrankic tallied 12 points and Trey Wertz and Jaden Bediako each added 11 for the Broncos (15-4, 2-2) who shot a season-low 30 percent from the floor, including only 3-for-25 from beyond the 3-point line.
Gonzaga took control with a run midway through the opening half and never looked back in posting its nation's-best 33rd-straight home win as well as 32nd-consecutive league victory.
Ayayi scored seven points and Kispert added six during an 18-1 flurry that gave the Bulldogs a 30-10 lead with just more than 10 minutes left in the opening half.
The Broncos scored just one field goal in the final 5 minutes of the opening half, enabling the Bulldogs to take a 58-22 lead into the locker room.
A 3-point play from Vrankic pulled the Broncos within 64-38 with 16:00 remaining in the game, but Gonzaga ripped off a 9-0 run capped by five points from Kispert.
The lead grew to more than 40 points with 8 minutes left in the game.
The Bulldogs scored in a variety of ways throughout the game, recording 50 points in the paint and rolling up 25 fastbreak points. They also blocked seven Santa Clara shots and totaled 11 steals
Gonzaga went 28-for-32 at the free-throw line. Santa Clara attempted 19 free throws, but hit only nine.
NOTES
• In a series that began in 1946, Gonzaga leads, 64-30. The Bulldogs have won 29 of the last 30, including 20 straight, meetings. Santa Clara's last victory occurred on Jan. 20, 2011, when the Broncos downed the Bulldogs, 85-71, in Leavey Center. Santa Clara's last win on the road was an 84-73 triumph on Feb. 12, 2007.
• The Broncos played without starting forward Guglielmo Caruso (lower right leg) for the fourth-straight game. The sophomore, who leads the WCC in field-goal percentage, was injured against Alcorn State (Dec. 29) and is out indefinitely.
• Jaden Bediako registered his first-career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
NEXT UP
The Broncos play the next two games at home beginning with Saturday's matchup against Pacific. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
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