Recap and highlights: No. 12 Gonzaga flies past Washington in Seattle

SEATTLE – Johnathan Williams scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as No. 12 Gonzaga easily defeated Washington 97-70 on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Zach Norvell Jr. added 21 points for the Bulldogs (8-2), his third straight game scoring at least 20. All five Gonzaga starters finished in double figures.

Less than one week removed from a win over second-ranked Kansas, Washington (7-3) came out flat, turning the ball over and getting into early foul trouble.

UW’s leading scorer, Jaylen Nowell, also started the game on the bench. The freshman scored only 11 points – seven below his season average – before fouling out late in the game.

Noah Dickerson led the Huskies with 18 points.

After his worst outing of the season in Tuesday’s loss to No. 4 Villanova, Williams had no problem establishing his presence against the Huskies’ zone defense.

The senior made nine of 14 shots, along with five free throws. Williams also dished out four assists – second on the team behind Josh Perkins (8).

Perkins finished with 14 points, including three 3-pointers, despite going to the locker room in the second half with a shoulder injury. He missed less than one minute of game time before returning to the court.

Gonzaga will return to the McCarthey Athletic Center at 5 p.m. Saturday to take on North Dakota.

Second half

Final – Gonzaga 97, Washington 70: Washington no match for Gonzaga in this one, as Williams finishes with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Norvell adds 21 for the Bulldogs, who had no problem with the UW zone defense.

Dickerson paced the Huskies with 18 points.

1:38 – Gonzaga 95, Washington 69: Nowell the first to fouls out of this one for UW. He finishes with 11 points, seven under his season average.

Bulldogs still shooting over 50 percent from the field, with Williams’ 23 points leading the way.

Zags head into the final minutes on a deep 3-pointer from Perkins, followed by a Perkins swipe and Norvell score. Everything going right for Gonzaga.

7:13 – Gonzaga 84, Washington 62: Bulldogs keeping the lead around 20, and scoring all over the floor while doing so.

Williams having another standout game with 21 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Melson also moves into double figures on a wide-open 3-pointer as the Zags are rolling along in Seattle.

Norvell also up to 19 points. He’s looking to hit the 20-point mark for the third straight game.

UW’s Dickerson is at 17 points, while David Crisp has 13.

11:53 – Gonzaga 73, Washington 52: Perkins returns to game after a brief break and quickly feeds Williams for a big slam.

Perkins and Tillie both now into double figures for the Zags, leaving Melson as the only starter in single digits scoring.

UW’s Jaylen Nowell picks up his fourth foul on a Willaims and-one layup, sending the UW standout to the bench.

14:33 – Gonzaga 64, Washington 45: Bulldogs open the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Tillie and Silas Melson.

After missing his first seven shots from deep, Norvell also joined the 3-point party as the Zags are taking advantage of the gaps in the UW zone.

Norvell now up to 14 points to lead the Bulldogs. Zags also going a great job on the glass, holding a 26-19 edge in rebounds.

After going 3 of 13 in the first half from behind the arc, Gonzaga has hit four already this half.

Bad news though for Gonzaga as Perkins heads to the locker room.

First half

Halftime – Gonzaga 47, Washington 33: Gonzaga efficient from the floor and free throw line (15-18), while forcing nine UW turnovers to take a 14-point lead into the locker room.

Williams leads the Bulldogs with 11 points, while Norvell has added 10. Gonzaga also not being hurt by their 11 fouls as UW is shooting just 50 percent from the charity stripe.

Dickerson leads UW with 10 points. Both Gonzaga’s Larsen and Washington’s Timmins finished the half with three personal fouls.

4:00 – Gonzaga 37, Washington 24: Bulldogs having no trouble in a tough environment – especially for their first true road game of the season.

Gonzaga shooting at a 55 percent clip from the field, and are outrebounding the Huskies 15-13.

UW doing a better job trapping out of their zone. They’ve also gotten Gonzaga into foul trouble as both teams are now in the double bonus. Larsen becomes the first player with three fouls.

6:53 – Gonzaga 30, Washington 18: Gonzaga having little trouble on offense against the UW zone. Bulldogs have also drawn nine fouls.

Bulldogs doing a good job in transition and in the paint, but didn’t hit their first 3-pointer until a Josh Perkins trey with 8:15 left in the half..

Perkins leads all players with eight points, while Killian Tillie is up to six.

Washington is being led by Noah Dickerson’s seven points, while both Timmins and Thybulle are still in the game with two fouls.

11:37 – Gonzaga 17, Washington 11: Bulldogs have forced five UW turnovers, while also taking advantage of those on the offensive side.

Rui Hachimura, Jacob Larsen and Corey Kispert all have checked-in for the Zags. This is Kispert’s first action since injuring his ankle against Incarnate Word.

It has been another strong start from Norvell, who along with Johnathan Williams leads Gonzaga with five points apiece.

UW’s Sam Timmins is also sitting on two early fouls. Huskies will have to rely on their bench for the rest of the half. Huskies has been held scoreless for nearly three minutes.

15:41 – Gonzaga 12, Washington 6: Gonzaga getting plenty of good looks against Washington’s zone defense, but the Bulldogs are giving up some easy second-chance looks on defense as well.

Biggest news early is the second foul on UW’s Matisse Thybulle. The junior guard enters the contest averaging 12 points per game.

Getting his third straight start, Gonzaga’s Zach Norvell Jr. put up an early highlight-reel dunk while getting fouled.