No. 1 Gonzaga crushes LMU, improves to 25-0
LOS ANGELES – Twenty-five games in, Gonzaga isn’t about to change what it does best.
The top-ranked Zags put another 40 minutes of it on display Thursday, thumping Loyola Marymount 90-60 in front of 4,068 at Gersten Pavilion. Gonzaga rolled into Saturday’s matchup with second-place Saint Mary’s (22-2, 12-1 WCC) with its 17th consecutive double-digit win.
Gonzaga (25-0, 13-0) took it inside early and quickly put LMU in foul trouble. Guard Nigel Williams-Goss, after sitting out the Santa Clara game last Saturday with a sore ankle, nearly had a double-double in the first half.
Silas Melson came off the bench and shut down Buay Tuach, the Lions’ best scorer. Reserve freshman forward Killian Tillie nearly reached his season high with 11 points in the opening half.
The Zags spent the first half at the free-throw line. They were in the bonus for the final 11:41. They hit 17 of 21 free throws to construct a 50-28 lead. And they stayed at the stripe in the second half, making 17 of 23 free throws.
The Lions (11-13, 4-9), who lost 93-55 to GU in Spokane last month, kept battling but could get no closer than 17 points in the second half.
Williams-Goss finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Johnathan Williams had 13 points and Tillie, Zach Collins and Jordan Mathews each added 11.
Steven Haney led LMU hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 points. Tuach finished with 11.
The Spokesman-Review