Gonzaga-Howard: 3 keys to the Bulldogs’ 106-69 win

Key moment

The closest thing to a turning point came in the opening minutes. Josh Perkins buried a couple of 3-pointers, Silas Melson had four points and Corey Kispert added five as the Zags bolted to a 15-3 lead. The margin was 23 with 9:40 left in the half after Killian Tillie’s dunk on a nice feed from Jacob Larsen.

Offensive player of the game

Freshman wing Corey Kispert had a big first half, drilling three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points as the Zags opened up a 54-27 lead by the break. Kispert was 4 of 5 from the field and 3 of 4 on 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. He finished with 13 points.

Defensive player of the game

Junior point guard Josh Perkins had the task of guarding freshman guard RJ Cole, who came in averaging 25 points. Cole got his points – 16 – but it required 17 field-goal attempts and four made free throws. Whenever Cole drove, he encountered Gonzaga shot-blockers in the lane and was rarely able to finish.