Recap and highlights: Brandon Clarke, Rui Hachimura lead No. 4 Gonzaga to 94-46 rout of rival Saint Mary’s

Brandon Clarke scored 24 points and added three more blocks to his season total as No. 4 Gonzaga thumped rival Saint Mary’s 94-46 on Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane.

Rui Hachimura added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Josh Perkins dished out nine assists, moving him into second place in program history behind Matt Santangelo.

The Bulldogs (23-3 overall, 10-0 WCC) have won 14 straight games. GU will likely move up to No. 3 in Monday’s AP Top-25 rankings after No. 2 Duke defeated third-ranked Virginia earlier Saturday.

Gonzaga shot 58.3 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from deep, while holding Saint Mary’s (15-10, 6-4) to 25.9 percent overall and 7.7 percent from 3-point range.

Saint Mary’s, which was led by Tommy Kuhse’s 12 points, had just one assist in the game.

The Bulldogs take the court next on Thursday for an 8 p.m. tipoff at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Second half

Final – Gonzaga 94, Saint Mary’s 46: Clinical from start to finish tonight for the Bulldogs in their first meeting of the season with Saint Mary’s.

Five players finish in double figures, led by Brandon Clarke’s 24 points.

2:43 – Gonzaga 89, Saint Mary’s 43: And there’s the nail in the coffin as Geno Crandall finds Rui Hachimura off the backboard for the showtime slam.

GU has won a lot of games by large margins recently, but there looks to be a little more fire in this win, with little signs of slowing down.

Corey Kispert the last starter on the floor for GU as he gets to double figures with his third 3-pointer of the night.

For anyone looking for a negative, Crandall picks up his fourth foul. But that’s about it.

Filip Petrusev also joins the group in double figures with 10 points.

7:59 – Gonzaga 80, Saint Mary’s 37: Stunning stat of the night – through 32 minutes, Saint Mary’s does not have an assist on its 13 made baskets. GU’s Josh Perkins has nine.

Jeremy Jones and Filip Petrusev getting some more playing time as this one winds down. Jones has five points, while Petrusev is up to eight points and three rebounds in 14 minutes.

Malik Fitts leading Saint Mary’s with 11 points, while Jordan Ford is up to eight.

11:42 – Gonzaga 74, Saint Mary’s 33: Not much that Saint Mary’s players can do at this point except watch Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura continue to score with ease.

Clarke up to 24 points, nearing his season best of 27 which came against Creighton in December. Hachimura has added 16 more, while Zach Norvell Jr. is stuck at 12.

Josh Perkins has quietly dished out seven assists, while Hachimura has pulled down seven boards.

Bulldogs now shooting 61.9 percent from the floor and 50 percent from deep, while Saint Mary’s is hitting just 23.9 percent overall.

Safe to say the GU bench will get some playing time tonight with the advantage over 40.

15:22 – Gonzaga 63, Saint Mary’s 29: Strong start to the half again for Brandon Clarke, who leads the way for Gonzaga with 17 points.

Gonzaga’s forward duo of Clarke and Rui Hachimura now have combined to score 31 points and are 12 of 17 from the field.

Much different look to this Saint Mary’s team compared to the Top-25 talent of the last few years. The lack of depth inside has hurt the Gaels and the Zags have taken notice.

First half

Halftime – Gonzaga 53, Saint Mary’s 20: Make that a 33-point lead over Saint Mary’s through the first 20 minutes. Dominance in every part of the game so far for the Zags, who will likely jump to No. 3 in the country when the AP poll is released on Monday.

Brandon Clarke, Rui Hachimura and Zach Norvell Jr. with 12 points each in the first half. Hachimura also has five boards, while Clarke has a pair of blocks.

Zags shoot 60.7 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from 3-point range, while holding SMC to 20 percent overall and no makes from deep.

GU outrebounding the Gaels 24-12 and are outscoring Saitn Mary’s 24-8 in the paint.

Tommy Kuhse leads Saint Mary’s with 10 points.

2:47 – Gonzaga 46, Saint Mary’s 20: Safe to say this one might already be out of reach for the Gaels. Zags playing one of their best halves of the season with a pumped up crowd in the Kennel.

Zach Norvell Jr. joins the party in double figures with 12 points. He’s hit a pair of 3-pointers and is 3 of 4 from the floor.

Bulldogs pushing the ball at an incredible pace after Saint Mary’s misses – which there have been 20 of so far.

If Gonzaga was looking to send anyone in the WCC or NCAA a message, it has done just that over these opening 17 minutes.

6:13 – Gonzaga 34, Saint Mary’s 16: Geno Crandall and Filip Petrusev check into the game for the Zags with Crandall getting his first bucket on a rather acrobatic layup.

Petrusev will likely see another spike in minutes with the news of another Killian Tillie injury. The freshman from Serbia played really well overall in nonconference play during Tillie’s first injury.

Rui Hachimura joins Brandon Clarke in double figures with 10 points. Josh Perkins with three assists, good enough to move the senior point guard into second place on GU’s all-time list.

Clarke once again getting it done on both ends of the court. GU’s new single-season leader in blocks already has two devastating swats.

Zags also going a great job shutting down SMC guard Jordan Ford, who has just two points on 0 of 5 shooting.

Gaels shooting just 24 percent from the floor and have yet to hit from beyond the arc.

11:38 – Gonzaga 21, Saint Mary’s 8: Saint Mary’s starts to find the pace of the game a little more, but the Zags are still clicking on offense.

Brandon Clarke unstoppable early on and is already into double figures with 10 points. He and Rui Hachimura are a perfect 6 for 6 from the floor.

Zags shooting 77.8 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from deep. GU also outrebounding SMC 9-6 and have scored 10 of its 21 points in the paint.

15:20 – Gonzaga 14, Saint Mary’s 2: Dream start for the Bulldogs, who burst out of the gate hitting their first four shots to take a 9-0 lead and force a Saint Mary’s timeout.

Zags started off the run going down low to Brandon Clarke on back-to-back possessions. A Zach Norvell Jr. 3-pointer and Rui Hachimura slash to the bucket followed.

On the other side of the court, Clarke and Hachimura’s length force a few tough looks at the rim that the Gaels can’t convert on.

Clarke with seven quick points to lead the way for the Zags. Hachimura also has four points after a nifty grab in the lane and reverse layup.

GU has hit all five of its shots so far.

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Saint Mary’s roster

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