Julian Strawther scored 30 points as Gonzaga avenged its lone home loss of the season with a 108-65 rout of Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference game on Thursday in Los Angeles.
Anton Watson scored 16 points, Drew Timme and Malachi Smith each had 13 points and Rasir Bolton finished with 12 points for the Bulldogs (22-5, 11-2 WCC).
Gonzaga shot 60.6 percent from the floor in the rematch of a 68-67 loss to Loyola Marymount on Jan. 19, a result that ended the Zags’ 75-game winning streak at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Cam Shelton scored 15 points and Keli Leaupepe finished with 13 points for Loyola Marymount (17-11, 7-7), which also beat then-No. 15 Saint Mary’s 78-74 in overtime on Feb. 9. The Lions’ Kwane Marble II had 10 points, and Michael Graham grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Gonzaga shot 71.1 percent from the field in the opening half and forced 10 turnovers while building a 68-28 lead. The Bulldogs scored more points in the first half than they did the entire game against Loyola Marymount last month.
The Bulldogs made seven of their first eight shots and forced four turnovers while racing out to a 15-4 lead.
Strawther completed a four-point play to extend the lead to 21-4, and his dunk off a lob pass from Smith made it 25-4.
Jalin Anderson finally ended the 20-0 run by making a runner in the lane, but Gonzaga continued to extend its lead.
Another 3-pointer by Strawther made it 30-7, and Watson’s trey extended the lead to 35-10 with 11:05 left in the opening half.
The Bulldogs made 14 of their first 16 shots.
Timme, the leading scorer in the WCC at 21.1 points a game, left with his second foul with 10:13 left in the first half, but even that didn’t slow Gonzaga.
Nolan Hickman made another 3-pointer for the Bulldogs to make it 45-16 with 7:40 left until the break.
After scoring 22 points in the opening 20 minutes, Strawther converted another four-point play with 15:26 left in the game to make it 82-38.
The lead soon grew to 50, and Strawther and the remaining starters began checking out with just under nine minutes remaining.
–Field Level Media