Drew Timme registered 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead host No. 2 Gonzaga to a 74-58 victory over No. 22 Saint Mary’s on Saturday night in West Coast Conference play at Spokane, Wash.
Andrew Nembhard recorded 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help the Bulldogs (21-2, 10-0 WCC) notch their 14th consecutive victory. Chet Holmgren had 11 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots, and Julian Strawther also had 11 points as Gonzaga increased the nation’s longest active homecourt winning streak to 66.
Tommy Kuhse scored 16 points and Matthias Tass added 14 for Saint Mary’s (20-6, 8-3). Alex Ducas had 12 points as the Gaels lost for just the second time in the past 10 games.
Gonzaga has defeated Saint Mary’s seven straight times and in 14 of the past 16 meetings.
The 16-point margin of victory matched the Bulldogs’ lowest against a WCC opponent this season. Gonzaga had won its previous five WCC games by 30 or more games.
The Bulldogs knocked down 54.5 percent of their field-goal attempts and were 6 of 12 from 3-point range. Gonzaga had a 37-26 rebounding edge.
The Gaels shot 39 percent, including 5 of 17 from behind the arc.
Gonzaga owned a 13-point halftime lead before opening the second half with a 11-3 run. Strawther drained a 3-pointer to culminate it and give the Bulldogs a 47-26 lead with 17:43 left.
Nembhard hit a jumper to make it 65-50 with 8:46 remaining before the Zags went 4:44 without a point and 5:58 without a field goal.
Saint Mary’s cut its deficit to 65-56 with 4:21 left after layups by Logan Johnson and Kyle Bowen and a jumper by Tass.
Anton Watson split two free throws for Gonzaga with 4:02 remaining, and Tass converted a dunk to pull the Gaels within eight with 3:08 left.
But the Bulldogs ended the game with an 8-0 run. Strawther buried a 3-pointer to end the field-goal drought with 2:48 left, Nembhard added a basket 66 seconds later, and Strawther knocked down another trey with 52 seconds to play.
Timme scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first half as the Bulldogs held a 36-23 lead.
The margin was three 12 minutes into the game before the Bulldogs used a 15-4 run. Strawther capped the burst with a layup to make it 26-16 with 4:25 remaining.
Holmgren’s layup with 1:39 left accounted for the 13-point halftime lead.
–Field Level Media