LOS ANGELES — Gary Bell Jr. led four players in double figures with 17 points and No. 3 Gonzaga pulled away in the second half to beat Loyola Marymount 72-55 Saturday for its 11th straight win over the Lions.
Kevin Pangos added 16 points and six assists, Bryon Wesley had 14 points and Kyle Wiltjer 12 points for the Zags (18-1, 7-0 West Coast). They’ve won 10 in a row since their only loss in overtime to Arizona on Dec. 6.
Ayodeji Egbeyemi scored 14 points and Petr Herman had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Lions (5-14, 1-6).
The Zags raced to a 20-2 lead, with Wiltjer, Wesley and Bell combing to score all their points. LMU missed its first five shots and had two turnovers, putting the Lions in catch-up mode the rest of the way.
LMU cut its deficit to seven points twice early in the second half, the second time on a 3-pointer by Herman. But the Zags already had their 3-point shooting in high gear after Pangos hit consecutive 3s to open the half before Bell launched them on a 21-8 run with a trey. Pangos added another 3 and Bell hit another in the spurt that extended Gonzaga’s lead to 65-45.
The Lions played spirited defense, but their 29 percent shooting let them down as they missed open shots or had others rim out.
Evan Payne was held to 11 points, well under his leading 19.2 average for the Lions. He went down in the corner near his team’s bench midway through the second half and returned two minutes later, but had just two free throws in the second half.
The Zags’ free throw shooting was much improved after their 14-of-33 effort in a two-point win at Pepperdine on Thursday. They were 12 of 16 against the Lions and shot 52 percent from the field.
In the first half, the Lions slowly got going, helped by 3-pointers from Herman and Egbeyemi, while the Zags started missing. Gonzaga rebuilt its 18-point lead on five straight points by Pangos before the Lions ran off seven straight to end the half trailing 38-27.
TIP-INS
Gonzaga: Pangos made four 3-pointers, moving him ahead of Richie Frahm into second place on the career 3-point list with 283. The senior from Canada is five away from tying career leader Blake Stepp. … The Zags are the highest ranked team to ever play at Gersten Pavilion.
LMU: The Lions wore black uniforms at home for the first time ever after debuting them on the road last week.
UP NEXT
Gonzaga: host Saint Mary’s on Thursday.
LMU: at Santa Clara on Thursday.
