No. 13 Gonzaga avenges loss with rout of Loyola Marymount

LOS ANGELES — Julian Strawther scored 28 points and No. 13 Gonzaga avenged an earlier loss to Loyola Marymount with a 108-65 rout Thursday night.

Loyola Marymount snapped Gonzaga’s 75-game home winning streak with a 68-67 victory on Jan. 19, but the Lions were no match this time. The Bulldogs had six players score in double figures as they led the entire game and had a 51-point advantage less than six minutes into the second half.

Anton Watson had 16 points and Drew Timme 13 for Gonzaga (22-5, 11-2 WCC), which remained one game behind St. Mary’s in the West Coast Conference.

Cam Shelton, who scored the game-winning basket in the teams’ first meeting, led Loyola Marymount (17-11, 7-7) with 15 points, and Keli Leaupepe had 13.

Strawther has scored at least 25 points in three of the past six games. The junior guard had 22 points in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 68-28 lead at halftime.

Gonzaga had an early 5-4 advantage before it took control with 20 straight points. Strawther had seven points during the run, including a four-point play and a dunk off an alley-oop after getting the pass from Malachi Smith.

The Lions were held scoreless for 5:14 before Jalin Anderson’s jumper in the lane ended the spurt. They committed six turnovers during the game’s first six minutes.

The Bulldogs made 14 of their first 16 from the field and ran out to a 35-10 lead. Their largest lead of the first half came on a dunk by Smith with 3 seconds remaining after he stole the ball from Shelton near midcourt.

It is the eighth time this season the Bulldogs have scored at least 100 points.

BIG PICTURE

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs extended their road winning streak against unranked foes to 41.

Loyola Marymount: The Lions have two wins over top-15 teams for the first time in program history, but have dropped four of their last five.

UP NEXT

Gonzaga remains in SoCal to face Pepperdine on Saturday.

No. 13 GONZAGA 108, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 65

GONZAGA (22-5) — Timme 3-5 7-9 13, Watson 7-9 1-1 16, Bolton 6-9 0-0 12, Hickman 4-8 0-0 9, Strawther 10-15 4-4 30, Smith 6-10 1-4 13, Sallis 2-4 1-1 5, Gregg 1-3 1-3 3, Reid 0-1 3-4 3, Brooks 1-1 2-2 4, Eagle 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 40-66 20-28 108.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (17-11) — Leaupepe 5-11 0-0 13, Issanza 1-1 0-0 2, Ahrens 1-4 0-0 2, Anderson 4-10 0-0 9, Shelton 3-7 6-8 15, Merkviladze 1-7 1-2 3, Marble 2-5 6-9 10, Graham 3-3 0-1 6, Stephens 0-5 0-0 0, Nobles 1-1 2-2 5, Nader 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 15-22 65.

Halftime—Gonzaga 68-28. 3-Point Goals—Gonzaga 8-17 (Strawther 6-8, Watson 1-1, Hickman 1-3, Gregg 0-1, Sallis 0-1, Smith 0-1, Bolton 0-2), Loyola Marymount 8-27 (Shelton 3-5, Leaupepe 3-6, Nobles 1-1, Anderson 1-4, Ahrens 0-3, Merkviladze 0-3, Stephens 0-5). Fouled Out—Sallis, Gregg. Rebounds—Gonzaga 33 (Timme 6), Loyola Marymount 27 (Graham 8). Assists—Gonzaga 14 (Hickman 5), Loyola Marymount 6 (Anderson 3). Total Fouls—Gonzaga 22, Loyola Marymount 24.