SPOKANE — Przemek Karnowski tied a career high with 22 points and No. 9 Gonzaga beat Washington State 81-66 on Wednesday night.
Kyle Wiltjer added 21 points and Byron Wesley had 20 for Gonzaga (8-1), which was coming off an overtime loss at No. 3 Arizona.
Josh Hawkinson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Washington State (4-5), which has lost four straight to the Bulldogs. DaVonte Lacy and Ike Iroegbu scored 14 apiece.
Gonzaga has won 31 straight home games, the second-longest streak in the nation.
Gonzaga star guard Kevin Pangos, who hit the floor hard when he was blocked by Jordan Railey while trying a layup in the opening minutes, was held scoreless for the first time in his career.
Karnowski, at 7-foot-1, dominated the smaller Cougars inside, making 10 of 15 shots, including a flurry of left-handed hooks.
Gonzaga dominated the rebounding 36-23 and scored 56 points in the paint.
After the Zags led by 10 at halftime, Wesley scored three quick baskets in the opening minutes of the second half as Gonzaga built a 48-33 lead.
Ny Redding’s basket brought Washington State to 50-39. But baskets by Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis pushed Gonzaga’s lead back to 15.
Gonzaga made 10 of its first 13 shots in the second half to thwart the Cougars’ comeback hopes.
Hawkinson scored seven points and Brett Boese sank a 3-pointer during a 10-2 run that pulled WSU to 62-53.
But 3-pointers by Wiltjer and Kyle Dranginis keyed a 10-4 run that pushed Gonzaga’s advantage to 72-57, and the Cougars did not threaten again.
The Zags launched a 12-2 run in the first half, including seven points by Karnowski, for a 30-18 lead. Karnowski punctuated the spurt with a dunk.
Iroegbu replied with a 3-pointer, and the teams traded baskets the rest of the half.
Gonzaga led 39-29 at halftime behind 18 points from Karnowski, who shot 8 for 11 in the first half.
TIP-INS
Washington State: The Cougars average 69.5 points per game, to 84.9 for Gonzaga. … Washington State leads the all-time series 98-51. … Washington State coach Ernie Kent was 5-11 against Gonzaga while at Saint Mary’s and Oregon. … Washington State’s last victory over a Top 10 team was in 2007 against Arizona. … Lacy leads the Cougars with 18.5 points per game.
Gonzaga: The campuses of WSU and Gonzaga are 77 miles apart. … Gonzaga averages 18.8 assists per game and a field goal percentage of .527. … Gonzaga has five players averaging at least 10 points per game. … Pangos had averaged 22.7 points in three career games against Washington State … Gonzaga came in allowing just 59.5 points per game and 37 percent shooting.
UP NEXT
Washington State is at Santa Clara on Saturday.
Gonzaga is at UCLA on Saturday.
