SPOKANE — Kyle Wiltjer scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 3 Gonzaga routed Loyola Marymount 80-51 on Thursday night.
Przemek Karnowski and Byron Wesley each scored 11 points for Gonzaga (25-1, 13-0 West Coast), which has won 18 consecutive games. The Zags scored the first 20 points of the game.
David Humphries scored 11 points for Loyola Marymount (8-18, 4-10), which didn’t make a field goal for the first 12 minutes to fall way behind early.
Gonzaga, whose only loss this season was at No. 7 Arizona, has won 39 consecutive home games, the nation’s longest streak.
They are the first team in the nation to win 25 games.
Gonzaga, which leads the nation in field goal shooting at 53.2 percent, shot just 49 percent but ran away with the game. Loyola Marymount made just 29 percent of its field goal attempts (15 of 51). Gonzaga won the rebounding battle, 46-30.
Gonzaga took control early, with Wiltjer hitting a 3-pointer and Wesley a layup in the opening seconds.
Loyola Marymount called a timeout barely a minute into the game, but it didn’t help.
Gonzaga scored the first 20 points, as the Lions missed their first eight shots and committed six turnovers.
Loyola Marymount finally scored on Ayodeji Egbeyemi’s free throw with 11:52 left in the first.
The Lions switched to a press, which slowed down the Zags’ offense.
Gonzaga made 10 of its first 15 shots to build a 27-4 lead with 9:12 left in the first. All the Loyola points were on free throws.
After missing their first 12 attempts, the Lions finally got a field goal on Egbeyemi’s short jumper with 7:57 left in the first. Wiltjer immediately replied with a 3-pointer as the Zags took a 30-6 lead and the crowd chanted “mercy rule.”
Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski went down hard after a missed dunk late in the first, but he recovered to sink both free throws and steal a Loyola Marymount pass on the next possession.
Gonzaga led 44-15 at halftime, after shooting 57.7 percent. The Lions made just 3 of 25 field goals in the first half, for 12 percent. They missed all eight of their 3-point attempts.
The Lions shot better in the second, scoring the first seven points of the half — including a 3-pointer by Chase Flint — to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 44-22.
But Wiltjer scored nine points during a 12-6 Gonzaga run that pushed their lead to 56-28.
Kevin Pangos hit consecutive 3-pointers to lift the Zags to a 66-37 lead.
The Lions did not threaten after that.
TIP-INS
Loyola Marymount: Lions coach Mike Dunlap used to coach the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats … Evan Payne averages 17.8 points per game, but was largely stymied by the Zags.
Gonzaga: Coach Mark Few leads all Division I coaches with a career winning percentage of .809 … Five Bulldogs average at least 9.9 points per game … Gonzaga leads the all-time series 62-23 … Former Gonzaga star Robert Sacre, now with the Los Angeles Lakers, was at the game.
NEXT UP
Loyola Marymount: At Portland on Saturday.
Gonzaga: Hosts Pepperdine on Saturday.
