SPOKANE — Freshman center Chet Holmgren scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots as No. 2 Gonzaga pounded Loyola Marymount 89-55 on Thursday night for its ninth straight victory.
Nolan Hickman had 11 points and Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton scored 10 apiece for Gonzaga (16-2, 5-0 West Coast Conference), which dropped behind top-ranked Auburn in the AP poll this week despite winning both its games last week. Gonzaga has won 63 consecutive home games, the longest streak in the nation.
Keli Leaupepe had 12 points for Loyola Marymount (9-9, 2-4), which has lost four of six. The Lions have dropped 25 straight games to Gonzaga dating to their last victory in 2010.
They were undone by poor shooting in this one.
Both offenses were slow to get started, and the score was 10-10 eight minutes into the game.
Drew Timme’s basket ignited a 26-9 Gonzaga run, and Loyola Marymount went nearly six minutes without a basket as the Bulldogs built a 36-19 lead at halftime.
Gonzaga shot 56% in the first half, while the Lions managed only 24% (8 of 33).
Gonzaga sank five 3-pointers early in the second half, three by Holmgren, to build a 56-34 lead. The Zags followed with a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach.
BIG PICTURE
Loyola Marymount: The Lions came in averaging 69.9 points per game and lacked the firepower to compete with the Zags. … Loyola Marymount is 3-46 against Gonzaga since the 2000 season.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs have won 26 straight West Coast Conference games dating to their last league loss in 2020 at BYU. … Gonzaga leads the nation in scoring at 90 points per game and field goal shooting at 53.5%
UP NEXT
Gonzaga hosts Portland on Saturday.
